Associate Payroll and Pensions Guidance Version 4.1 / March Page 1 of 17
Contents 1. Introduction...4 2. Expenses...4 2.1 Subsistence... 5 2.2 Childcare Expenses... 5 2.3 Admin Costs... 5 2.4 Postage Costs... 6 2.5 Subsistence whilst travelling outside of the UK... 6 3. Travel...7 3.1 Travelling by Car... 7 3.2 Travelling by Train... 8 3.3 Travelling by Taxi/Minicab... 9 3.4 Travelling by Plane to the UK and within the UK... 9 4. International Air Travel...9 4.1 Airport taxes and visas... 10 4.2 Eurostar Travel... 10 4.3 Getting to and from your hotel... 11 4.4 Currency exchange costs... 11 4.5 Insurance... 11 5. Overnight Accommodation... 12 6. Fees... 13 6.1 Income Tax... 13 Page 2 of 17
6.2 Marking... 14 6.3 Meetings... 15 6.4 Standards Verification... 15 6.5 Senior Associate Responsibility... 15 7. Teacher Release... 16 8. Associate Pension... 16 Page 3 of 17
1. Introduction This guidance document describes the allowances that you can claim for whilst you are undertaking work on behalf of Pearson and also details information about fees for work you are contracted for. For further, more detailed information on your fees, please refer to your contract. For expense claims, you will be required complete a separate claim via our online iexpenses system, for work completed for each role you are contracted for. Fees for services are paid directly to you, without you needing to claim them. Pearson reserves the right to refuse to reimburse any expenses they deem unnecessary. Pearson reserves the right to amend this document at any time. 2. Expenses This section will outline the expenses you can claim whilst working as an Associate on behalf of Pearson. You can claim travel expenses if you have to travel to a meeting on our behalf or whilst carrying out your contracted role. You are required to use the most cost-effective form of transport, and comply with all requirements within this guidance document. We will pay your expenses, within 30 days of the claim being made, directly to the bank account you have registered in ADP Freedom. Pearson reserves the right to place limits on or refuse the reimbursement of expenses where we consider expenses claimed to be unreasonable or not in line with this guidance document. In the event of travel to or from an address other than the home address stated on our records, travel expenses may not exceed those from the usual residence. All claims for reimbursement of expenses must be submitted to Pearson within 3 months of that work being completed. Failing this, Pearson reserves the right not to reimburse those expenses. Pearson reserves the right to investigate claims made. Where a receipt cannot be provided expenses will require senior approval within the Associate Payroll and Pensions team. These expenses will only be approved subject to satisfactory explanations being received for lack of receipt and the expense amount being deemed to be reasonable. You can make your claim by completing a form on iexpenses which can be accessed via Gateway. For assistance please refer to the Introduction to iexpense document also available via Gateway; for further assistance please contact the Associate Helpdesk directly. Page 4 of 17
2.1 Subsistence Pearson has set rates which will be reimbursed for the cost of meals, dependent on certain restrictions. Where an overnight stay is required you will be able to claim an evening meal up to the cost of 25.00. Where you have to leave home before 6:30am you will be able to claim for breakfast up to the cost of 7.50. Pearson will not reimburse breakfast costs where an overnight stay has been provided. Refreshments for journeys will not be reimbursed. At all day meetings, lunch and refreshments will be provided to you. Pearson will not reimburse for lunch when attending a full day meeting. If this is not the case, you will be able to claim lunch up to the value of 7.50. Pearson will not reimburse any alcoholic beverages. You may not claim on behalf of your colleagues, you will only be able to claim one cost, per day. The use of hotel room mini-bars for drinks and snacks will not be reimbursed. If you have any special dietary requirements, which may mean that you require allowances outside the set rate, please contact the Associate Payroll and Pensions team. Please note that these values are not allowances; and you must provide a full itemised receipt with your claim. Pearson will not reimburse expenses where itemised proof of purchase is not supplied, a credit or debit card slip with the total amount is not sufficient. 2.2 Childcare Expenses We will cover childcare costs as detailed below: You have used an OFSTED registered child-minder an invoice from the child care provider needs to be submitted for any claims made. Childcare will only be reimbursed where it is required over and above normal arrangements i.e. evenings and weekends. Please contact the Associate Payroll and Pensions Team, if you are unsure. Childcare costs that do not adhere to the above will not be reimbursed. 2.3 Admin Costs Page 5 of 17
