In some circumstances, individuals may be permitted to incur and reclaim some business costs relating to them personally.
Tax treatment of training, development and subscriptions
This table forms part of the Employee Expenses policy. Any deviations from the policy must adhere to the key principles and be authorised by the Head of Institution. Where appropriate, any claims must also align to the funder’s terms and conditions.
Expense category | Allowable expenses | Guidance / additional information |
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Training and development Employees may need to participate in courses and conferences to perform their duties effectively. The University provides free access to the LinkedIn online learning portal and provides many other courses in-house, the costs of which are often borne by the University. Tax treatment of discounted fees for University courses Alternatively. the University may agree to meet the cost of external courses or qualifications which lead to the acquisition of knowledge and skills that are:
Where it is necessary for employees to travel to attend these courses, any travel and subsistence incurred may be reclaimed as business expenses. Tax treatment of vocational or professional qualifications and training |
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Exam fees | Where prior approval has been obtained to fund an employee to undertake an examination as part of a professional or vocational qualification, the costs may be reclaimed via expenses. | |
Training / conference fees | Prior approval must be obtained before employees attend any external training or events. These are to be booked via the normal institution procurement channels. | |
Course delivery costs | Where an employee is presenting or teaching, they would normally be expected to obtain any resources or materials via the usual institution procurement channels. | |
Professional / trade body membership fees | An institution may meet the cost of subscriptions to professional bodies and learned societies where it derives a clear benefit from the employee’s membership of such a body, e.g., access to materials and/or events. | Tax treatment |
Subscriptions to periodicals and journals, etc. | Where this is a business expense these are to be purchased via the normal procurement channels or via a University Corporate credit card. | |
Club memberships or subscriptions | The University will not pay, on behalf of, or reimburse the cost of any membership or annual subscription in respect of clubs or other organisations (other than professional/trade bodies – above) irrespective of whether the membership is used for the furtherance of the University’s business. | Tax treatment |