Guidance on the payment of public contributors to research

Paying members of the public for their time, contribution and/or expertise given to research is a mark of good research practice, and considered as the ‘right thing to do’. When people are involved with or participate in research at York, accepting payment can help them to feel valued and respected, especially when payments are timely and payment processes are clear and easy to navigate. 

It should be clear in the research project Information Sheet, which should be provided to all public contributors before they start their involvement in any activity, whether the research activity will offer payment for people’s time and contribution. It should also be made clear how much that payment will be.

If there is no payment on offer for the research involvement or participation activity, this must be clearly stated in the advert and the Information Sheet, to allow individuals to make an informed decision about whether to get involved with or participate in the research.

If there is no payment on offer for the research involvement or participation activity, this must be clearly stated in the advert and the Information Sheet, to allow individuals to make an informed decision about whether to get involved with or participate in the research.

The University suggests payment in line with the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) guidelines for paying public contributors. These amounts are suggested for any research discipline at York, not just health and social care research typically funded by NIHR. The NIHR rates were chosen because at the time of drafting the policy and guidance they were the only major UKRI funder to suggest payment rates.

These are as follows:

• Up to £75 for up to half a day 
• Up to £150 for a full day
• Up to £183.50 total in any given week.

Different funders may have different guidelines but if you wish to pay public contributors at a rate higher than this, they will be classed as 'workers' for HMRC purposes. This means they would be paid as a casual worker and have to undertake the relevant University HR processes including right to work checks.

The weekly limit for payments is set at £183.50 by HMRC. Payments above this amount will incur national insurance, which is another indicator of 'worker' status and will trigger the same requirements as above.

The NIHR sets out the following rates, which can be used as a guide/benchmark.

Please see NIHR Payment guidance for researchers and professionals:

Public contributors do not have to accept payment for their time and contribution. They do not need to provide a reason and can change their mind at any point during the project.

It is best practice to highlight to public contributors that they have the right to decline the offer of payment or ask for a lower amount, which might be important for individuals receiving welfare benefits. It is expected that (receipted) out-of-pocket expenses are always reimbursed.

It is not possible for a public contributor payment to be donated to charity instead of being paid to the individual. The University policy on payment of donations from the University to other charities states:

“Donations cannot be made in lieu of payment to be received by an individual or an organisation for work completed or services provided to the University. For example, a fee payable to an individual must be paid directly to that individual. It is not possible for this to be converted into a donation to be made by the University to a charity of that person’s choice.”

The University’s preferred method of payments is by bank transfer (BACS). Payment by voucher(s) should only be made in exceptional circumstances. This will most commonly occur where a public contributor does not have a bank account. For example, children and young people, refugees or asylum seekers.

A public contributor's preference for payment by vouchers does not constitute an exceptional circumstance, and it should not be offered as an option in the first instance. 

If a public contributor is in receipt of benefits, payment by voucher can still affect their claim as it counts as income.

The University is required to keep an audit trail of all involvement payments in order to fulfil its obligations to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). As voucher payments are not recorded in Agresso, they cannot be easily tracked and for this reason they are restricted for use in exceptional circumstances.

Any payment made to an individual for their time is treated as part of their overall income and individuals are personally responsible for any income tax or National Insurance contribution liability. We cannot offer advice on tax or National Insurance issues. If in doubt, individuals should contact their local HMRC Office. Information about dealing with HMRC and the details of local offices are available on the Gov.uk website.

Public contributors who are paid more than £1000 per financial year must be declared to the University Tax Accountant in order to meet HMRC requirements. It is the responsibility of Principal Investigators (PIs) to keep a record of individuals and to inform the University Tax Manager as relevant.

If public contributors are receiving welfare benefits, any involvement payment may affect their benefit claim. The public contributor should notify the Jobcentre Plus of any paid or voluntary activity before they do it. They may also need permission to undertake any paid activity in the first place. Researchers can provide a letter for the public contributor to explain their involvement with research to JobCentre Plus. The template for this letter can be found here.
 