Whilst working on behalf of Pearson, you will need to provide your own equipment for the purpose of performing your duties. Pearson will not reimburse claims made for equipment or consumables. This includes but is not limited to: Stationery Printer ink Photocopying & Paper Internet usage from home Computer equipment Telephone costs If you are required to attend an online standardisation or online meeting you may purchase a headset up to the cost of 15.00. If you have been requested to purchase a Dictaphone to complete your duties, you may do so up to the value of 50.00. This will need to be claimed back via iexpenses. This will not be reimbursed if the claim has not been authorised by either the Associate Payroll and Pensions Team or the Training from Pearson Team. Phone calls may be reimbursed at the discretion of the Associate Payroll and Pensions team where an itemised breakdown is provided. 2.4 Postage Costs You must ensure you use the Parcelforce service wherever possible. If you are required to packaging and return work (where Parcelforce is not available) you are able to claim the cost back, ensuring that evidence is provided. 2.5 Subsistence whilst travelling outside of the UK Pearson will reimburse reasonable expenses for a meal and refreshment provided the expenses are necessarily and exclusively incurred as a result of work conducted on Pearson s behalf. Where the following are not provided as part of a hotel booking you may claim up to: Breakfast - 10 Lunch - 15 Page 6 of 17
Dinner - 25 Other refreshments/snacks - 10 per day There are countries where we would not expect these limits to be met; where the cost of living is lower than that of the UK. The use of hotel room mini-bars for drinks and snacks will not be reimbursed. If circumstances arise which lead to expenditure in excess of these figures a full explanation will need to be provided to Associate Payroll and Pensions team in order for it to be authorised. 3. Travel 3.1 Travelling by Car Car mileage and Congestion Charge will not be paid for events or meetings held in London, unless previously agreed and confirmed in writing by a member of staff within the Associate Payroll and Pensions team. Requests should be made using the payroll and pensions online query form here. Confirmation of this agreement should be attached to your expense claim. Mileage to meetings/visits to centres will be paid at the rate of 0.45 per mile. This rate is to cover the running costs, e.g. petrol, oil, tyres, as well as the depreciation of the average use of a medium-sized car. Pearson reserves the right to verify the mileage claimed for by using computer software. Car parking charges necessarily incurred will be reimbursed up to an expected maximum of 15.00 per day. If tickets or other evidence of expense cannot be provided details of the circumstances should be given instead. If the only car park available is over this limit, you will need approval in writing from the Associate Payroll and Pensions Team, before making a claim. Requests should be made using the payroll and pensions online query form here. Toll charges for a private car will be reimbursed where necessarily incurred. Details and a receipt must be provided. Under no circumstances will parking or other fines be reimbursed. Please make sure that your car insurance is amended so that it includes use for business purposes. Pearson is not liable for any damage caused to your vehicle or possessions whilst you are conducting work on behalf of Pearson. Page 7 of 17
Hire cars may only be used in exceptional circumstances, where there is no appropriate alternative and must be authorised in advance by the Associate Payroll and Pensions team. Car hire can be booked via Capita, but unfortunately not on the Capita portal. You will need to contact the support team on 08442 455 724 or capitatravelsupport@capita.co.uk 3.2 Travelling by Train Travel to meetings/visits on behalf of Pearson, within the UK, should normally be by rail. You must use the Capita portal for all rail travel and Transport for London (TfL) Travelcards. To book rail travel please access the portal on: Step 1 - Please click on the link below to access the Capita portal to register: https://www.capitatravelandevents.co.uk/portal/login.aspx Step 2 - Enter your username - PA followed by your Associate number (e.g. PA123456) Step 3 Enter your password. Click Sign In. If you are accessing for the first time, do not enter a password. Click on Activate Account Step 4 - You will receive an email instructing you to set up a password If you have any difficulty accessing the Capita portal or need any assistance then please contact the support team on 08442 455 724 or capitatravelsupport@capita.co.uk All rail travel and travel on public transport within London should be purchased in advance via the Capita portal. Where the major portion of a journey is made by train, car mileage may be claimed for one return journey from home to the nearest