Subbies wage war against illegal training levy deductions

Aaron Morby 11 years ago
Share

Specialist trade contractors and training body CITB-ConstructionSkills are on a crusade to stop contractors taking bogus training levy deductions from payments.

The deductions are part of a raft of ruses being employed by unscrupulous firms to short-change specialists and labour-only subcontractors.

The growing scale of the rip-off came to light when the Sector Skills Council and Industry Training Board for the construction industry issued a statement advising victims to take legal action.

CITB-ConstructionSkills said that some contractors were illegally saddling extra costs on smaller subcontractors by passing on their levy payments.

Ten specialist and main contractor associations have signed up to the campaign to rid the industry of the unfair practice.

In a joint statement issued today to highlight and discourage this bad practice, the partnership points out some employers were labelling the charges: ‘deduction for CITB levy’ or ‘amounts in respect of CITB levy’.

In some cases the deductions had been found to be set at higher rates than the CITB-ConstructionSkills levy.

Chief Executive of CITB-ConstructionSkills, Mark Farrar, said: “CITB-ConstructionSkills is the body appointed by Parliament to raise and collect the Industrial Training Levy from employers in the construction industry under the Industrial Training Act.

“The Act does not give authorisation for employers to make deductions from any amounts paid to a labour-only sub-contractor or other worker.”

He advised: “If your employer is making these types of deductions without your consent, you may wish to seek independent legal advice.

“CITB-ConstructionSkills is working to deliver the right skills for economic growth locally and nationally and the levy we collect provides the funds to help employers up-skill their workforce and make their businesses succeed and grow.”

The levy money raised is used to provide training grants and other benefits which help employers train their staff and develop their businesses.

Last year, 19,058 employers benefited from £113m of grant funding.

    Industry bodies supporting the fight-back

  • FMB – Federation of Master Builders
  • UKCG – UK Contractors Group
  • NSCC – National Specialist Contractors Council
  • SDF – Scottish Decorators Federation
  • HBF – Home Builders Federation
  • NAS – National Association of Shop fitters
  • BWF – British Woodworking Federation
  • CPA – Construction Plant Hire Association
  • NFDC – National Federation of Demolition Contractors
  • NFB – National Federation of Builders

Latest news

Costain dropped from £1.3bn A66 road job

National Highways pulls Costain off TransPennine upgrade and demands its £1bn A12 widening now shared as a JV
15 hours ago

Laing O’Rourke plans to cut 200 staff jobs

Dartford head office to see bulk of job cuts
1 day ago

SES Services restructures senior team

New MD Rob Clifford to head four new divisions at M&E specialist
16 hours ago

Galliford Try ranks top in May contracts league

Kier holds pole position for highest value of work won over last 12 months
16 hours ago

£800m NEPO construction framework winners

BAM, B&K, Caddick, Esh and Morgan Sindall secure places for first time
16 hours ago

Manchester Uni reboots 3,300-bed campus plan

Initial £7m demolition package out to tender ahead of planning submission
16 hours ago

Subcontractors wanted across Derbyshire

Register now to meet big name buyers at latest Constructionline event
16 hours ago

House builder Lane End owes £12m to suppliers

Administrators probing claims by creditors about company transactions prior to failure
2 days ago

£500m Suffolk construction framework winners

Fourteen contractors and seven M&E specialists secure spots on East of England framework
2 days ago

Illegal cartel whistleblower reward raised to £250,000

Competition watchdog hikes rewards to flush out more construction bid rigging activity
2 days ago

McLaren wins £28m East London health centre job

New three-storey health centre to be built in Hornchurch
2 days ago

Balfour sells telecoms division to Obelisk

Irish infrastructure firm continues expansion plans with Balfour acquisition
2 days ago

Blackburn M65 £20m junction 5 revamp to go-ahead

Balfour Beatty to be confirmed this week to start mobilising in November for 2025 start
2 days ago

Unfit planning system means 4,700-year wait for onshore wind

Call for urgent planning reform for even a chance to meet net zero and housing ambitions
2 days ago

Commercial work boosts construction new orders

Buyers report inflation easing to its weakest for 32 months
3 days ago

Mace, T&T and Atkins secure place on MoD framework

JV wins provide technical services on £5bn defence optimisation programme
2 days ago

Enabling works start on £200m Cambridge station

Murphy starts site preparation ahead of main contractor award next month
3 days ago

Industry aims to be almost diesel-free by 2035

Big players agree first steps to eliminate diesel from most sites
3 days ago

Weston Homes plans £50m East London scheme

Land deal for 147 homes at Town Quay Wharf in Barking
3 days ago

Lee Marley Brickwork hires Countryside regional FD

Matt Sheehan joins from house builder's partnerships arm
3 days ago

Demolition deal awarded on Chancery Lane refurb

General Demolition Ltd lands demolition and enabling works package
3 days ago

Contractors no longer lagging on digital transformation

Construction shrugs-off image as late adopter of technology
3 days ago

Work stops on MAC education job

MAC-Interiors seeks protection from creditors as subbies walk away from Birmingham site
4 days ago

HS2 labour supply firm posts loss despite revenue jump

Hercules Site Services confident about future prospects despite HS2 slow down
4 days ago

Graham to lead UPP push for next generation green campuses

Student campus developer strikes deal with Architype to design and retrofit next generation net zero student halls
4 days ago

NG Bailey appoints Sellafield chief as NED

Martin Chown joins M&E contractor main board
4 days ago

EN:Procure wants firms for £700m new-build homes deal

Regional social housing consortium Efficiency North to renew house building partners
4 days ago

£470m tunnel plan for Scotland’s landslip-prone A83

Scottish Government plans 1-mile long debris flow shelter to protect vehicles from falling rocks
4 days ago

Developer dumps Henry Construction from London tower job

Growing list of subcontractors and suppliers complain they have not been paid
7 days ago

HS2 construction shake-up sees main contractor changes

Align to take over responsibility for parts of the route previously under the control of EKFB
7 days ago

Contractor services