Pay, time and agreements
What you should be offered, and what to ask for
Rates, expenses, benefits and tax, written agreements, hours, and the support you can request.
Payment is not a perk. In the IBISES model it is one of the six steps, and the papers are direct about it: cost the role in the application, put payment systems in place, and pay in cash where possible rather than vouchers.
The rates NIHR uses
NIHR publishes the rates it expects to be offered to public contributors. They are a reference point, not a national wage. Use them to check that an offer is fair.
NIHR public contributor rates, verified from the reward policy
- GBP 27.50 for an activity requiring little or no preparation, about one hour.
- GBP 55 for about two hours, with some preparation, such as a virtual meeting with papers to read.
- GBP 82.50 for about half a day, such as co-delivering a half-day training session.
- GBP 165 for a full day of involvement or training.
- GBP 330 for activity with additional responsibility, such as chairing or co-chairing.
- GBP 13.80 for a short task of under half an hour, such as commenting on an abstract.
- Document review: GBP 55 for up to 50 pages, GBP 137.50 for 51 to 200 pages, GBP 220 for 201 to 400 pages, GBP 330 for more than 400.
- GBP 5 standing allowance per meeting held remotely from home, for phone, printing and internet.
Committee and advisory roles carry daily rates that rise by tier: GBP 165, GBP 247.50, GBP 330, GBP 400 and GBP 495 at the top tier. Those are committee roles, not link worker roles. Do not let a committee rate be used to justify an unpaid sessional post.
What the link worker rate should reflect
- Hours of session time, plus preparation and travel.
- The expertise you bring, which is not available elsewhere in the team.
- Comparability with other team members doing comparable work.
- Training hours, paid at the working rate.
Where a study pays by session, agree the session length and what counts as a session. A four-hour session that includes setup and travel is not an hour of work.
Expenses and the things that decide whether people can take part
Pay these, and say so in advance
- Travel, at an agreed rate, with public transport receipts not required for small amounts.
- Childcare or care costs.
- Phone and data, where the person uses their own.
- Food, where the session runs over a mealtime.
- Access costs: an interpreter, a taxi where public transport is not usable, a personal assistant.
Benefits and tax
Payment for involvement can affect means-tested benefits, and it is taxable income in most cases. NIHR funds a free and confidential Benefits Advice Service for people involved in NIHR-supported work. Two practical steps protect people.
- Give the person the benefits advice contact before their first paid session, not after.
- Offer the option of a lower payment or no payment, and record the choice. A person may prefer expenses only.
You do not need to become an expert in this. You do need to know that the question exists, and where the advice is.
Vouchers, cash and institutions
Vouchers are used because institutional finance systems find small cash payments difficult. They are a poor substitute: they restrict where money can be spent, they can be awkward to use, and they signal that the payment is a gift rather than a wage.
Three routes, in order of preference
- Direct payment to the person, through the organisation's payroll or a petty cash process approved in advance.
- Lump sum to the partner organisation, which then pays its link workers under its own arrangements. The IBISES paper names this route explicitly, to avoid institutional barriers and the need for vouchers.
- Vouchers, only where neither route is possible, and only with the person's agreement.
The written agreement
Nine items that must be in it
- The study, its funder and its reference.
- Your role and its title, in plain words.
- The tasks you are and are not expected to do.
- Hours, period, and how extra time is agreed.
- The rate, the payment route, and the payment date.
- Expenses, and how to claim them.
- Your named supervisor, and the supervision rhythm.
- Training you will receive, and when.
- What happens if the study changes, pauses or ends.
Add two more where they apply: authorship and acknowledgement expectations, and the route for raising a concern. Templates are on the templates page.
Time, and the honest cost of the role
Sessional work is flexible and unpredictable. That is a benefit to some and a barrier to others. Ask for three things: the schedule two weeks ahead, a minimum notice for cancellation, and payment for a session cancelled at short notice without good reason.
When payment goes wrong
- Ask in writing, with the dates and hours.
- Copy your supervisor, not the whole team.
- If a payment is late twice, ask for the escalation route in the agreement.
- Keep your own record. Hours, dates, tasks, payments received. It is your evidence.
The test of understanding
A study offers GBP 50 in vouchers for a three-hour evening session, plus one hour of travel each way. What do you raise, and how?
The rate is below the NIHR reference for the time involved, travel is unpaid, and the payment form is a voucher rather than cash. Raise it in writing before the session: the hours, the travel, the rate, the payment route, and whether expenses can be paid separately. Offer the alternative: a direct payment, or a lump sum to the partner organisation.