appropriate station. This can be claimed via iexpenses. Advance tickets should be purchased where available, as these are significantly more cost effective than anytime fully flexible fares. Open return tickets are no longer accepted under this guidance document. Tickets must be bought in advance on specific trains, to ensure the most cost effective transport. Tickets can be collected on the day from the station of travel, or can be printed at home. All rail bookings should be made at least 7 days in advance of the planned departure date. If travel within London is required, a TfL Travelcard should be bought at least 7 days in advance via the Capita booking portal. Oyster Card travel is only permitted where the total cost is under 12.50 per day. Where Oyster Card travel is being claimed, a breakdown of travel will need to be provided to support your claim. This can be downloaded from the TfL Website, or printed at most TfL London Underground ticket machines. Page 8 of 17
When making a booking, you will be asked for the following information: Associate number. Coding details: as stated within your contract, training invitation or email from your Pearson contact. For further information on how to book rail travel, please visit the FAQ page here. 3.3 Travelling by Taxi/Minicab Claims for taxis and minicabs will be accepted only where public transport or the use of a private car is not available or not appropriate. When claiming for taxis or minicabs, brief details of the circumstances that made such travel necessary, together with receipts, should be provided. It is not expected that taxis be used in central London at any time as public transport facilities are readily available. If you are registered as a disabled person, and are therefore required to travel by taxi, please let us know using the payroll and pensions online query form here. 3.4 Travelling by Plane to the UK and within the UK Domestic flights within the UK should only be taken where this is the most cost effective method of transport. This should be booked using the Capita portal. Flights will not be reimbursed if booked independently and expensed via iexpenses. 4. International Air Travel From 3rd April all air travel must be booked through Capita. To book rail travel please access the portal on: Step 1 - Please click on the link below to access the Capita portal to register: https://www.capitatravelandevents.co.uk/portal/login.aspx Step 2 - Enter your username - PA followed by your Associate number (e.g. PA123456) Step 3 Enter your password. Click Sign In. If you are accessing for the first time, do not enter a password. Click on Activate Account Step 4 - You will receive an email instructing you to set up a password Page 9 of 17
If you have any difficulty accessing the Capita portal or need any assistance then please contact the support team on 08442 455 724 or capitatravelsupport@capita.co.uk All air travel must be booked in advance via the Capita portal. Where the major portion of a journey is made by air travel, car mileage may be claimed for one return journey from home to the nearest airport. This can be claimed via iexpenses. You can only claim mileage for the return journey if this method of transport is more cost effective then travelling by rail. When making a booking, you will be asked for the following information: Associate number. Coding details: as stated within your contract, training invitation or email from your Pearson contact. For further information on how to book air travel, please visit the FAQ page here. For Continental/Europe flights you will only be able to travel in economy class. For Intercontinental flights you will be able to travel in economy & premium economy class; however if the premium economy price is significantly higher than the economy price an authorisation will be required before the booking is made. If you are delivering training for Training from Pearson, please research your flights on the Capita Portal and seek authorisation by emailing internationaltfp@pearson.com. When seeking authorisation, please provide the team with the Event Code, Flight Details (airports, departure time & arrival times) & Flight Cost. Once this has been authorised (you will receive an email confirmation), you will be able to book your flight. 4.1 Airport taxes and visas Capita will be able to support you with any visas that need to be obtained. In the instance that an Associate needs to pay for the visa directly, Pearson will cover the cost of the visa and it should be claimed via iexpenses. Pearson will also cover the cost of any additional airport taxes incurred. 4.2 Eurostar Travel You are now able to book Eurostar Travel via the Capita portal. You will only be able to book travel via Eurostar if this is the most cost effective method of travel. To book Eurostar travel, please access the portal on: Page 10 of 17
