Policy for payments arising from the involvement of the public in the work of the HRA

Climate change poses a major threat to our health as well as our planet. The HRA is committed to incorporating environmental sustainability as part of our normal working practice and culture.

The HRA will work with our staff, and our partners, by building on the great work already completed, continue to reduce our carbon emissions, sharing ideas on how to reduce the environmental impact of research, and reach net carbon zero. This policy/procedure has been developed with these commitments in mind.

2. Background

The Health Research Authority (HRA) is committed to involving patients, service users, carers and other members of the public in its work. When we do, this work is undertaken with and by those people working as advisers with our staff. In recognition of this we offer to pay people an honorarium for their involvement. We also cover people’s expenses. We refer to the people we involve in our work as public contributors.

3. Definitions

we use the term public involvement to mean working with patients, service users, survivors, carers, family members and people with lived experience.
we use the term public contributors to describe the people that we work with in their capacity as people with lived experience of health and care research.
activity lead – member of staff responsible for organising an activity. For example, a Policy Manager is developing new principles. If they involve public contributors, REC and CAG members in the process, they are the activity lead.
honorarium – a voluntary, token payment.
HRA Community – REC and CAG members, and members of the public who inform or influence the HRA’s work through public involvement activities.
volunteer / voluntary – for the purposes of this document, we understand a volunteer as someone who chooses to give their time to protect and promote the interests of patients and the public through the Research Ethics Service and Confidentiality Advisory Group. All REC and CAG members are volunteers.

4. Purpose

This policy covers how we will pay honoraria and expenses to the people we involve in our work. It is based on guidance from the Department of Health and Social Care, a review of good practice amongst other national research organisations and the HRA’s previous policy. It is for use by HRA staff who involve the public in their work and the people we involve. In this paper, ‘we’ means the HRA or HRA staff and ‘you’ means a public contributor involved in our work.

If you receive welfare benefits of any kind, please read section 9 of this policy before accepting any opportunity to get involved in the work of the HRA.

5. Scope

While all of us are actual, former, or indeed potential users of health and social care services at some point, there is an important distinction to be made between the perspectives of the public and the perspectives of people who have a professional role in health and social care services or research.

This policy concerns the payment of agreed honoraria and expenses for patients and the public who we involve in our work.

This policy does not cover the valuable work that is carried out by volunteers who sit on HRA committees including Research Ethics Committees and the Confidentiality Advisory Group. People who are members of these groups may be offered honoraria for involvement with our work beyond their normal volunteer roles. HRA staff should refer to the Community members payment policy and procedure to help you decide what payment should be offered for any activity.

Additionally, this policy also does not cover the recruitment, employment or contracting with any other individuals or with user-led and patient organisations or on behalf of HRA. These are addressed in HRA member, procurement, and Human Resources policies.

Section 242 of the Consolidated NHS Act 2006 (Section 11) obliges NHS organisations, including the HRA, to involve patients and those close to them in the planning of the provision of services; the development and consideration of proposals for changes in the way services are provided; and decisions to be made affecting the operation of services. The NHS constitution principle 4 also promotes NHS organisations to actively encourage feedback from the public, patients, and staff, welcome it and use it to improve its services.

6. Eligibility

The HRA will not pay honoraria or expenses to people we involve for time already contracted or paid by another organisation, e.g. a university or NHS organisation.

If you are claiming expenses or payment from one organisation for a specific piece of work, you may not claim from another organisation for the same piece of work.

For example, if you are attending a workshop which is jointly hosted by the HRA and another organisation you may only claim expenses and payment from one organisation for that workshop. We will make it clear at the outset which organisation you need to claim from.

7. Covering your expenses

This section provides detailed guidance on the range of reasonable and necessary expenses that the HRA may cover arising from your involvement in our work.

If you have a question about your expenses, please talk to your HRA activity lead beforehand. The HRA has the right to refuse to reimburse any unreasonable expense claims.

7.1 Ways we may pay expenses

Flat rate: £5 per day for online meetings (no receipts needed)
Direct payment: HRA may pay travel/accommodation costs directly
Reimbursement: Pre-approved expenses can be claimed back with receipts

The first is that we offer a standard £5 per day expenses to contribute to the cost of attending online meetings, for example use of a telephone or internet connection, printing out papers, paper etc. Evidence of spend such as receipts do not need to be provided to receive this.

