Fees and Expenses FAQs

Updated for 2025-26 AY; Questions on External Examiner Fees, Expenses, P60 and Payslips

Some guidance and FAQs are provided below to help answer queries that colleagues might have around the External Examining process (fee payments and expenses; P60, payslips, EE tenure).

Fees

Fees for taught programme External Examiner are authorised by UCL Student and Registry Services, Academic Policy, Quality and Standards Team (APQS). The annual fee covers all duties relating to the Academic Year in question (i.e. interim Board, resit Board, Main Board and all activities through the year).  

Payment will be made on receipt of the External Examiner formal written report, submitted through Portico. Reports must be submitted within one month of receiving the link to submit the annual report after the Board of Examiners’ meeting. UCL reserves the right to withhold payment for reports not received by the deadline.  

Q. How are External Examiners' fees calculated? 

A. External Examiners are paid once a year, after the main Board of Examiners meeting, once the Portico report has been submitted. The following paragraph is included in the appointment confirmation letter and also in the annual reappointment letter to all EEs:
The board fee for your professional services as an External Examiner for a Board of Examiners is approximately £75. You will then be paid £0.22, per ECTS (European Credit Transfer System), per student examined. The individual module fee will be divided amongst External Examiners if there is more than one External Examiner examining assessments. Departments who cover programmes such as, MBBS, Fine Art and PGCE / ITE, have local arrangements for the payment of External Examiners. We also implement fee bands, so your final fee will be rounded up or down accordingly.  

Refer to the Fee and Expenses Schedule for detailed information on how the fee is calculated.

Q. Do External Examiners receive a P60 or payslips? 

A. External Examiners are taxed at source through HR payments and will recive a payslip and a P60 from HR.

Q. When are report fee payments processed, and do External Examiners need to do anything to claim their fee?

A. After the main Board of Examiners has met, and External Examiners have submitted their annual report on Portico, we will process the fee payment. EEs do not need to do anything further to claim their fee: we use the submission of the Portico report as our trigger to make the payment. We aim to process the fee payment within a month of the EE report being submitted on Portico. We use the payment details that EEs provided during their nomination process. If payment details are missing, these will be requested from the EE, and this may delay payment being made. The Finance team will progress the payment as part of their payment schedule and EEs would normally receive payment by the end of the corresponding month.  

Expenses

APQS will reimburse reasonable expenses for one in-person visit per Academic Year in question, in line with UCL’s expenses policy. Board teams should also please note the exceptions to this baseline and additional requirements that are outlined in the sections below, and advise External Examiners accordingly when making visit arrangements. 

Q. How do External Examiners claim their expenses?

• External Examiners are permitted to claim reasonable expenses as required using the Visitor Expenses Exception Form (or Foreign Bank Visitor Exception Form) for external visitors available here: www.ucl.ac.uk/finance/spending-money/policies-forms-info/forms-relating-expenditure.  

• External Examiners should submit the completed expenses claim form along with a single pdf file with relevant receipts to externalexaminers@ucl.ac.uk.  

• APQS will review the claim in accordance with the UCL Expenses Policy and the APQS listed additional requirements and submit to the Accounts Payable Finance team for processing.  

Please refer to the rates from the UCL Expenses Policy alongside the APQS additional criteria (included below) to assist with completing the expense claims.

Train Travel These should be standard class, unless a heavily discounted first class ticket is booked significantly in advance of the date of travel

Business Mileage Cars - 45p per mile for the first 10,000 miles in a tax year and 25p per mile thereafter, Motorcycles - 24p per mile, Bicycles - 20p per mile.

Taxis Taxis may be used where there is a clear requirement or where they are the most economical practical means of transport.

Air Travel This should be booked using UCL's approved travel provider, Clarity, where possible. For flights of five hours or less, staff should book restricted tickets in economy.  For flights lasting five hours or longer, staff may travel premium economy.

Hotel Rates The cost of a hotel in the UK should not exceed £190 including VAT (room only) in London, or £130 including VAT (room only) outside of London. The cost of accommodation at or near the normal place of work wouldn't qualify as business travel and would therefore be subject to tax.

Meals whilst away overnight Breakfast: maximum of £11 receipted including VAT and service, unreceipted, £5. Lunch: maximum of £16 receipted including VAT and service, unreceipted, £5. Evening meal: maximum of £33 receipted including VAT and service, unreceipted £15. In line with the above, a maximum per diem (24-hours) of £60 receipted (£25 unreceipted).

Q. We have already paid for the EE travel and accommodation: how do you reimburse departments?

A. For claims that require an exchange between departments and APQS, departments should email externalexaminers@ucl.ac.uk with the EE name and UPI, Board code, breakdown of costs and dates, Project, Task, Award, Expenditure (PTAE) code and relevant receipts (as 1 pdf file). We will review your request and progress with an Inter Departmental Journal (IDJ). 

 

Q. What EE expenses do you pay for centrally?

APQS will reimburse reasonable expenses for one in-person visit per Academic Year in question, in line with UCL’s expenses policy. Examples of the in-person visit include:  

• where a Board has been held in-person, or 

• an EE has been invited to view student exhibitions, or 

• an EE has been invited to meet students, or 

• for the purpose of induction. 

Exceptions to this baseline and additional requirements include:  

• Overseas External Examiners - the Department should reimburse travel-related costs and expenses.  

• External Examiners Right to Work (RtW) check – checks should be completed using the online services outlined in the HR guidance. Only in exceptional circumstances should a manual check be conducted and, where possible, this visit should be combined with other related activities such as an induction, or opportunities to meet staff and students. APQS will reimburse the expenses for this one-off RtW check in line with UCL’s expenses policy, in addition to one in-person visit for any of the above reasons. 

• Discipline related additional visits – Some disciplines require External Examiners to attend exhibitions, practicals and observations that require additional in-person visits. Board teams should discuss and agree this with their Faculty Education Teams and APQS prior to confirming any arrangements.  

• Accommodation – APQS will reimburse one night’s accommodation in line with UCL's expenses policy and the department will need to reimburse additional nights as required.