Mileage Protocol:
NHS Wales Employers and NHS trade union colleagues have worked in partnership and agreed a protocol which provides for an increase in the level of reimbursement for travel incurred on NHS business. The normal arrangements for reimbursement are not responsive to dramatic and sudden increases in the cost of fuel and to address this a temporary increase of 5 pence per mile has been in place for Agenda for Change (A4C) staff since 1st April 2022.
The agreed rate of reimbursement remains as the Approved Mileage Allowance Payment (AMAP) rate for AfC staff or the published Medical and Dental (M&D) rates and a protocol has been agreed to address how any short term volatility in the price of fuel is addressed. The protocol provides a formula to calculate the marginal increase in cost of fuel above what has been the average cost of the price of petrol over the past 10 years and is designed to respond to the costs being incurred by NHS staff until such time as the AMAP or M&D rates reflect any sustained increase in the price of fuel.
The protocol provides a formula to place this increase on a firmer footing and addresses:
i) The threshold at which an increase would come into force
ii) Identifies an independent reference point to guide the decision making
iii) The point at which the threshold would need to be breached to trigger a further increase (which will be 1.5 pence per mile) or the point at which it will be removed e.g. an increase in the AMAP rate
The 5 pence per mile increase will continue for A4C staff in line with the agreed protocol. In addition, the reserve rate (public transport rate) has also increased by 5 pence per mile. In some circumstances this rate can be paid without incurring tax and NI and in such circumstances the increase is 3 pence per mile.
The 5 pence per mile increase will be applied to the M&D mileage claims from September 2022 where the published M&D rate of reimbursement is at or below 47 ppm, with the increase subsequently being backdated to claims made since April 2022. Any subsequent increases to the AMAP adjustment will also be considered for M&D mileage rates.
The above increases apply for all fuel types including electric, hybrid and diesel cars.
