NEWS: Confirmation that clubs are to pay Commissaires fees

On top of the rider levy introduced this year, as expected, British Cycling have confirmed that clubs must now pay all expenses to Commissaires from 1st July 2014, which was previously paid by the governing body.

The email sent out to club states:

Dear Organiser,

Following a period of review we have made some further changes to technical regulation 16.13 specifically in relation to changes made to ‘fees’.

16.13   Payments to Appointed Officials

The event organisation shall pay reasonable travel, meal and accommodation expenses incurred by appointed officials in relation to the event.  They shall ordinarily be at the rates defined by the British Cycling expenses policy on travel and subsistence.

The new guidance does not refer to a ‘fee’ of any description for commissaires volunteering on events. This change is in line with HMRC guidance relating to the reimbursement of reasonable out of pocket expenses for volunteers. Any ‘fee’ paid in excess of reasonable out of pocket expenses should comply with HMRC legislation. Click here to view the volunteer expense policy, for further information contact HMRC.

These changes come into force on the 1st July 2014.

A volunteer expense policy is available on the website to offer guidance with regards to reasonable expenses that can be claimed.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your continued support and involvement in the development and delivery of the sport and we look forward to working with you in the future.

Clubs and officials will no doubt be thankful that they won’t be targeted by HRMC, thanks to the expenses being labelled “reimbursement of reasonable out of pocket expenses for volunteers”. However, it’s yet another bill to pay on top of the usual outgoings, which many will find a bitter pill to swallow, after countless hours of independent self-funded investment in their clubs both on and off the track.