The removal expenses policy will only apply to the staff groups below, and only if offered as part of your employment contract, either on a permanent or a fixed-term basis (funded from general revenue):
- Academics (including RCUK Assistant Professors, Clinical Assistant Professors, Clinical Associate Professors and Professors, Clinical Teaching Fellows and GP Educators)
- R&T Job Family (Academic and Teaching and Learning) Levels 4 (including 4a Teaching) and above
- APM and TS Job Family - Levels 4 and above
- Fertility Nursing Services
Our HR team is here to support you and can provide specific advice and guidance
How to contact HR
Additional considerations
If a new member of staff lives in Nottingham they would not normally be offered removal expenses (even if they fit in to the criteria above).
Removal expenses will normally be offered to new staff who, at the time of appointment (ie date of letter of appointment) live outside a radius of 30 miles from their base campus and who move to within 30 miles of their base campus. For the purpose of determining whether staff meet this criteria, the distance is measured using AA Route Planner and is the shortest practical distance by road between the relevant postcodes.
Staff are normally required to live within reasonable daily travelling distance to and from their University base. This is defined as a journey to or from the University, which is generally no more than one hour’s travelling time each way. Applications to reside beyond this limit will be considered only in exceptional circumstances by the Council of the University and should be made through the Vice-Chancellor. If and when this occurs a note will be made and put on the individual’s file, which clearly indicates that this over-rides the residence contract term.
Please note that removal expenses will not be paid where an individual does not move to within 30 miles of their base campus.
The full policy and claim form are available on the HR Recruitment Services SharePoint site. If you cannot access the HR Recruitment Services SharePoint site, please contact the HR Employment Support Services team.
Tax considerations
Will my relocation expenses be taxable?
The majority of relocation expenses will not be subject to tax/NIC as they are qualifying expenditure under the exempt limit of £8,000. In order to be a qualifying expense, a number of conditions must be met:
1) There must be a change of main residence due to:
- starting a new employment
- a change of the duties of his or her employment
- a change of the place where the duties are normally performed
2) The old residence must not be within reasonable daily travelling distance of the new normal place of work (ie more than 50 miles/60 minutes from your old home to campus) AND the new residence must be within reasonable daily travelling distance of the new normal place of work (ie less than 30 miles/60 minutes from your new home to campus)
3) The removal expenses must be incurred, or the removal benefits provided, before the last day of the year of assessment following the one in which the employee starts the new job (eg if an employee started on 1 July 2024, then the expenses must be incurred by the end of the following tax year (by 5 April 2026)
4) The types of expenses that qualify for exemption include:
- Disposal of old residence
- Acquisition of new residence
- Transporting belongings
- Travelling and subsistence
When will relocation expenses become taxable?
1) For qualifying relocation expenses, any amount over £8,000 will be taxable and is reported to HMRC on form P11D by 6 July following the end of the tax year. Employees then usually pay the income tax on the benefit often by way of an adjustment to their Pay As You Earn (‘PAYE’) tax code, which reduces the personal tax-free allowance by the value of the benefit provided. The personal allowance is the amount of income that is earned each year before tax becomes payable, therefore, by reducing this, more tax is paid over the year.
2) Any non-qualifying relocation expenses will be taxed through payroll as cash earnings
Last edited Apr 22, 2025