Last Updated on 29/02/2024
Trainees are expected to commute from home to their practice placements which may include for some distance across the North West region. This may also include staying away from home. If travelling from home to the university would be a shorter distance, the extra mileage is funded. Travel during work time is also often required, to attend meetings and home visits for example, and this is funded by the programme. Personal circumstances are always taken into account if this is a possibility, e.g., trainees with caring responsibilities would not be asked to stay away from home.
Claiming travel expenses
Travel expenses should be claimed using the NHS expenses form. These are submitted electronically to George Silverwood via g.silverwood@lancaster.ac.uk
| Mileage to academic teaching | No payment (regardless of teaching location) |
| Mileage to and from placement | At official rate (for distance exceeding home to base) |
| Mileage to clinical research | At official rate (for distance exceeding home to base) |
| Mileage within placement | At official rate |
In all cases the trainee’s base is the University teaching site. It is appreciated that a number of trainees who live some distance from their base may feel disadvantaged but the above arrangements are consistent with current employment arrangements. When trainees visit participants for their research work or go to a site to conduct research for their thesis or SRP research, claims can only be made when the distance is greater than home to base, and then only at official rate. For example, if a trainee lives 50 miles from Lancaster but is collecting data for research at a hospital base (or participant’s house) that is 48 miles from home, then no claim could be made. If the hospital base (or participant’s house) is 52 miles from home, then a claim can be made for 52-50 = 2 miles at official rate.
With regards to clinical research travel that takes place outside of the North-West region is costed to the £300 budget that trainees can use for research expenses. For these purposes the northwest region is defined as Cumbria, Cheshire/Wirral, Merseyside, Greater Manchester and Lancashire. Trainees therefore need to indicate on the NHS expenses form the county that the travel will take place within. For any travel that takes place outside of the North-West region trainees have to complete and return the research travel form to the Research Coordinator in addition to the NHS expense form. The NHS expense form must be completed for trainees to be reimbursed for any mileage incurred. More details on research expenses is available on the research expenses page of the online handbook.
Please note that conference travel is processed differently.