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Physio Expenses - claimable?

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    Physio Expenses - claimable?

    Apologies if this has been asked before but I've scouted the forums and couldn't find anything appropriate.

    As a developer I spend several hours day-after-day sat at my desk coding away. In the past I've had back/neck/pelvis issues attributable to this, confirmed by my physiotherapist - pelvic misalignment, right shoulder forward due to continual and prolonged mouse usage, etc. Now my issues have returned, largely due to a 10 week period of 7 days a week coding and I'm resigned to more physiotherapy to fix me up. Now these issues I feel are 100% due to work, so my question is whether it's allowable for my company to pay the expense of putting it right? It's not really a 'benefit' is it, being returned to the state I was in before the work broke me?

    #2
    Personally I would say yes if you're happy that it is related to your work and would be happy arguing with HMRC. I suspect there are those more risk-averse who will say why bother to save 20% but IMO it comes down to the bigger picture - if you're generally by-the-book with your expenses then I can't imagine these being much of a red flag and worst case you repay the 20% plus interest which isn't going to be much?

    Comment


      #3
      Originally posted by TheFaQQer
      Yes, the company can pay for them.

      It would be a benefit in kind that you would pay tax on though.

      See https://www.gov.uk/expenses-and-bene...tment/overview
      Seems rather unfair that repairing the damage done in the course of the doing the job is seen as a 'benefit'. If I was in a better position than I was before the issue, i.e. able to run 100m in 2 seconds less, then I'd agree but there's no benefit here really, if indeed the physio works.

      Comment


        #4
        If the medical treatment is for an injury that results from your work, then the company can pay and not have to report the payment - see here.

        The expenses manual has more information - https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-man...anual/eim21770

        Originally posted by EIM21770
        But where the employee’s injury or illness:
        • can be shown to be a risk of the employee’s occupation and
        • is due to a cause which is reasonably attributable to the nature of the employee’s office or employment and
        • is not a risk common to everybody
        there may be no chargeable benefit if the treatment is intended to return the employee to the state of health enjoyed before the injury or illness.
        So, you would need to prove that the cause of your problem is down to the nature of your office / employment and isn't a risk that everyone faces. The latter part of that bit may be harder to argue than the former.
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          #5
          Surely it's a BIK like any other healthcare. If you're saying YourCo damaged you, then maybe you need to sue YourCo for damages, or actually sue YourCo's liability insurer for damages. But that may not be in your best interests.
          Will work inside IR35. Or for food.

          Comment


            #6
            Originally posted by VectraMan View Post
            Surely it's a BIK like any other healthcare. If you're saying YourCo damaged you, then maybe you need to sue YourCo for damages, or actually sue YourCo's liability insurer for damages. But that may not be in your best interests.
            No, I think faqqer has it covered above, in particular - "there may be no chargeable benefit if the treatment is intended to return the employee to the state of health enjoyed before the injury or illness."

            Comment


              #7
              Originally posted by VectraMan View Post
              Surely it's a BIK like any other healthcare. If you're saying YourCo damaged you, then maybe you need to sue YourCo for damages, or actually sue YourCo's liability insurer for damages. But that may not be in your best interests.
              That was my initial thought - it's a BIK. But a quick search gives a different view from the expenses manual.

              My concern about claiming it would be being able to prove that there was not a risk of injury common to everyone, which is a bit vague. If you had a lava pit around your desk and burned yourself then it's clearly a risk that everyone faces. If the company cannot provide an ergonomic environment in which to work, and as a consequence the worker needs physio, then is that a risk common to everyone? Or is it just a risk to the individual because of their physiology?

              There would (IMHO) be a harder argument as well if the injury occurred at home rather than at a separate place of work.
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                #8
                Originally posted by TheFaQQer View Post
                That was my initial thought - it's a BIK. But a quick search gives a different view from the expenses manual.

                My concern about claiming it would be being able to prove that there was not a risk of injury common to everyone, which is a bit vague. If you had a lava pit around your desk and burned yourself then it's clearly a risk that everyone faces. If the company cannot provide an ergonomic environment in which to work, and as a consequence the worker needs physio, then is that a risk common to everyone? Or is it just a risk to the individual because of their physiology?

                There would (IMHO) be a harder argument as well if the injury occurred at home rather than at a separate place of work.
                Not sure it's the workplace but the work, or more specifically the project deadline has meant ramping up the effort to be 7 days a week for a prolonged period of time.

                Comment


                  #9
                  Originally posted by oliverson View Post
                  No, I think faqqer has it covered above, in particular - "there may be no chargeable benefit if the treatment is intended to return the employee to the state of health enjoyed before the injury or illness."
                  But the same injury could have come about if you'd sat around at home not in a job. The injury has been caused by sitting down. Not by being a dev or an oil rig worker etc. Your job hasn't caused the injury. You are doing something that everyone else in the office and in many offices do so I can't see how it can't be BiK TBH.
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                  Comment


                    #10
                    Originally posted by northernladuk View Post
                    But the same injury could have come about if you'd sat around at home not in a job. The injury has been caused by sitting down. Not by being a dev or an oil rig worker etc. Your job hasn't caused the injury. You are doing something that everyone else in the office and in many offices do so I can't see how it can't be BiK TBH.
                    Last time I was at the physios they 'specifically' attributed my condition to what I do for a living so I'm afraid I'll have to take their word for it fellow northerner chap. I'll see what they say this time around, i.e lunchtime today.

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