However, the government has not yet made any estimates of the impact of the change on schools and the supply of teachers.
At the moment, freelance staff across a range of sectors and industries can claim tax relief on travel expenses and meals/subsistence.
However, the tax relief – which is aimed at giving these workers flexibility to respond to contract requests that are often some distance away – is being axed from April.
Campaigners say that the move will cut the take-home pay of the average contractor by 20 per cent.
The change will affect supply teachers, agency nurses as well as contractors in sectors such as construction, engineering and IT.
Campaigners fear that the change could mean contractors such as supply teachers are forced to turn down jobs that are too far afield or charge more for their services. It could hit rural schools, hospitals and businesses hardest, they say.
In the latest development, it has emerged that the government has not made any estimates of the impact of the change on the supply of teachers.
This came to light after a Parliamentary question was tabled by Baroness Sharp of Guildford in the House of Lords.
Prism, a trade association for firms that deliver payroll services for these kind of workers, has been leading the “Yes2T&S” campaign trying to reverse the decision. Prism calculates that the change will cost supply teachers £3,252 a year on average and nurses not on permanent contracts will lose around £4,650.
The campaign website states: “Contractors enjoy this relief because they move around a series of temporary workplaces for relatively short periods, cover greater distances and cannot take advantage of the sort of savings normal commuters can, like season tickets.
“Not only that – T&S is one of the few benefits for contractors who have zero job security and do not have the same access to holiday pay, sick pay and pensions.”
Responding to the Parliamentary question, Crawford Temple, chief executive of Prism, added: “The government has once again revealed itself to be totally complacent over the damage this policy will do in classrooms up and down the country.”
In his answer to the written question, commercial secretary to the Treasury, Lord O’Neill of Gatley, said: “The planned changes will put supply teachers employed through an intermediary on the same terms as other supply teachers, either contracted directly, or through an agency contract.”
However, Mr Temple said this “was an attempt to divert attention away from the vital role contractors have played in helping to repair the British economy by providing a no-strings-attached labour force to stretched employers”.
He continued: “The government may claim a level playing field but you don’t see ministers insisting that contractors are given the same perks and securities as full-time employees. In fact, these rule changes could mean that full-time employees are able to claim more expenses than the contractors.”
For more on the campaign, visit www.prism.contractors/yes2tands/