Step 1 - Please click on the link below to access the Capita portal to register: https://www.capitatravelandevents.co.uk/portal/login.aspx Step 2 - Enter your username - PA followed by your Associate number (e.g. PA123456) Step 3 Enter your password. Click Sign In. If you are accessing for the first time, do not enter a password. Click on Activate Account Step 4 - You will receive an email instructing you to set up a password If you have any difficulty accessing the Capita portal or need any assistance then please contact the support team on 08442 455 724 or capitatravelsupport@capita.co.uk Once your Eurostar booking has been completed, you will receive an E-ticket via your selected confirmation email address. When you arrive at the check-in gates, simply scan the barcode on your paper ticket or on your mobile. Some tickets, valid on Eurostar but issued by other carriers may not have a barcode so you'll need to check in at one of the check in desks. You will only be able to travel in economy class on Eurostar. 4.3 Getting to and from your hotel On occasions regional staff will often make local provision for trips to and from the airport. Airport limousines or buses are often available for a small fee and usually travel to and from all major hotels. Hotels at your destination will often provide courtesy buses. All of these options are considerably most cost effective than taxis and should be taken if available. If airport transfers are required these can be booked via Capita. Unfortunately these cannot be booked via the Capita portal so you will need to contact the support team on 08442 455 724 or capitatravelsupport@capita.co.uk. Please book transfers at the same time as you are booking your hotel/flights. 4.4 Currency exchange costs Pearson will reimburse any fee incurred for exchanging currency. It is usually preferable to exchange currency in the UK before you depart. 4.5 Insurance Pearson provides insurance cover (including medical expenses) and will not contribute to or reimburse the cost of any other travel insurance policy you may purchase or hold. Page 11 of 17
5. Overnight accommodation An accommodation booking service is available to Associates who are unable to get to a meeting on time by travelling on the day. Accommodation bookings can only be made if you are required to leave home before 6.00am on the day of the meeting, in order to attend on time. To book hotel accommodation please access the Capita portal on: Step 1 - Please click on the link below to access the Capita portal to register: https://www.capitatravelandevents.co.uk/portal/login.aspx Step 2 - Enter your username - PA followed by your Associate number (e.g. PA123456) Step 3 Enter your password. Click Sign In. If you are accessing for the first time, do not enter a password. Click on Activate Account Step 4 - You will receive an email instructing you to set up a password If you have any difficulty accessing the Capita portal or need any assistance then please contact the support team on 08442 455 724 or capitatravelsupport@capita.co.uk Hotel bookings must be made a minimum of four weeks before your date of arrival, wherever possible. If you are informed of a meeting taking place within four weeks, you are expected to book accommodation as soon as possible. When making a booking, you will be asked for the following information: Full name. Date of arrival Associate number. Any special requirements. Coding details: as stated within your contract, training invitation or email from your Pearson contact. You will be booked to stay at one of the Pearson preferred hotels, selected based on quality and proximity. The standard Capita booking is for bed and breakfast; because of this breakfast costs will not be reimbursed. Overnight stays in non-preferred hotels and non- Capita bookings will not be reimbursed. Page 12 of 17
You can choose where to have your evening meal which you will be able to claim for on the iexpenses system. You can also eat at the hotel restaurant, but you will need to cover the cost meal yourself and add the receipt to your expense claim. You can claim up to 25.00 and we will require a fully itemised receipt in order to process the claim. No alcoholic beverages will be reimbursed. Once a room booking has been secured, you will receive confirmation of the booking. If you would prefer to stay with friends or relatives an allowance of 30.00 may be claimed. 6. Fees This section talks about your fees and details how they work and when they will be paid. The fees you will be paid are detailed in your contract. Payment will be made directly to the bank account that you have registered on ADP Freedom. We make fee payments for many different activities and in many different ways. The process of making a fee payment is initiated when you provide us with evidence that the work you have been contracted for has been completed. This would normally mean submitting marks, a report or a piece of work, i.e. a draft of a question paper, either using one of our online systems, or to the Pearson employee that you are contracted by. We have a weekly payroll schedule that is dictated by our Finance department and the other financial institutions we work with. Pearson reserves the right to reduce or not to pay the relevant fees if your work is below the standard expected in terms of quality, quantity, timing of delivery and/or if it has been necessary for you to redo any work because of the standard of the initial work carried out by you. Pearson reserves the right to reduce or not to pay the relevant fees if your work has not been claimed for within 3 months of the activity taking place. We are unable to issue cheques and will only make payment via BACs. Any cheques issued previously should have been cashed within a six month period. Pearson cannot reissue any lost or un-cashed cheques. 