Council set new record on temporary staff costs

It’s a new record and yes they’re record breakers.

Folkestone & Hythe District Council have spent £1,364,558 on temporary staff between April 22 and Jan 23.  We predicted back in Nov 2022, temporary staff costs would surpass £1m for the third time during Dr Susan Priest’s tenure. Now we suspect they might pass the £1.5m mark, once February 23 and March 23 data is released.

Since Dr Susan Priest (pictured) began as Head of Paid Service in the 2018/19 financial year, temporary staff costs have broken the million pound barrier in three out of the five years of her tenure. And this financial year, 22/23, the Council has set a new record, in the first ten months of published data.

Dr Priest’s role is a statutory necessity, as per s4 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989

Under Dr Priest’s tenure as Chief Exec & Head of Piad Services the all time record back in 2019/20 was £1,338,239. Now that record has been dismantled in this financial year 2022/23.

Temporary employees are people that employers – such as Folkestone & Hythe District Council – contract to a job for a limited period through a third-party agency that staffs for other companies.

But this is not the only way to employee temporary staff. There are temporary staff who can be employed via what is known as ‘IR35′. The rules for this are set out clearly on the gov.uk website and can be found here

The off-payroll working rules, or ‘IR35’, can apply if a worker (sometimes known as a contractor) provides their services through their own limited company or another type of intermediary to the client.

An intermediary will usually be the worker’s own personal service company, but could also be any of the following:

• a partnership

• a personal service company

• an individual

The rules make sure that workers, who would have been an employee if they were providing their services directly to the client, pay broadly the same Income Tax and National Insurance contributions as employees.

Several former staff and current staff have been, and are being employed via the IR35 route, such as Michael Hale of MB Hale Consultancy Ltd

Moving on, a break down of Temporary Staff costs for the financial year 2022/23, and for the period Apr – Jan 2023, shows that £1,364,558 has been spent. This is the latest data available.

Between Apr 22 and Jan 2023, Folkestone & Hythe District Council have made 503 payments to twenty two agencies, according to their payment to suppliers data.

So, FHDC have created a new record, and on that note we’ll leave Roy Castle (for those of you of a certain vintage) to sum it all up.

The Shepway Vox Team

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