23rd October 2008, 01:10 PM
Quote:quote:Originally posted by RedEarth
Quote:quote:Originally posted by ellie163
It is only if you are sent on an away job, where it is not viable to commute from the main office, that accommodation and subs become non-taxable.
Is there any actual definition of when something is not a viable commute from the main office? Given what appears to be the quite widespread practice of expecting people to travel some distance to sites how far away does somewhere have to be? This of course connects into other issues relating to contracts (where they exist) stating a certain length of week and then finding that massive amounts of effectively unpaid overtime are added in travelling to sites. I can see some units potentially expecting more of this sort of thing if they are scared of the potential tax implications otherwise. I've no objection to travelling some distance to site as long as is considered safe and is recompensed in a suitable way but I'm not sure it is in many cases. Units might now think they are doing their staff a favour - avoiding the tex problems by never letting people stay away, no matter how far the journey.
From what I remember, and from the other thread, if you are working outside a 'reasonable distance' (and I vaguely remember being given a rule of thumb of about an hour) from your nomal place of work, then you are allowed to reclaim reasonable accomodation costs and payments for food, as well as claim mileage where appropriate, from youe employer.
Having been an employer in the past, we were often pointed at those organisations that paid for the accom up front and paid subsistence as what we should be doing. I was always a bit worried about that!