6.1 Income Tax HMRC requires that we report all PAYE information on a real time basis and that we operate a standard PAYE tax deduction for all of our Associates. The real time reporting began on 6th April 2014 along with the application of standard PAYE. Your tax code, and associated deductions will be calculated by HMRC directly based on your entire income from all reported sources. If you think your tax code is wrong, or have any questions about your tax code you will need to contact the HMRC directly. Page 13 of 17
6.2 Marking Payments for marking via epen are made in two instalments. Payments are made in this way to ensure that you are paid as quickly as possible. The first payment will be for your original item allocation, bonus (if your full allocation was completed by the contract completion date) and any extra items marked before the contract completion date for your specific paper. This will be paid within 30 days from the contract completion date. The second payment will be for any extra items marked after the contract completion date and this will be paid on the first available pay date after the marking on the paper has reached 100% completion. This date differs from one paper to the other. There is no specific or set date for the second payment for the additional items marked. However; this is usually paid within 30 days of the first payment. The internet fee is also generated with the second payment. (If there is no extra marking undertaken the internet fee will still be generated). Payment for whitemail (hard copy) scripts and any marking undertaken using Samos will be made within 30 days of you submitting the marks. The first payment is made after contract completion and the second, once the paper is 100% marked, due to the difference in time between these two dates, making one payment would unnecessarily delay your payment. If you mark in excess of your contractual allocation, but not at the correct distribution you may earn less than the contract value. If you are unable to complete the marking of the stated allocation of responses by the contract completion date due to unavailability of items on the paper, you will be entitled to a per item payment for the items marked and the full bonus stated in your contract. If you are unable to complete the marking of the stated allocation of responses due to a fault in our systems, you will be entitled to per item payment for the items marked and the full bonus stated in your contract. If you do not maintain the marking schedule described above then Pearson cannot guarantee availability of items and therefore your bonus will be at risk. If you are asked to stop marking (either individual items or all items) due to poor quality of marking, you will receive a reduced payment on a per item fee only. If you mark your contractual allocation, by the required deadline date, your bonus payment will be automatically generated and credited to your account on the first payment run after the Contract Completion Date. If you haven't marked your contractual allocation by the deadline date due to circumstances outside of your control, for example, if there are not enough items for you to complete your allocated marking, you will need to notify your subject team, who will then assess the situation and request payment of the bonus, if appropriate. Page 14 of 17
Item values are rarely comparable year-on-year. The same question is never asked twice and seemingly similar questions often produce quite different candidate responses from one year to the next. It is the effort required to mark each item that drives the resulting item fee. Item fees will be published on Gateway once calculated; this usually takes place part way through the marking period. These can be found under the My Payments tab on Gateway. 6.3 Meetings Payment for meetings is made within 30 days of the meeting taking place. Once the Associate Payroll and Pensions team receives the attendance register for the event, details are entered onto the payment system and payment is generated. Please note, the meeting fee detailed within your contract is payable per day. When attending a meeting, for which you wish to claim Teacher Release, please ensure you mark this clearly on the register. This will prevent any delay to your payment. 