The second is that, where possible and appropriate, we will pay directly for the costs ourselves, for example, by purchasing travel tickets or travel cards ahead of your journey, by booking and paying for hotel accommodation in advance, or by paying an alternative carer or personal assistant directly. You are strongly encouraged to book travel and accommodation through a HRA activity lead, so that we can obtain the best possible prices.

The third is by you claiming back money that you have paid out as a result of your involvement in our work, which we refer to as ‘reimbursement.’ If you wish to have your expenses reimbursed, you must discuss these with your HRA activity lead in advance and receive approval. You should ensure that you are aware of the costs we cover beforehand, and you will need to provide receipts for everything that you have paid for.

If you receive welfare benefits of any kind, please read section 9 of this policy before accepting any opportunity to get involved in our work and incurring any expenses.

7.2 Travel

The HRA encourages the use of travel by the most cost-effective and sustainable method of transport where possible, recognising that some travel choices need to be guided by accessibility rather than sustainability. We encourage the use of public transport and electric cars based on our commitment to Greening Government Commitments.

The HRA will offer honoraria for travel time where people need to travel a long distance to attend an in-person event or meeting. When this additional honorarium is offered, it will be offered at a flat rate to anyone who needs to travel over 100 miles each way to and from an event, regardless of where people are travelling from.

7.3 Rail travel

You are strongly encouraged to book rail tickets in advance through your HRA activity lead wherever possible, so that we can obtain the best possible prices.

We would like you to let us know about any railcards you hold so that we can make best use of public funds, however there is no obligation for you to use your railcard with us if you do not wish to do so. The HRA does not pay for or contribute towards staff, community member or public contributor railcards.

Please advise your HRA activity lead of any accessibility requirements you have when you request a travel booking.

Where we need to reimburse you for tickets, we only reimburse at standard class travel rates unless there are cheaper ‘deals’ available for journeys or as a reasonable adjustment due to a disability, which should be discussed and approved in advance with your HRA activity lead. You should keep costs to a minimum by purchasing the cheapest standard train ticket available, making use of advance ticket purchase discounts wherever possible.

Example email:

Hi Amy,

Could you please book me on the 08.15am train from Nottingham to St Pancras, returning as soon after 4pm as possible?

I have a family railcard, and will need an aisle seat please, so my assistance dog has enough room.

Thank you

7.4 International and air travel

Our aim at the HRA is to minimise all short-distance flights given their impact on the environment. No domestic flights should be booked unless to Ireland. If exceptionally a flight is required, this must be discussed and approved in advance with your HRA activity lead, who will need to gain approval from the HRA’s Director of Finance. Tickets for travel by air or international rail should be purchased for you by a HRA member of staff, unless an alternative arrangement has been agreed as part of that approval process.

If a flight is required, economy class travel or its equivalent class should be booked, unless there are cheaper ‘deals’ for journeys. If you have accessibility requirements such as priority boarding or airport assistance, please tell your HRA activity lead before travel is booked. Any non-standard travel must be discussed and approved in advance with your HRA activity lead. Journeys should also be booked sufficiently in advance to obtain the best possible prices.

7.5 Taxi travel

Travel by taxi should not occur routinely, unless agreed in advance with your HRA activity lead as a reasonable adjustment, as other more sustainable methods of transport that offer better value for money should be prioritised. A taxi should be booked by a member of HRA staff wherever possible. The specific circumstances in which travel by taxi is an allowable expense are outlined below.

in cases of poor mobility or disability or if required as a reasonable adjustment
in emergencies
when carrying heavy luggage, such as suitcases (this does not include laptops or documents)
if no other public transport is reasonably available due to location / unsociable time of travel
when travelling early in the morning / late at night where personal safety is perceived to be an issue

When taxi travel is approved but the HRA has not been able to book this in advance, any claims for travel by taxi should include a receipt and should show the reason for using a taxi from the allowable list, as well as the start and end postcode of the journey. Tips to taxi drivers are not reimbursed.

If any of the above conditions are not met, claims will be reduced to the equivalent public transport fare. In this case the HRA staff member processing the claim will replace the sum claimed with the cost of public transport that could have been used.

Claims for taxis to and from the HRA’s offices will not normally be met because public transport is readily available. unless essential due to any of the above reasons.

