Salary + travel allowance - what does it mean?

[DerekDarkly]

I'm interested in a job. Salary is £xxxx for people who live in London. For people outside London, salary is £xxxx + £x travel allowance, which equates to the same salary as the London salary.

So - does this mean there is a fixed travel allowance included in the salary, or you can claim up £x back in travel?

Thanks in advance!

Is it a car allowance? I get basic plus 5k car allowance, its essentially a 5k uplift on my salary as I also get mileage at 14p/ mile.

Its instead of a company car.
Are you expected to travel on business?

Probably worth contacting the company as there will be a big difference if they are reimbursing your travel vs giving you an allowance that may be taxed when paid to you

No, it's not a car allowance. Basically the job has a choice of being remote (and in my case it would be) with travel to London office.

Be aware that such "allowances" are not pensionable not taken into account for overtime rates.

But can't answer your question, you need to ask them.

You’d have to ask them. It could be a fixed allowance, but no one on here can say did definite.

The main considerations I can think of are

1. do you get the full allowance in cash, or is that max against which you can claim reimbursement for eg a rail season ticket?
2. is there a different expectation re place of work, will you be working from home and if so have you got the right set up?
3. if you have a lower basic then you'll have lower pensionable pay, as PP has said, also lower base for calculating sick pay, redundancy, bonus etc.

You need them to confirm what they mean by "travel allowance" because you can't be reimbursed for your commute (HMRC rules) through petrol or mileage expense claims. So if you live outside London and they expect you to be working in their London office, you'd have to foot the bill for the travel costs, unless they class you as a field/home worker.

If they give you an uplift in your salary eg £6K per annum, as a car allowance, that will be taxable at either basic rate, or higher rate, depending on which tax bracket that uplift falls into.

You need them to clarify all this in advance as it will have a significant bearing on whether it's worth you accepting the job.

Basically the job has a choice of being remote (and in my case it would be) with travel to London office.

If you get the chance, choose to be a remote worker, then your travel to the London office isn't classed as a commute by HMRC, hence it is reimbursable by your employer.