Petrol for volunteering

stephy110288

Hello,
Wondered if anyone could help me with this...
I volunteer for the NHS and I have to drive 22 miles there and 22 miles back which i'm more than happy to do. They pay me 29p per mile which I thought was ok, but alot of people have told me that it's not the "government rate" and they should pay more. I can't see the NHS making that kind of mistake but could anyone give me any info? I don't think that what they give me quite covers the petrol it costs me but I love my volunteer placement and it's great experience for me. I'm about to start with HMP this week and have to drive 35 miles there and 35 miles back for this one, would be good to know how much they are supposed to give me as everyone is telling me that I'm being ripped off.
Many thanks in advance

hcb42

the HMRC has a guideline, but that is it, organisations can pay less than that.

If you are getting 29p and the overall will cover your mileage - and it is voluntary, then I would think that is fair. My last organisation only paid 32p and that was the rate all employees received.

You will receive a little over £20 which will more than cover you for the journey, assuming you will use 2 gallons or less.

Noctu

In my experience it depends wholly on the trust. I volunteered for Tees, Esk & Wear Valleys and they paid mileage (can't remember how much but I think around the same per mile), I then looked into volunteering for another trust and they scoffed when I asked if they paid mileage and didn't even have a volunteer department!

stephy110288

Thank you, I wasn't too bothered about it but its my partners car and he was stressing about them not covering me for wear and tear for the driving. But as the experience is fantastic for me and my degree I've been happy with whatever they can give me!

stephy110288

Noctu wrote: »

In my experience it depends wholly on the trust. I volunteered for Tees, Esk & Wear Valleys and they paid mileage (can't remember how much but I think around the same per mile), I then looked into volunteering for another trust and they scoffed when I asked if they paid mileage and didn't even have a volunteer department!

Oh no! I hope HMP give me something or I'm going to struggle to volunteer once a week with them as it's pretty far away!

moose1982

You can claim the difference between the 29p and 45p per mile (which is the max HMRC will allow before it's taxable) via a P87 at the end of the tax year. HMRC will adjust your tax code, I've had this for a few years now.

Tiddlywinks

The way I see it... you're volunteering and are obviously getting something out of it for yourself i.e. experience, competency examples etc. Surely it's a trade-off isn't it?

I think the fact they pay any mileage is pretty good TBH - after all, it's your choice to volunteer somewhere miles from your home.

stephy110288

That's great! I will do that. If HMP don't pay me any at all would I be able to claim for those miles as well?

moose1982

stephy110288 wrote: »

That's great! I will do that. If HMP don't pay me any at all would I be able to claim for those miles as well?

I'm not sure on that if I'm honest, the form asks how many miles you've done and how much money you were paid for it. It also has boxes for things like hotel stays and suchlike but you can ignore those.

Bare in mind you won't actually get 45p per mile, it'll be an adjustment of your tax code and so you'll not pay as much income tax in your job.

stephy110288

Every little helps! I'm a student so alot of my money goes on petrol for my volunteering at the moment, if it means less tax out of my job when I graduate it's all good Thank you for your help

moose1982

Tiddlywinks wrote: »

The way I see it... you're volunteering and are obviously getting something out of it for yourself i.e. experience, competency examples etc. Surely it's a trade-off isn't it?

I think the fact they pay any mileage is pretty good TBH - after all, it's your choice to volunteer somewhere miles from your home.

While that is true and I agree with the points made, a volunteer shouldn't be out of pocket for helping out.

Volunteer schemes are getting harder to get onto these days (believe it or not!) and I've actually seen some which require the applicant to hold a relevant degree :eek: