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Home > Our departments > Finance Services > Financial regulations and policies > Expenses and Purchasing Card Policy > Appendix B
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Expenses and Purchasing card Policy

APPENDIX B

Permanent and Temporary Workplaces

Whether a place is classed as a temporary or permanent workplace may affect whether reimbursement for a journey is classed as taxable or not.

As set out in Appendix A, travel from the employee’s home to a permanent place of work will not be reimbursed as it is not a business expense and would be taxable.

Journeys relating to an employee’s attendance at a temporary place of work are classed as business travel and would therefore be reimbursable.

The following guidance is based on HM Revenue & Customs terminology and definitions. Where the circumstances are complex staff should contact Human Resources Pay and Benefits Office to seek clarification.

Permanent place of work – this is a place at which an employee attends regularly for the performance of duties of University employment. Regular attendance is frequent, follows a pattern or is the place the employee usually attends for the majority of time for which he/she is likely to hold the employment. The proportion of an employee’s time spent working at a particular workplace is a factor in determining whether it is a permanent workplace but attendance of only one or two days a week may make a permanent workplace if done on regular basis and if the visits are for a continuing purpose (e.g. lecturing on a course – but see below the other factors that are taken into account).

Temporary place of work – this is a place to which an employee goes to perform a task of limited duration or for a temporary purpose. Any period of continuous work that lasts, or is likely to last, more than 24 months is a permanent workplace. Continuous work is a period throughout which the duties of the employment are performed to a significant extent at that place and this is taken to be the case if the employee spends 40% or more of their working time at that place.

It is possible to have more than one permanent workplace during the same period and in the same employment. The sort of things that will point to a workplace being a second permanent workplace are:

  • The employee regularly performs a significant part of their duties there.
  • People would expect to be able to contact the employee at the second location.
  • The employee has a desk, office or support services at the second location.
  • If the employee regularly spends 40% of their time at the second location it would be likely that the second location was a permanent workplace.

The situation of having two permanent workplaces will be comparatively rare because where the purpose of each visit to the second workplace is temporary or each visit is self-contained, the second workplace is still regarded as temporary even if visits are regular and frequent.

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