7.6 Car and bicycle travel

You can claim a mileage rate for use of your own transport where this can be justified instead of using public transport. Using an electric car can offer a sustainable and efficient form of travel and is encouraged by the HRA where public transport is not an option.

On occasions where you need to travel by petrol / diesel cars or motorcycle for your journey, for example as a reasonable adjustment due to a disability, please confirm this with your HRA activity lead prior to making your journey.

To claim a mileage allowance, you must confirm that the vehicle is in good working order, fully insured, taxed and has a current valid MOT certificate.

Where this confirmation is provided the HMRC mileage rates which can be found here will be paid. Claims may be audited from time to time in which case you may be asked to provide the registration number of your vehicle to confirm insurance and MOT requirements have been met.

For travel by electric mobility vehicles the HMRC Motorbike rate will be paid.

For travel by bicycle the HMRC cycle mileage will be paid.

Parking fines, clamping charges and penalty fees for non-payment of congestion charges will not be reimbursed.

7.7 Accommodation

In general, HRA meetings and involvement activities are held at accessible locations and times during the day where accommodation costs are not normally necessary.

Where accommodation might be required, you should speak to your HRA activity lead who will normally arrange this for you up to a maximum overnight cost (inclusive of breakfast and VAT) of:

London / Bristol / major European city maximum of £130 per night
Outside London maximum of £85 per night

If booking full board accommodation £25 a night can be added to the limits above, but subsistence cannot then be claimed for this period

If specific accommodation is needed to accommodate for reasonable adjustments, and this might exceed the above limits, prior approval must be obtained from your HRA activity lead. If the excess is less than £50 this can be approved by a member of the Executive Committee who will notify the Deputy Director of Finance. Where exceptional circumstances have been approved, evidence of the approval should be attached to the claim.

Any excess cost above £50 must be approved in advance by the Director of Resources.

Incidental expenses such as mini-bars, private telephones and newspapers will not be paid by the HRA and must be settled by the individual directly with the hotel.

If you choose to stay with friends or family, you can claim a flat 24-hour subsistence rate of £25. This includes an allowance for meals. No receipts are required, and the payment will be subject to income tax.

7.8 Subsistence (meals / refreshments)

If the involvement work you do for the HRA requires you to travel away from home for more than five hours, including the lunch time period 12:00 to 14:00, and where appropriate refreshments have not been provided, including as part of an all-inclusive package with accommodation, you can claim reimbursement for the cost of a meal up to the maximum allowances shown below, provided that you attach receipts to your payment form.

Limits for the amount that can be claimed for meals / refreshments:

Period of absence	Maximum amount to claim
Day subsistence – away from your base for over 5 hours (including between 12:00 and 14:00)	£5
Day subsistence – away from your base for over 10 hours and returning after 7pm	£15
Night subsistence meals allowance - where you are required to stay overnight - Per 24 hours period Where breakfast is included in the hotel rate, the allowance reduces to £20. (this allowance is to cover breakfast, lunch and an evening meal and so if lunch is also provided as part of a catered meeting, a further £5 should be deducted and a maximum of £15 should be claimed for the evening meal).	£25

To help demonstrate that expenses are being claimed to recover the cost of travel on behalf of the HRA, we request that expense claims are supported by valid receipts (or supporting information as above) for activity lead approval.

The cost of any alcoholic beverages will not be reimbursed.

7.9 Carer’s allowance

You can claim for costs incurred for the care of children, a dependent relative or their own carer requirements when necessarily incurred because of your involvement activity with the HRA. You will need to receive approval for any arrangement in advance from your HRA activity lead and provide receipts. Family members or friends used for care who can't provide an invoice cannot be re-imbursed. The allowance should cover costs incurred up to the following hourly limits:

Carer type	Hourly limit
Childcare	£9 an hour, £11 an hour in London
Dependent relative care	£20 an hour
Carer’s allowance	£20 an hour

7.10 Carer’s costs

If it is necessary for an informal (unpaid) carer (such as a relative or friend) to accompany you for your work with the HRA, their expenses (travel, accommodation and meals / refreshments) can also be covered. We normally pay directly for these expenses or if agreed with your HRA activity lead we can reimburse them after the event with receipts.

