UKFTT 139 (2009) Mason v HMRC

Employee NICs - HMRC won

Case Summary:

Mr Mason worked offshore, two weeks on and two weeks off. He got paid every fortnight, a large sum for the days he worked and a retainer for those he didn’t. He was treated as having fortnightly pay periods and the pay was not amalgamated. As this started before the Upper Limit on Employer NICs was lifted there was a suggestion this might have been done to save Employer NICs as every second fortnight his pay exceeded the upper limit. The pay practice continued after the Upper Limit for Employer NICs was removed in 1986. The Government could have specified a monthly pay period but did not which meant Mr Mason paid less Employee NICs.

The problem was that when he came to retire his State Earnings Related Pension (SERPS), being based on lower NIC contributions, was a lot less than he had expected. The Tribunal could not rectify this although the judge was very sympathetic to the position in which he found himself.