Payments process for public contributors

Introduction

This section is to inform public contributors about how our payments process works, so is written with them in mind. There is a separate section for those administering payments within the core team which is based on this content.

Background

This process covers all Public Contributors working with core members of the ARC team and those involved in the governance and management of the ARC and the ARC Themes.  It also includes details about payments for community members or groups that we work with.  In the main this includes ARC PPI Champions, Strategy Board Public Partners and other public members invited to undertake specific activities with the ARC. It does not specifically relate to public contributors involved with research projects.

In principle anything the ARC asks you to do should include a payment for your time.  The details of the payment offered for your time should be included with the task/activity request.  It should also be clear how long the task or activity is expected to take, including additional reading time for meetings, if required (please see below).  We always aim to be inclusive and should make it clear on tasks that additional time may be available for those where there may be access barriers such as dyslexia or when English is not a first language.  You should also be given an opportunity to discuss if you think the task or activity might take longer than indicated.

If the request does not include a reference to payment for your time please go back to whoever has initiated the request and ask them for this information.

Your expenses should always be paid, specifically travel expenses for in person meetings or the fixed online meeting expense for virtual meetings.  If you think you will incur other expenses (e.g. carer costs, accommodation, costs for meals etc) you must discuss these in advance with whoever initiated the request as they must be pre-approved (or approach a member of the core PPI team).

If you require travel (outside of Oxford) or accommodation, please speak to the core PPI team who can, where possible, organise this for you through the University systems.

We have included some basic information about payment and expense rates in the table below.  For additional information please refer to the PPI Payment Policy document (Resources — Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford).

Basic payment rates – the basic principle is that we offer £25 per hour for all activities and tasks Exceptions to this rule are given below) – it will often be presented in one of the following ways:
£12.50 per ½ hour	This rate can be used for any activity – meetings, other tasks, pre-reading/preparation for meetings, facilitation or presentation type tasks etc.
£25 per hour	This rate can be used for any activity – meetings, other tasks, pre-reading/preparation for meetings, facilitation or presentation type tasks etc.
£75 for half day	(up to 3 hours)
£150 per day	(between 4 and 6 hours)
Variable rates	We may on occasion offer a higher rate if we are inviting you personally to an event that involves something we consider to be outside of the normal scope of your role e.g. presenting or hosting.  The rate will be made clear at the time.
Exceptions to basic payment rates – there are a few exceptions to the basic payment rates as follows:
No payment or expenses offered	When we are simply sharing an opportunity with you we cannot offer payment.  This might include opportunities with other groups/research (they may offer payment); a learning/knowledge opportunity we think you might be interested in (we only pay for time for activities and events we need you to attend or undertake).
No payments offered.  We may be able to offer expenses.	When an ARC event is widely publicised and has capacity for a large audience we do not pay an attendance fee for public members.  For example if we arrange a conference with a large capacity we will not offer payments to attend unless you are personally invited or are asked to present or chair a session.
Rates for community organisation representatives. Options include: No paymentA £75 attendance feeAn hourly based rate of £25 per hourA variable rate	Whether a fee is offered will depend on several factors including: is the organisation already funded for this work;is the person(s) attending doing this as a part of an already funded role/hours; are we offering a fee to the individual(s) or the organisation. In addition we will also consider the conditions listed above (including the ‘exceptions’). The decision should be made at the time and the offer made clear in any invitation. Expenses will be offered if the community organisation is unable to fund them.
Expenses – you are encouraged to use public transport (economy) where possible
Online meeting expense (this is available for all online meetings and is to cover costs such as power, data usage etc)	£5.00
Mileage	45p per mile
Parking	Please let Una know if you will require parking in Oxford
Carer & other expenses	Please contact XXXX to discuss

The payment rates can be used for activities/tasks (such as reading and commenting on documents) or for attending meetings/events.  Payments for ‘non-meeting’ types of activities/tasks are likely to be based on ‘average expectations’ for how long something might take – if you think it might take you longer then please talk to the person asking you to undertake the task about how long you think it might take.

