Agency nursing hit by tax change

For the past 18 months agency nurses have seen their wages under threat, with trusts ordered to adhere to a 'cap' on payments. A new change to their tax status is set to hit pockets once again.

Many agency nurses bill for their services through a limited or personal services company. In the past, this has reduced the tax they need to pay, allowing some profits to be taken as dividends. It has also allowed them to offset costs, such as travel, against their profits.

But from April, all NHS employers must make agency staff subject to Pay As You Earn (PAYE) tax, effectively taxing them on the same basis as employees and removing many of the advantages of being