EIM10100 - Employment income: travelling and subsistence payments: disruption to public transport caused by strikes

Section 245 ITEPA 2003

Section 245 ITEPA 2003 exempts from charge certain payments and benefits provided to an employee where public transport is disrupted by a strike or other industrial action. The exemption replaces Extra-Statutory Concession A58 with effect from 6 April 2003.

The payments and benefits that are exempted are:

• the provision of overnight accommodation near the employee’s permanent workplace
• payments to the employee for expenses of such accommodation
• the provision of transport to the employee for ordinary commuting (including any journey that is substantially ordinary commuting, see EIM32300) and
• payments to the employee for expenses of such transport.

The exemption only applies to disruption at the employee’s permanent workplace because Section 338 ITEPA 2003 will provide an equivalent tax relief by deduction where the disruption is at a temporary workplace.

The legislation at Section 245 only creates an exemption from charge for certain payments and benefits provided to the employee. There is no equivalent tax relief for costs met by the employee that are not reimbursed. Where the employee spends more on ordinary commuting or subsistence because of a strike and the employer does not reimburse that sum, the employee is not entitled to a deduction for the extra expense.

(This content has been withheld because of exemptions in the Freedom of Information Act 2000)