7.11 Personal assistants and support workers

If you use a personal assistant (PA) or support worker to accompany you, their expenses and costs can also be covered. You will need to discuss any such arrangement in advance with your HRA activity lead. The HRA will book accommodation and travel in advance and can pay your personal assistant or support worker directly.

Remember if you are in any doubt about whether you are entitled to have your expenses reimbursed by the HRA please check with your HRA activity lead before spending any money. The HRA has the right to refuse to reimburse you for any unreceipted, unapproved or unreasonable expense claims.

7.12 Assistance Animals

People who require the support of an assistance animal, for example a guide dog, will be booked into suitable accommodation and arrangements for accessible travel will be made. Any additional cost for their assistance animal will be covered by the HRA when approved by the HRA activity lead.

7.13 Reasonable Adjustments

It is widely recognised that public contributors may face barriers to participate in involvement activities, some of which can be addressed by ensuring our payments policy encourages fair payment and avoids bias or discrimination. Everyone’s personal circumstances are different, and this policy cannot address all possible scenarios. However, we are committed to taking action to try and resolve any challenges you may experience. Please get in touch with your HRA activity lead if you have any access and support needs that we have not considered or suggestions for improvement of this policy.

8. Honoraria for Involvement

Payments are honoraria and offered in recognition of the commitment made. Payment does not imply a contract. It is not intended to replicate salary or consultancy rates. Involvement in an activity does not imply or guarantee involvement in future activities nor constitute an ongoing relationship. When we involve patients and the public the work we do is undertaken with and by them working as advisers with our staff. It is in recognition of this that we offer you an honorarium for your involvement.

The HRA will always make clear what honoraria, if any, will be offered when an opportunity to be involved in our work is made available. It is then your choice as to whether you take part, and whether you accept any payment that is offered. We use the word honoraria to describe the money you may be offered for the contribution of time, expertise and skills.

Your HRA activity lead will clarify how much you should expect to receive for each piece of work that you support. Payment for reading and preparation in advance should also be included and the time you are expected to spend will be made clear at the outset. Everyone will be offered the same amount for the same activity.

If you think that you might need to spend significantly more time than we have expected, please contact your HRA activity lead before continuing.

The HRA involves the public in several ways, which include asking people to:

contribute to the development and drafting of policies and procedures, reports, website content and other documentation, which may be done in person or by email, phone or online meeting
attend workshops or meetings with staff and other contributors to work with them to provide comments or contribute their views
work alongside staff members of project teams developing new areas of work
be a member of an interview panel or stakeholder engagement exercise for recruitment of staff or to appoint an organisation to do some work for the HRA
be a member of a HRA led group that meets regularly
be a member of an HRA-led task and finish group to develop policy, practice and guidance
contribute to the development and delivery of training sessions for staff
work with our communications team to write a story or blog

The payment scale adopted by the HRA and a number of other organisations is based on guidance agreed with the Department of Health in 2025 and is based on the activity. It is the activity that determines the rate that is paid. Each of the rates of payment below may cover one-off activities or those that take place over a longer period, for example being the member of a steering or advisory group for a piece of work. The relevant honorarium may be paid for each task of that length of time or for the whole piece of work depending on the length of time elapsed between separate tasks.

The table below should be used in conjunction with the Community members payment policy to decide the payment rate for each activity.

The different levels of honoraria paid by the HRA for involvement:

Description of involvement activity	Honorarium
For involvement in a very brief task which needs no preparation and a short amount of time. This might be a short meeting, sign off a short document or web content, or review of a social media post.	£13.80
For involvement in brief tasks or activities that may require little or no preparation and which equate to up to half a day in total. This might be one or more calls or brief meetings or several rounds of written input by email. One of two rates may be offered depending on the amount of input and time required.	£27.50 or £55
For involvement in a task or activity which equates to approximately half a day’s activity which could include working in person with staff or by phone, online meeting, reading materials or corresponding via email over several occasions.	£82.50
For involvement in all-day activities where the rate covers both preparation for and attendance at meetings and any follow-up activities after a meeting. Even if the activity is scheduled for part of the day, this rate will apply for in-person meetings as in most circumstances the travel required will take up the entire day. The same daily honorarium is offered for each day with a similar level of involvement.	£165

9. Important things to consider before receiving payment for involvement

9.1 Tax and national insurance

Honoraria are considered as income for tax purposes. You may need to pay tax and national insurance (NI) on any payment you receive for your involvement. This depends on your level of income, whether you are retired, self-employed and / or receiving state benefits. It is your responsibility to find out whether you do need to pay tax and / or NI and to pay what you owe as a result.

