Former staff at Pont Abraham Roadchef suffer set back over shares pay-out

Workers won a legal battle in 2014 after losing millions when shares in an employee scheme were transferred.

A further £10m was later emerged to have been taken in taxes and in 2018 that cash was returned.

But a continuing dispute with tax officials means no full payout has been made.

Now the campaign to secure justice for former Roadchef employees in Pont Abraham has a taken a further hit after local MP Jonathan Edwards received a letter from the Treasury Select Committee stating that there are no plans for an inquiry.

Mr Edawrds has joined other parliamentarians to call on the British Government and Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to settle the dispute once and for all.

Roadchef, which once operated Pont Abraham service station, was one of the first companies to set up a Employee Share Ownership Plan.

The plan offered tax free benefits for employees as a part of their remuneration package.

However, unscrupulous bosses used funds from the plan to settle their own tax liabilities. Following a lengthy legal challenge money was repaid into the fund by HMRC, however a dispute remains whether any payments resulting from the scheme are liable for tax.

Jonathan Edwards MP for Carmarthen East and Dinefwr said: “Roadchef employees have fought a long and dignified campaign to secure access to their rightful money held in the company’s Employee Share Ownership Plan.

"These schemes were created as tax free plans to help traditional low paid workers build a secure future. Despite winning a Court battle to gain access to the fund, HMRC refuse to settle taxation issues. Justice would dictate that if the scheme was intended as tax free then members of the fund should receive their entitlements in full.

"A number of my constituents worked at the Pont Abraham Roadchef, and this issue needs to be resolved once and for all. The only way for this issue to be resolved correctly is through an inquiry. ”