The University cannot provide financial advice to public contributors in relation to either the benefit or tax implications of receiving payments. Researchers should, however, discuss the possibility of payment affecting a claim with public contributors and direct them to the following services:

• The Cardiff and Vale Citizens Advice can provide Benefits Advice Service to members of the public whose welfare benefits may be affected by payment for involvement. If the public contributor is a member of the public involved in an NIHR organisation, or in a research project funded by the NIHR, they can use the service.
• If they would like to speak to someone for advice about how payment for involvement may affect their benefits, they should contact publicpartnerships@nihr.ac.uk or call 020 88437117.
• The service is not able to give advice on tax or National Insurance queries or for benefits enquiries relating to payment for participating in research (for example, for taking part as a subject of a clinical trial or research study). More information is available on the NIHR website.
• If the research is funded by another organisation (ie not NIHR), Citizens Advice can offer some support and advice to people whose benefits may be affected. This advice and information is provided by the local Citizens Advice to the public contributor. To find the nearest Citizens Advice, they will need to look up their town on the Citizen’s Advice website here. This will provide details of how to contact their local Citizens’ Advice office.

Please use the following text in any information sheets you provide:

It is very important that you understand that receiving payment for public involvement may have tax and benefit receipt implications.

It will be your responsibility to manage the tax or benefit implications arising from any payments for public involvement in research.

The University of York will not be able to provide any financial advice to public contributors in relation to either.

The University of York Travel and expenses policy “wouldn’t usually recommend booking travel for external representatives”, but will reimburse travel expenses. It recommends sending a copy of the policy to confirm the maximum amount the University will reimburse, and travel class rules, etc.  

You may wish to talk to your public contributors and offer to either book travel on their behalf (and send any tickets on) or explain that they can claim back their travel costs through the University expenses system. Please offer to help them book travel if needed, and direct them to the University. 

The exception to this would be when booking travel for children and young people, who may not have the funds or mechanisms to book travel independently. In all instances receipts will be required.

Appropriate expenses may include the following:

• Travel fares, including bus, standard class train, underground and taxi
• Parking
• Subsistence as part of a travel journey
• Care costs

All expenses should be in line with the University expenses policy.

Online participation

If the involvement activity took place online, we suggest a flat fee £5 expense be paid to contribute towards WiFi or data connectivity costs, device wear and tear, printing costs if individuals have chosen to print out meeting notes etc. No receipt is needed in this case.

Expenses should be paid separately to involvement payments to ensure they are not mistaken for income by HMRC. The best way to do this is to ask the individual to complete two forms, one for payment and one for expenses.

The process for paying a public contributor is relatively straightforward and involves the public contributor completing a form. This form is similar to the University expenses form.

Involvement@York has developed a step-by-step guide to process payments for public contributors, including an annotated version of the payment form to help both researchers and public contributors to easily complete the form.

• How to Pay Public Contributors
• Payment Form (with instructions) for Paying Public Contributors

Both documents are also available on the Involvement@York staff web pages.

The correct code to use when categorising a payment to an individual involved with, or participating in, research is: “2382 - Research Participant / Involvement Payments and Expenses”.

The Finance Team suggests sending the forms to Accounts Payable at least a week apart to ensure that the payments are made separately, and appear as separate transactions for people who may be in receipt of benefits. 

Involvement@York has developed guidance for public contributors about being paid by the University of York. The guidance is available on the Involvement@York payment web pages and via Google Docs, should you need to print a copy.

A partner organisation can be paid for their input but this must be paid following the University’s key rules for buying goods, services and equipment. The organisation will need to complete some forms (on the web page above), depending on the monetary value, to become a University supplier and be able to submit an invoice. The University is unable to make donations to an organisation in recognition of their input. Please see the University guidance on the payment of donations from the University to other charities for more information.

(New, national guidance on paying an organisation or charity for involvement is anticipated in the coming months).