In principle payments for meetings cover time for preparation and attendance at meetings, however if there is a lot of pre-reading and/commenting on documents for meetings (more than half an hour of reading) then it is reasonable to expect to be offered a ‘reading time’ payment.  If this is not offered and you think it should have been then please ask.

Different categories of payments

Requests for involvement may come from different sources but the two main sources for ARC related activity will be from:

• Core team members within the ARC
• Theme members

Who and where the request originates from is an indicator of who will be responsible for paying for your time and your expenses.  The university is a complex place and if requests come from other people or places they may not be ARC related and different rules and processes might apply.  You can always check with the core PPI team if a request is ARC related.

The main requests for ARC involvement are:

• Core: Attendance at Strategy Board meetings and/or PPI Champions Group activity including, attendance at meetings, commenting on papers etc.  These requests will usually come from the core team and they will be responsible for processing payments.
• Core: Attendance at main theme meetings – these won’t always come from the core team but payment is processed by them.
• Core: Other involvement opportunities that might come via the core PPI team or the core ARC team might include: PPI Monitoring, attendance at training/events, assessment of funding applications etc.  The core team will be responsible for processing payments.
• Theme: Activities instigated by the theme e.g. additional meetings, reviewing theme documents etc.  The theme will be responsible for processing these payments.

Other PPI opportunities may come via the ARC but are not ARC related.  We will do our best to be clear that they are not ARC related and we are simply passing on opportunities that might be of interest.

Who should action and process payments?

As far as possible, relevant ARC staff should action the payment for tasks and activities they initiate (i.e. initiate the payment process).  The main people who will process payments (i.e. make sure the forms are completed appropriately and submitted for payment) will be:

Core
Theme 1
Theme 2
Theme 3
Theme 4
Theme 5
Theme 6 etc

How are payments processed?

Financial systems are complex in the University and vary between departments and teams.  The following is how the core team will handle the payments process:

• We will aim to submit payment and expense claims within 2 weeks of an activity being completed.  Due to limited capacity within the team we are currently operating a monthly payment system for fees. Expense claims are not affected and we will still aim to deal with these as quickly as possible and usually within 2 weeks of receiving details from the claimant.
• Most claims are submitted electronically but we can provide paper versions.
• Fees and related expenses must be submitted on separate forms (except for the online expense payment which can be submitted on the form to claim the fee. 
• The first time you undertake an activity that you are paid for we will ask if you would like to complete the claim form(s) yourself or whether you would like us to do it for you.  Either option is fine but most people ask us to complete it for them.
• If you choose to do it yourself we will send you the correct form(s) and ask you to complete it; you will then need to return it to us and we will check, authorise and submit it for payment.  This process may take slightly longer.
• If you would like us to complete the form(s) for you we will ask for the following information:
  • Full name
  • Postal address
  • Email
  • Bank account details (sort code and account number)
  • National Insurance number (fee form only). 
  • National Insurance number (fee form only). 

All this information is required to complete the form(s).  We will then securely retain this information for future payments.  We will complete, authorise and submit the payment.  We will share a copy of the completed form with you.

• Once the claim(s) is submitted the payment is processed through the department finance team.  This is likely to take 1-2 weeks.  We would expect you to receive payment within 4 weeks of it being submitted.  We will let you know if we are aware of any delays.
• Please let us know if you DO NOT receive payment.

Public Contributor responsibilities

We recommend that Public Contributors also take some personal responsibility for monitoring their own payments for activities and tasks undertaken.  For example:

• Keep a record of tasks and activities you are asked to do and a note of the payment for your time that is offered.
• Agree any out of pocket expenses (other than local travel) you might incur with the relevant staff member or core PPI team.
• If you require travel beyond Oxford discuss this with the core PPI team, as they may be able to arrange train travel etc for you through the University systems.
• Keep details of out of pocket expenses incurred and keep any relevant receipts.
• Follow up with whoever initiated a task if:
  • payment is not mentioned at the outset or
  • payment being actioned and processed is not communicated or
  • payment is not received.
• Make sure you know who the contact is in your theme for payments and have their contact details.
• Contact the core PPI team if you are not getting anywhere with the named contact, or with the person who initiated the task or activity.
• If you are having difficulty with the core PPI team about payments, please refer to XXXXX