The general rule is that you are required to inform HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) if your total income (including the honoraria paid by HRA) is greater than your personal income tax allowance at the end of the financial year. Personal tax income allowances are set each year and depend on individual circumstances. Further information can be found on the HMRC website (www.direct.gov.uk/hmrc). If payment for your involvement takes you over your personal allowance, you will be required to declare it.

If you have any questions about tax or NI, it is best to contact the HMRC. You can find information on the HMRC website (www.direct.gov.uk/hmrc) or call the HMRC helpline on 0300 200 3300. We are sorry but HRA staff cannot help you with this.

Tax and National Insurance Contributions will not be deducted by the HRA unless you are already receiving payments via our payroll service. Your HRA activity lead will check if this is the case with our finance team before any activity starts.

9.2 Advice for people receiving welfare benefits

If you are receiving welfare benefits, it is vital that you seek independent advice before you accept any opportunity to get involved in the work of the HRA and any related offer of payment including reimbursement of expenses. Different benefits have different rules and set limits on what you can be paid before your benefits are affected. It is your responsibility to check whether you can receive any additional payments without this affecting your benefits. It is important to do this ahead of time - otherwise your benefits could be withdrawn.

HRA staff cannot provide you with advice on how payments may affect your benefits or how to deal with Jobcentre Plus. If you have any questions, it is best to contact your local Jobcentre Plus (National Jobcentre Enquiry Line: 0345 604 3719 or Jobcentre Plus or Citizens Advice (Consumer helpline 03454 040506.

However, the HRA can currently provide you with direct access to the Benefits Advice Service for Involvement which is a confidential specialist service delivered by Cardiff and Vale Citizens Advice.

The service can support you:

to make an informed decision on whether and how to get involved in the work of the HRA, based on current, reliable information on your benefits and the activity that you are involved in or being offered by the HRA
in corresponding with the Department for Work and Pensions about your involvement work.

For direct access to the service, please contact the public involvement team on public.involvement@hra.nhs.uk or 0207 104 8161.

9.3 People in receipt of health insurance payments

If you are receiving income from medical insurance, you should be aware that involvement activity, and especially acceptance of an involvement payment, may be a breach of your policy’s terms and conditions, and could put future insurance payments at risk.

This income might be through your employer because you are off work with illness, or something you receive through a private policy.

If you are not sure of the impact of an involvement activity on medical insurance arrangements, please contact your employer or insurance provider.

10. Working with external organisations to support involvement

In certain circumstances, we will commission specific engagement activities and/or work in partnership with external organisations, for example voluntary and community sector organisations, to enable particular groups to participate, especially those from ‘under-represented’ communities. HRA procurement procedures will be followed to commission this type of support.

If we commission an external organisation to lead or co-lead activity to engage with patients, carers and members of the public, it may be more appropriate for the external organisation’s policy around reimbursement of expenses and/or offering involvement payments to be used. For example, because the external organisation’s policy is more tailored or suitable to supporting the ‘target audience’ or because it allows greater flexibility, including in reimbursing expenses ‘on the day’ using petty cash (which the HRA cannot do).

Information about which policy is being followed, and therefore what expenses peoples can claim, how and from which organisation, will be made clear in advance. Where any alternative policy or approach to expenses reimbursement and involvement payments is followed, it should be in line with the ‘principles and rates’ set out in this policy.

11. Processing claims

To claim for reimbursement of expenses and payment of honoraria, if they are offered, we will send you a form to complete. If you have any difficulties completing the form, please ask your HRA activity lead for help.

Claims should be submitted to your HRA activity lead for their approval. They will check that claims are in line with the policy, agreements and authorise them for payment provided that all payment forms have been digitally ‘signed’ and include relevant receipts and documents.

Your HRA activity lead will check that:

Claims are for reasonable, validated expenses and are in accordance with the policy.
Evidence of receipts, attendance records or reasonable documented explanations where exceptional circumstances have been applied or agreed are attached to the payment form.

All claims for involvement honoraria or expenses should be claimed within one month of the last day of the activity taking place and within the financial year where possible. Claims received after one month will only be processed in exceptional circumstances.

