Pay as you earn in construction PAYE
The Pay as you Earn scheme, or more familiarly, PAYE, is the means by which HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) deduct tax and National Insurance contributions from employees.
Any person, whether an individual or company, who employs someone under a contract of employment is obliged to operate a PAYE scheme and then deduct tax and national insurance before passing those deductions to HMRC.
It is important for potential employers to have a full understanding of these rules and to ensure that they are applied correctly. In particular it is necessary to understand the meaning of “employee” so that PAYE is applied only to those individuals who can be so categorised.
For construction industry employers the application of PAYE has added complexity as the requirements of IR 35 and the Construction Industry Scheme have a direct bearing on the applicability of PAYE in particular cases.
Administering PAYE can be a time-consuming process for employers with a variety of reporting requirements and deadlines to be met. For this reason many small employers prefer to outsource the administration of the scheme to external service providers who undertake full payroll and reporting obligations via the use of proprietary software.
For more details visit HMRC: PAYE
[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings
- Capital gains tax.
- Construction industry scheme.
- Construction Industry Scheme or IR35?
- Construction recruitment agency.
- Court of appeal ruling on holiday pay and employment status.
- Employee.
- Hourly rate.
- Human resource management in construction.
- IR35.
- IR35: essential steps for compliance.
- Limited appointment.
- National insurance.
- Payroll companies.
- Status determination statement SDS.
- Tax relief.
- Umbrella companies.
- Tax.
- VAT.
[edit] External references
Featured articles and news
Tackle the decline in Welsh electrical apprenticeships
ECA calls on political parties 100 days to the Senedd elections.
Resident engagement as the key to successful retrofits
Retrofit is about people, not just buildings, from early starts to beyond handover.
What they are, how they work and why they are popular in many countries.
Plastic, recycling and its symbol
Student competition winning, M.C.Esher inspired Möbius strip design symbolising continuity within a finite entity.
Do you take the lead in a circular construction economy?
Help us develop and expand this wiki as a resource for academia and industry alike.
Warm Homes Plan Workforce Taskforce
Risks of undermining UK’s energy transition due to lack of electrotechnical industry representation, says ECA.
Cost Optimal Domestic Electrification CODE
Modelling retrofits only on costs that directly impact the consumer: upfront cost of equipment, energy costs and maintenance costs.
The Warm Homes Plan details released
What's new and what is not, with industry reactions.
Could AI and VR cause an increase the value of heritage?
The Orange book: 2026 Amendment 4 to BS 7671:2018
ECA welcomes IET and BSI content sign off.
How neural technologies could transform the design future
Enhancing legacy parametric engines, offering novel ways to explore solutions and generate geometry.
Key AI related terms to be aware of
With explanations from the UK government and other bodies.
From QS to further education teacher
Applying real world skills with the next generation.
A guide on how children can use LEGO to mirror real engineering processes.
Data infrastructure for next-generation materials science
Research Data Express to automate data processing and create AI-ready datasets for materials research.
Wired for the Future with ECA; powering skills and progress
ECA South Wales Business Day 2025, a day to remember.
AI for the conservation professional
A level of sophistication previously reserved for science fiction.






















