ALM15200 | Schools: academies and multi-academy trusts

In an academy, the governing body of the academy is the employer with the responsibility to pay Class 1 secondary NICs. Therefore it is the governing body which is liable to report and pay the levy.

Multi-academy trusts (MATs) encompass multiple academies. In a MAT, the MAT itself is the employer of all of the staff within all of the academies under its control. It is the MAT which is responsible for paying Class 1 secondary NICs on the earnings of those staff. This means that the MAT is also responsible for reporting and paying the levy. The MAT should add together all of the earnings of staff for which it is liable to pay Class 1 secondary NICs in all of its academies in order to calculate its levy liability. The MAT will have one annual allowance of £15,000 to offset against its levy liability.