If an event is cancelled with less than 24 hours’ notice, payment will still be offered for up to the first full day of the event or activity.

11.1 How will honoraria and expenses be paid?

Usually, honoraria for public involvement activities are paid via the Bankers’ Automated Clearing Services (BACS) which is a system in the UK for making payments directly from one bank account to another. To be set up to receive payments, please complete a BACS form available from your HRA activity lead. The bank account must be in your name.

Payment is made by BACS on behalf of the HRA by our outsourced payment provider, NHS Shared Business Service (SBS). The HRA processes BACS payments twice a week.

If you receive payment for honoraria and on this way, you will receive a remittance advice by email or post from NHS Shared Business Services.

Correctly completed forms can be expected to be paid within 30 days. On the rare occasion that things go wrong with the payment, please contact your HRA activity lead who will be able to follow this up for you.

REC and CAG Chairs, who are already on our payroll system will be paid honoraria for involvement via that system and not BACS. Your HRA activity lead will check with our finance team at the beginning of every activity to find out if you are already registered with us to be paid in this way

11.2 Changing your bank or address

If you have changed banks, moved address since the last time you received a BACS payment for involvement undertaken with the HRA, or haven’t received a payment for over 12 months, then you will need to complete a new BACS form, so that the finance system can be updated. This will prevent any delays in making payment to you. If you are unsure, then it is recommended that you complete a BACS form, which can be checked against the details on the finance system.

11.3 Payments to a third party

Arrangements cannot be made for honoraria for involvement to be paid to any person or organisation instead of directly to you for involvement work you do with the HRA.

12. Exceptional circumstances

Any event or circumstances not covered within the policy should be discussed first with your HRA activity lead, prior to you committing / agreeing any arrangements. The HRA cannot guarantee that any expenses outside of this policy will be paid without prior approval. Exceptional circumstances requests for out-of-pocket expenses of up to £50 can be approved by a member of the executive committee who will notify the Deputy Director of Finance. Where exceptional circumstances have been approved, evidence of the approval should be attached to the claim. Any other request under exceptional circumstances will need to be agreed with the Director of Finance.

13. Enquiries

Enquires associated with reimbursements or honoraria should be addressed in the first instance to your HRA activity lead.

14. Review

This policy should be reviewed every three years or when a change in policy or legislation requires it (whichever is earlier).

15. Screening Questions - HRA Equality Analysis and Data Protection Impact Assessment

Initial Equality Impact Assessment

An Equality Impact Assessment is an examination of a proposed function, strategy, procedure, practice, project, or decision to see if it could adversely affect those with protected characteristics.

Policy aims and outcomes

Give a brief summary of the aims, purpose and outcomes of the policy / procedure. Please include:

What is this policy intending to achieve?
How does it intend to achieve this?
Who is it intended to benefit, and how?
Are there any disbenefits for staff, volunteers, stakeholders, the public?

The policy covers how we will pay honoraria and expenses to the people we involve in our work (known as public contributors). It is based on guidance from the Department of Health and Social Care and a review of good practice amongst other national research organisations. It is for use by HRA staff who involve the public in their work and the people we involve.

The policy intends to ensure the efficient and proportionate payment of payment honoraria for involvement, which are a form of reward and recognition offered of the contribution public contributors make to the work of the HRA. The policy also intends to ensure the efficient reimbursement of involvement expenses and to ensure that these are incurred economically and sustainability in support of the HRA’s strategic and operational objectives.

The policy offers specific advice for people receiving welfare benefits, which could be impacted by receiving honoraria for involvement. The policy supports fair and accessible treatment, including the provision of reasonable adjustments where appropriate. It intends to achieve this by making provisions for public contributors to claim reimbursement of their reasonable travel, subsistence, and other costs associated with their role. It also makes provisions for the costs of carers, personal assistants or support workers to accompany public contributors, if needed, and provisions of a carer’s allowance.

The policy intends to benefit all public members who get involved in our work.

There is potential for disbenefits for people receiving welfare benefits, who receive payment honoraria for involvement. Different benefits have different rules and set limits on what can be paid before benefits are affected. Given this, we signpost to relevant organisations that can give advice to individuals that would potentially be impacted.

