The University will reimburse up to £5,000 inclusive of VAT for expenses necessarily incurred in relocating as a result of obtaining a post with the University.
International staff who are not currently resident in the UK at time of relocation may also apply to the Faculty or Director for up to an additional £3,000 for immigration visa fees for themselves or immediate family members (spouse/ partner and children only). This additional cost will be charged to the Faculty and Directorate and payment is at the discretion of PVC/Dean or Director.
All payments are subject to the following conditions.
1. Relocation expenses are only payable to new employees appointed as a result of a national or international recruitment advertisement.
2. Staff appointed on a temporary contract of two years or less are not eligible for relocation assistance. However, where a temporary contract is extended beyond any initial period to longer than the two-year qualification period, the employee could become retrospectively eligible for financial assistance under this scheme. Employees on contracts of a duration of two years or less are therefore advised to retain evidence of expenditure in order to make a claim, if they become eligible.
3. To be eligible for financial assistance under this Scheme, the appointee must be living more than 50 kilometres from their principal place of work as determined in the employment contract at the University when appointed.
4. The appointee must purchase similar accommodation not more than 50 kilometres from their principal place of work at the University. Where accommodation is purchased outside this radius, the Chief People Officer (or nominee) has discretion to approve financial assistance in exceptional circumstances.
5. The grant payable is per household, i.e. not per person.
6. All payments are discretionary. To avoid doubt over what can be claimed, approval for the types of expenditure that will be approved must be obtained from the People Directorate before claims are submitted.
7. The University will not reimburse expenses incurred by travel to work where the employee does not move house but chooses to commute to the University from the existing place of residence.
8. The University will not reimburse deposits or advance rent for those staff relocating to rented property and will not reimburse payment for new possessions (e.g. curtains, carpets, 'white goods', etc.) regardless of whether the relocated property is rented or purchased. Stamp duty and any other forms of incurred tax also cannot be reimbursed.
9. Examples of expenditure that may be reimbursed under this scheme are: legal costs, estate agents' fees, survey costs and mortgage redemption fees incurred in the sale of the employee's former home and the purchase of a new property; additional expenditure incurred through maintaining two homes for an interim period; additional travelling expenses for an interim period where two homes are being maintained whilst a move is completed (for example, to return home to the previous place of residence at the weekends); the removal of household effects to the new property.
10. Employees moving from rented property may claim the eligible costs involved in purchasing a property when moving to work at the University; and, subject to the £5,000 limit, may also claim any additional rent incurred where moving means that two rents must be paid simultaneously for an interim period.
11. International staff seeking reimbursement of visa fees must not be currently resident in the UK in either of the two tax years which ended before the claim. Visa fees for family members will be taxable and tax will be deducted at source from any reimbursement by the University.
12. Within the maximum permissible value of £8,000, international staff with both visa and relocation costs can offset higher visa expenses against their relocation costs (i.e. visa costs of £4,000 could be reimbursed but the maximum claimable sum for other relocation expenses would be reduced from £5,000 to £4,000)
13. In the event of the recipient leaving the University within two years, they will be required to repay a sum equivalent to the relocation grant reduced by one twenty-fourth for each completed month of service. Where practicable this sum will be automatically deducted from the recipient's final salary payment.
14. Eligibility for assistance will be determined on submission of the Declaration Form. Claim forms must be submitted within 12 months of commencing work unless the Chief People Officer (or nominee) agrees an extension during the first 12 months of employment. Where a temporary contract has been extended claim forms must be submitted, if applicable, within three months of the extension being agreed.