6.4 Standards Verification Standards Verification payments will be paid into your account within 30 days of submitting your report. If you submit your report via Gateway, this will be an automated payment. If you submit your report offline, the VQ Contracts and Allocations Team will make a request to pay on your behalf to the Associate Payroll and Pensions team. If you feel you have been underpaid for Standards Verification, please contact VQ Contracts and Allocations. They will need to look into your report to investigate this. 6.5 Senior Associate Responsibility We make a number of different payments to our senior Associates under the title of responsibility. This is generally for monitoring and supporting other Associates. These payments are made at the end of the series or cycle, and are dependent on you providing the required evidence or completing the appropriate reports and feedback forms to the relevant teams. We aim to make payment of responsibility fees within 30 days of the results day for that series. All responsibility payments are fees, and are processed in the same manner, and subject to the same taxation. Where receiving responsibility fees for a GQ Session, the responsibility fees stated within the contract are payable per lead paper, not per linked paper. Where receiving responsibility fees for a GQ Session, you will only be paid direct responsibility for people on your team who have worked within the marking period. Page 15 of 17
7. Teacher Release Teacher Release is a payment made to centres by Pearson to reimburse the cost of releasing a member of staff for a period of time. Not all activities completed by Associates are covered by Teacher Release. Please refer to your contract for further details. Teacher Release is not an automated payment and is paid upon completion of the U30 form. If you do not have a copy of this form, it can be found by logging into Gateway under Forms and Guidance. The form can then be downloaded and printed. Teacher Release payments are paid directly to your centre at a set rate: Half day fee: 94.50 Full day fee: 189.00 All claims for Teacher Release reimbursement must be made within 3 months of the activity. Pearson reserves the right to refuse any claims made after this date 8. Associate Pensions Pearson has run a Pension scheme for their Associate workforce since 2013. Pearson is required by law to assess all their Associates, and any Associates under contract will be assessed for eligibility. The assessment will take place on your first taxable payment after 1st September 2013, and a re-assessment will take place whenever a taxable payment is made. The assessment will be based on cumulative earnings, country of residence and age. After you have been assessed by the Pension system you will receive a notification alerting you which category you fall into and whether you are eligible to join the pension scheme. A breakdown of the criteria can be found further on in this document. We are legally required to re-enrol workers periodically. This automatic re-enrolment takes place every three years, namely after September 2016, September 2019 and so on. If you have been automatically enrolled and want to opt-out of the pension scheme you can call NEST (our pension provider) on 0300 020 0090 or opt out online by visiting www.nestpensions.org.uk. Once you have opted out a refund of any monies paid into your pension pot will be returned to you within 30 days, if you opt out within the opt-out period. For further information on the Pension system, please visit the FAQs on the Forms and Guidance section of your Gateway. Page 16 of 17
Pension Eligibility Criteria The eligibility criteria is outline in the below table: Status Criteria What does this mean? Eligible Jobholder Aged 22 or over and under state pension age You will be automatically enrolled Work or usually work in the UK You are able to opt out, if you wish Earn more than 192.31 per week Non-Eligible Jobholder Aged under 22 or over state pension age Work or usually in the UK Earn more than 192.31 per week OR Aged under 75 Work or usually work in the UK Earn between 111.00 and 129.31 in a week Entitled Worker Aged under 75 Work or usually work in the UK Earn less than 111.00 in a week Non-Entitled Worker Do not work or usually work in the UK Pearson and you will pay into your pension on every taxable payment The Government will also contribute through tax relief The pension belongs to you, even if you leave us in the future You have the right to optin to the pension scheme Pearson and you will pay into your pension on every taxable payment The Government will also contribute through tax relief The pension belongs to you, even if you leave us in the future You have the right to optin to the pension scheme Only you will pay into the scheme on every taxable payment made The Government will also contribute through tax relief The pension belongs to you, even if you leave us in the future You are not eligible to join the scheme Page 17 of 17