Optical Care

[SueEllen]

OK, so what if you need your glasses to drive, and your optician gives you a letter saying you need them for your job?

My understanding is that to be a tax deductabile expense they would have to be "Exclusively" for the busaines.

Which, personally, I think that you would find very hard to justify for a pair of glasses!

Imagine saying to hector "Yes I need to be able to see for my work, but I don't for any other area of life......"

The Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992 make it clear that where an employee uses a VDU for a significant proportion of their work and they need corrective lenses so they can carry out the work the employer should provide the employee with the appropriate appliances.
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si1992/Uksi_19922792_en_1.htm

I don't think Hector would argue with you about a health and safety regulation particularly as companies get sued for disabling their workers for not following them.

[IR35 Avoider]

Before anyone asks, a reasonable sum would probably be a typical pair of glasses, ask your optician for what this level is. I would probably say around £200 but each persons circumstances can be different.

Eye test £20 at Boots, then send prescription to GlassesDirect.co.uk to get glasses for £15.

I did this, the only problem was that Boots made a mistake transcribing the prescription, so they replaced the GlassesDirect lenses for free. (Also it cost me more, because I chose £25 frames, and specified a couple of lens coatings. I also subseqently decided that since the glasses were so cheap I should have two pairs, one for work and one for home.)

[blacjac]

The Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992 make it clear that where an employee uses a VDU for a significant proportion of their work and they need corrective lenses so they can carry out the work the employer should provide the employee with the appropriate appliances.
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si1992/Uksi_19922792_en_1.htm

I don't think Hector would argue with you about a health and safety regulation particularly as companies get sued for disabling their workers for not following them.

No it doesn't.

If you read it (Sections 5, 5a and 5b) it states that the employer must provide special corrective appliances when normal corrective appliances cannot be used

It doesn't say anything about the employer having to provide the normal corrective appliances I.E. glasses / contacts.


Alan is the first accountant I have ever heard advising that glasses can be claimed for without BIK, and I am interested to here the justification behind it.

[blacjac]

The Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992 make it clear that where an employee uses a VDU for a significant proportion of their work and they need corrective lenses so they can carry out the work the employer should provide the employee with the appropriate appliances.
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si1992/Uksi_19922792_en_1.htm

I don't think Hector would argue with you about a health and safety regulation particularly as companies get sued for disabling their workers for not following them.

Sorry, think you have misinterpretted the regulations you have linked to


Regulations 5, 5a and 5b (the ones that deal with eyesight) state that the employer must provide special corrective appliances where normal corrective appliances are not suitable.
There is no mention of the employer having to provide normal corrective appliances (i.e. glasses / contacts).


Alan (at Nixons), how do you justify the expense of glasses without BIK when they clearly aren't exclusively for the business?

[SueEllen]

Sorry, think you have misinterpretted the regulations you have linked to


Regulations 5, 5a and 5b (the ones that deal with eyesight) state that the employer must provide special corrective appliances where normal corrective appliances are not suitable.
There is no mention of the employer having to provide normal corrective appliances (i.e. glasses / contacts).

I've not misinterpreted anything.

You can only claim if you are claiming for using the glasses/contact lenses for working at a VDU under this regulation. The HSE website clearly states this in many places about this regulation.
"Special corrective appliances are prescribed for the distance at which the screen is viewed. It follows that when the user changes to a different work activity or leaves their workstation for any other reason, they will need to remove their special corrective appliance to see clearly at other distances. "
http://www.hse.gov.uk/lau/lacs/16-3.htm

One of my first jobs was helping to sort out this regulation for a large company who had been threatened with legal action over the way they paid bonuses to staff who worked with VDU's due to an injury.

People who bothered to claim an eyetest suffered from headaches whether they wore glasses or not. Those who got glasses paid for either needed glasses for the first time or a different pair of glasses for working. Those who needed bifocals got money towards their glasses.

[blacjac]

Sorry if this sounds rude SueEllen, but what exactly are you talking about?

I am talking abut the fact that Alan from Nixon Williams as stated that he believes normal corrective appliances to be tax deductable. A belief that I do not agree with.


You keep posting links to websites that do not say anything about normal corrective appliances being tax deductable. The nearest one stating that special corrective appliances should be paid for by the employer when normal ones can not be used.
This does not address my questions.

Your last post just seems to agree with everything I have said (the company paying for special glasses that are only needed for work), yet you seem to have tried to disagree with me by taking the same standpoint as me.........



So to make it clearer:

If I need to wear glasses to drive, but my optician gives me a letter stating that I need to wear the same glasses to work, how can these glasses then be a tax deductable expense?

[Hiram King Of Tyre]

No, beacuse I presume you drive to get to do your job, rather than needing glasses to do the job. You need to have an optician determine that you need the glasses to do the actual job, rather than get you in a place to do the job.

Surely though Alan, if my company is based at home and I have to drive to the client, then driving is part of my job?

[SueEllen]

Sorry if this sounds rude SueEllen, but what exactly are you talking about?

I will explain below.

I am talking abut the fact that Alan from Nixon Williams as stated that he believes normal corrective appliances to be tax deductable. A belief that I do not agree with.

He's not said that anywhere.

So to make it clearer:

If I need to wear glasses to drive, but my optician gives me a letter stating that I need to wear the same glasses to work, how can these glasses then be a tax deductable expense?

You can't because you use the same pair of glasses for general day-to-day living.

However if you happened to have one pair of glasses prescribed for general day-to- day living, and a second pair prescribed just for doing VDU work, then you can claim for the second pair.

I had a long-sighted relation who seeing this regulation come in decided she would get a free second pair of glasses from her employer. She just went to a different optician from one she normally went to, explained what she wanted the glasses for, they tested her eyes and they wrote that the glasses where just for VDU work. So the employer paid even though she already wore glasses for reading and the prescriptions where virtually the same so she could wear either pair of glasses to work.

[Ruprect]

Depends on the work.

As IT guys you MAY be able to claim as you are looking at a VDU all day.

As a trucker I can claim my medicals - but I needs them for my licence.

I am not a trucker, nor spotty!

So you are a trucker SP. Are you spotty too?

[blacjac]

You can't because you use the same pair of glasses for general day-to-day living.

However if you happened to have one pair of glasses prescribed for general day-to- day living, and a second pair prescribed just for doing VDU work, then you can claim for the second pair.

Hurrah, we agree


Are you now disagreeing with what you said at 10:48 this morning about your employer having to provide your glasses even if you need them for day to day?

OK, so what if you need your glasses to drive, and your optician gives you a letter saying you need them for your job?


My understanding is that to be a tax deductabile expense they would have to be "Exclusively" for the busaines.

Which, personally, I think that you would find very hard to justify for a pair of glasses!

Imagine saying to hector "Yes I need to be able to see for my work, but I don't for any other area of life......"

The Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992 make it clear that where an employee uses a VDU for a significant proportion of their work and they need corrective lenses so they can carry out the work the employer should provide the employee with the appropriate appliances.
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si1992/Uksi_19922792_en_1.htm

I don't think Hector would argue with you about a health and safety regulation particularly as companies get sued for disabling their workers for not following them.