Assessment Questions to determine relevance and impact

1. Could the policy / procedure result in a positive impact upon the Public Sector Equality Duties to:

eliminate unlawful discrimination (Yes)
promote equality of opportunity (Yes)
foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not (Yes)

If you have answered YES to any of the questions in 1. above, please explain the impact you have identified.

By offering honoraria in recognition of people's time, the policy aims to make it possible for anyone to get involved, not only people who can afford to work for free. This reduces disadvantages for people with a low income.

The policy aims to eliminate disproportionate disadvantage for public contributors with protected characteristic who may need to occur additional expenses in relation to their role. For example, an individual with a disability requires a taxi to attend a training event or needs overnight accommodation. Throughout the policy reference is made to reasonable adjustments to help promote equity of opportunity for public contributors.

Public involvement brings diverse insights into our work. Making this affordable for everyone means we are more likely to create opportunities to learn from and about each other (fostering good relations).

2. Could the policy / procedure result in an adverse impact upon the Public Sector Equality Duties to:

eliminate unlawful discrimination (Yes)
promote equality of opportunity (Yes)
foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not (Yes)

If you have answered YES to any of the questions in 2. above, please explain the impact you have identified.

The HRA is unable to reimburse expenses without receipts which disadvantages people from collective communities who would normally rely on family or community for support with caring responsibilities as opposed to paying professional carers.

These communities are also people who are less well represented in research and as a result by not offering reimbursement without invoices we risk causing further exclusion.

Our finance team are aware that this is an issue, but it is a problem that we don't think we can find a solution to at the moment. We are a small organisation and while we do pay £5 to public contributors for the admin costs of attending an online meeting, Wi-Fi, printing etc... without receipts, we don't have a way to pay any other expenses without receipts. We have added this to our organisational risk register and are horizon scanning regularly with other organisations that involve members of the public in their work to see if we can find a solution.

3. Could the policy / procedure result in a positive impact on some of our workforce (including volunteers), stakeholders or the public because they have one or more of the protected equality characteristics:

Age (all and any age groups) (yes)
Disability (incl. mental, physical, sensory, long term health, neurodivergence) (yes)
Gender reassignment (thinking about transitioning, in the process of transitioning, or having transitioned, from one sex to another) (yes)
Marital/ Civil Partnership status (being married or civil partnered) (no)
Pregnancy/ maternity (pregnant, on maternity leave or breastfeeding after a return to work) (yes)
Race (ethnicity, skin colour, current and original nationality, citizenship, ethnic or national origins) (yes)
Religion or belief (incl. people with no religion or belief) (yes)
Sex (male, female) (yes)
Sexual orientation (attracted to the same/opposite/both sex(es)) (yes)
Please also consider characteristics not explicitly covered: non-binary gender identities; diverse sexual orientations (e.g. asexual); socioeconomic status; caring responsibilities; parental leave for partners (yes)

If you have answered yes to any of the protected characteristics above in question 3. please give further information about the potential positive impact:

The policy promotes inclusion as having a payments policy means that we are valuing the time of our public contributors and enabling people who could otherwise not afford to be involved, to do so. This demonstrates to our community that we are committed to inclusion.

4. Could the policy / procedure result in an adverse impact on some of our workforce (including volunteers), stakeholders or the public because they have one or more of the protected equality characteristics:

Age (all and any age groups) (yes)
Disability (incl. mental, physical, sensory, long term health, neurodivergence) (yes)
Gender reassignment (thinking about transitioning, in the process of transitioning, or having transitioned, from one sex to another) (no)
Marital/ Civil Partnership status (being married or civil partnered) (no)
Pregnancy/ maternity (pregnant, on maternity leave or breastfeeding after a return to work) (yes)
Race (ethnicity, skin colour, current and original nationality, citizenship, ethnic or national origins) (no)
Religion or belief (incl. people with no religion or belief) (no)
Sex (male, female) (no)
Sexual orientation (attracted to the same/opposite/both sex(es) (no)
Please also consider characteristics not explicitly covered: non-binary gender identities; diverse sexual orientations (e.g. asexual); socioeconomic status; caring responsibilities; parental leave for partners (yes)

If you have answered yes to any of the protected characteristics above in question 4. please give further information about the potential adverse impact:

The payments policy is long, and many people do not read long documents like this carefully. We draw people’s attention to section 9 when they get involved with us, as they could be disadvantaged if they are unaware of how receiving honoraria could impact their tax, benefits or health insurance.

