PPAG Policy on Payment and Expenses
The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) standard is to offer payment to PPI contributors for their involvement. We aim to meet the NIHR standards and provide payment as a recognition of the contribution that a member of the public makes in our research. We also aim to cover any reasonable expenses associated with our PPI activities.
How much will we offer?
When you receive a notification of PPI activity, we will inform you if we offer payment for that particular involvement. Below is the guidance for the most commonly requested activities within the Pain Centre Versus Arthritis based on the NIHR and university guidance.
| Activity | Payment Offer |
|---|
|
Review of a research material (e.g. lay summary) for the readability to establish if the text is engaging, easy to read and understand or to provide a personal insight into the research topic
|
Equals to ≈ 30 minutes of time.
£12.50
|
|
Review of a research material to provide specific comments about the research question/methods/results/participant recruitment. May require a little extra research or preparation
|
Equals to ≈ 1 hour of time.
£25
|
|
Participation in a focus group meeting which requires little or no preparation
|
Equals to ≈ 1 hour of time.
£25
|
|
Participation in a focus group meeting which requires previous extensive preparation (Also acceptable for steering committee members/co-applicants)
|
Equals to ≈ 2 hours of time
£50
|
Employment and Tax Implications
Participation in our activities does not imply an existence of an employment contract. There are no contractual obligations for you to complete a task and you can opt out at any time.
Please be aware that receiving a payment may have implications on your tax and benefits. We are not in a position to advise on how exactly the payment might affect your tax or benefits. We would advise you to seek advice from a trusted source of welfare benefits advice.
You have a right not to accept a payment we offer and you may choose to request a lower amount.
What are the reasonable expenses?
If participation in an activity requires you to travel, we will reimburse you for your transportation costs. If there is a need for you to travel by public transport (i.e. train, bus) or a taxi, we will reimburse you for the expenses upon submission of receipts. If you require train travel, we may also offer to book the travel arrangements for you directly.
How can you receive a payment?
It is a usual practice to offer payment after the completion of an activity. For long-term involvement, you may choose how to accept the payment – you may choose to receive the full amount at the end or request it at certain intervals.
Bank transfer. To do this, we will need you to provide your bank details. You may choose to send them to us by post or by email. The bank transfers will be processed using a non-staff university expense form, usually within two weeks after we receive a payment request from you.