Lay member payments and expenses

This is a guide for lay members who we've invited to sit on one of our committees, panels, or groups.

Lay members include:

  • patients
  • service users
  • carers
  • topic and patient experts.

You can read our non-staff reimbursement policy (Word) for more information on what you can claim for.

If you cannot find what you need email our Public Involvement Programme at PIPlayexpenses@nice.org.uk or telephone 0161 870 3020

Claiming an attendance fee

You can claim an attendance fee of:

  • £150 per full-day meeting (4 hours or longer)
  • £75 per half-day meeting (shorter than 4 hours).

You can only claim for meetings you have taken part in. If you only attend part of a meeting, you can only claim for that time.

Meetings can be face to face or virtual. The payments do not mean you have a contract of employment with NICE or one of our partner organisations.

How to claim expenses

  • We'll send you instructions about how to claim expenses. You must read these instructions before claiming. If you are not sent any instructions, contact your meeting coordinator for help.
  • If you need to claim for something, make sure you get an invoice or receipt. Keep hold of this as you'll need to submit it when you make your claim.
  • Claim using our online expenses system.
  • When you claim, you'll have to give a reason code. Use the reason code: PIPlaymemberexpenses

How long it takes

After you've submitted your claim, it will be processed by the Public Involvement Programme.

Your payment will be transferred into your account within 3 weeks. It will show on your bank statement as SEL or Selenity.

What you can claim for

Travel

We encourage people to use public transport to get to our meetings, as this is better for the environment.

If you're unable to travel on public transport because of special circumstances, we can discuss other options with you.

We will:

  • contact you before the meeting to arrange transport that meets your needs
  • book and pay for your tickets.

Accommodation

Some of our meetings run for more than one day or start in the morning. You may need overnight accommodation, depending on where you live.

We'll book and pay for suitable accommodation for those who need it. Before we do this, we'll contact you to find out if you have any special requirements.

Food and drink

You can claim an allowance for food and drink. We call this 'subsistence'.

There are different amounts you can claim for, depending on how long you are away from home.

Special requirements

We'll cover the costs of certain special requirements. This could include:

  • Hiring a sign language interpreter to attend meetings with you.
  • Hiring a support worker to help you take part in the meeting if you have a learning disability.

You can contact us about any special requirements you may have.

Childcare

You can claim reasonable childcare costs for:

  • pre-school aged children (including babies)
  • childcare outside of school hours for children and young people of school age.

We pay 2 different rates:

  • A flat-rate contribution of £25 for out-of-pocket expenses if your children are looked after by someone not registered with Ofsted. This could be a family member or friend.
  • The reasonable hourly or daily rate of an Ofsted registered agency or individual.

Carers and support workers

You can claim if you need to hire a carer or support worker. You may need to do this if you care for another adult or a disabled child.

You can also claim for a carer or support worker to care for a family member until you get home from a meeting. We'll cover reasonable costs for a professional registered carer or support worker.

If a family member or friend provides the care or support needed, you can claim a flat fee of £25.

Printing and equipment

If you have a particular need or disability that means working from a screen presents problems, you can claim for printing meeting papers or slides at home.

There is a fixed rate per meeting of £5. This is a temporary policy during the COVID-19 pandemic when our staff are working from home. Once staff are able to return to the office, you will be able to request printed copies of meeting papers.

If you need additional equipment to fully participate in virtual meetings, speak to the staff running your committee. You can claim for equipment up to the value of £50, providing you have staff approval before you make the purchase.

Your benefits

If you claim for out of pocket expenses as well as carer, childcare, or support costs, this should not affect your benefit payments. But it's important that you remember to save your receipts.

Attendance payments may affect benefit payments, as they are classed as income by HM Revenue and Customs.

This depends on different factors, such as which benefits you receive, and the amount. Find out more about how lay member payments affect benefits

Paying tax

Lay members are not classed as employees or as contractors of NICE. You are responsible for paying any income tax or National Insurance.

We only pay lay members directly and not through a company.