Public contributors are asked to fill out an excel spreadsheet to claim honoraria and expenses. This could have an adverse impact on certain individuals who have one or more of the protected equality characteristics (i.e. a visually impaired individual).

The form requires a level of digital literacy and access to a computer that can open excel spreadsheets so people who only have mobile phones, or who are not digitally literate will need support.

We do offer to post forms to people who cannot complete them online and provide stamped addressed envelopes for their return, so they are not disadvantaged further.

There is potential that the policy may have an adverse impact on people receiving welfare benefits.

Different benefits have different rules and set limits on what can be paid before benefits are affected, and involvement payments can impact this. We subscribe to the Benefits advice service to support people to find out the impact of receiving payment for involvement.

Unclear remittance advice can make it complicated for people to track payments to specific activities and can make end of year tax returns difficult. The Involvement team can support people who are not sure what activity a payment relates to.

Honoraria are always considered as income for tax purposes, and this can mean people have to complete tax returns or if paid via payroll, claim tax back. We make people aware of this in our payments policy.

Payment terms for honoraria and expenses are 30 days. This timeframe could have an impact on people on low incomes; people from groups less likely to trust public sector organisations.

People on low incomes cannot always afford to pay expenses up front. Booking travel via the HRA contact can help with this.

To claim childcare costs, people need to provide invoices or other evidence of spending which impacts people likely to use informal childcare - friends and family. How can we mitigate this for people who rely on their family members for caring support?

Young people may be less likely to have their own bank account and so it may be more difficult to receive payment or expenses.

A section on working with under-represented groups has been added to address this.

People who are asylum seekers cannot easily receive payments; however, they are occasionally able to receive vouchers or small payments up to certain limits. We do not have a system to pay people with vouchers.

We do not have a clear system for recognising contributions in other ways than financial rewards. A next iteration of this policy should include recognition and reward so that non-monetary ways of thanking people for their involvement with us can be developed.

People who are in receipt of an income from medical insurance (either as an individual or through their employer) – for example because they are currently on sick leave from work – should be aware that involvement activity, and especially acceptance of an involvement payment, may be a breach of their policy’s terms and conditions, and could therefore put future insurance payments at risk.

5. Based on the responses above, please describe any actions that will be or have been taken to mitigate or minimise any negative impact for our workforce (including volunteers), stakeholders or the public, and to consolidate, communicate or build on any positive impact?

To help mitigate the potential impact of involvement honoraria on welfare benefits, we signpost within the policy to relevant organisations that can give independent advice to individuals that would potentially be impacted.

Section 9 includes mention of medical insurance payments and receiving payment while in receipt of sick pay

6. Where appropriate give details of any consultation carried out related to the policy or procedure

Consultation with the HRA Finance department, to align to staff/members expense policy where relevant.

This policy follows the “Payment for public in involvement in health and care research: a guide for organisations on employment status and tax” which was co-authored by staff here at the HRA alongside, NIHR, Health and Care Research Wales and a public contributor from Wales.

A review of other ALB Payments policies has been completed for alignment and to establish any areas not covered in the current policy (e.g. medical insurance payments & assistance animals).

The policy has been updated to align with the new Community payments policy which was developed with our community.

The payment rates have been updated to updated to align with NIHR rates approved by the DHSC in 2025.

7. Give details of any changes to be made to the policy or procedure as a result of this analysis.

Some changes to wording and examples given, to make the process and provisions (such as reasonable adjustments) as clear as possible.

Reasonable adjustments section added, section on the risk of undertaking involvement while in receipt of medical insurance payments, section added about assistance animals, section added about working with community organisations.

If you have answered YES to any of the questions in 2 and 4 above and the answers to question 5, 6 and 7 do not mitigate and adequately address the adverse impact, you may need to complete a full Equality Impact Assessment. Please consult the HRA ED&I Manager for further advice.

If further analysis is required, the Document Owner must be informed.

Is a full Equality Impact Assessment required? No

Author: Barbara Molony-Oates Public Involvement Manager, 3 March 2026

ED&I Manager reviewed: Alex Willis, Inclusion and OD Manager, 12 March 2026

Updated review: Alex Willis, Inclusion and OD Manager, 16th June 2026