company sponsership for PG Diploma

**eek** · 24 May 2011, 20:25

Originally posted by kknandoo View Post

Hello Gurus,

I am considering doing PG Diploma in Banking to have some professional qualitifcation to improve my chances of working in banking sector. As everybody else, am a lone ranger!! Can I get the company sponsor the course ? Spoke to my accountant and the answer was NO!

Just wondering is that what general feeling is?

cheers
Nandoo

The answer is no because the benefit is to you and not the company. How expensive is it as all you are really saving is the tax on the course and is it really worth the hassle for £500.

**kknandoo** · 24 May 2011, 20:27

Thanks for the quick reply.

Cost of the course is £5k.

**escapeUK** · 24 May 2011, 21:38

Originally posted by eek View Post

The answer is no because the benefit is to you and not the company. How expensive is it as all you are really saving is the tax on the course and is it really worth the hassle for £500.

Why not? Companies often send their employees on training courses and do a large amount of things that benefit their employees which dont benefit the company as such. What is this hassle you speak of? How many companies accounts actually get looked at in any detail, I would suggest from the IR35 hit rate, next to none.

In the real world, if a company wants to buy anything they just put it through the books. The problem here is that we dont think like companies we are individuals trying to be a company and individuals have to try and justify to themselves that its wholley and exclusively used for business, real companies just get on with it.

**northernladuk** · 25 May 2011, 05:14

But companies are willing to invest this training to make more money and take it as a loss towards further gain. We don't know what the companies do with the training tax wise. If the OP wants to invest and pay out of his own pocket as an investment then fair dinkum but if he wants to claim it as a business expense he can't.

**SueEllen** · 25 May 2011, 07:31

Originally posted by escapeUK View Post

Why not? Companies often send their employees on training courses and do a large amount of things that benefit their employees which dont benefit the company as such. What is this hassle you speak of? How many companies accounts actually get looked at in any detail, I would suggest from the IR35 hit rate, next to none.

Large companies have many jobs within their company so sending an employee on a course that doesn't look relevant to that particular employee's skill set doesn't mean the company falls foul of tax legislation, as the company will have many roles where the skill is applicable.

Plus I know from friends and family who work in large organisations there are many courses that their employers will refuse to sponsor even if they want to do them as there is NO business need at their level. So while they are able to study for Master degrees and MBAs, if they are in management, the range of allowable subjects is limited.

So for example one of my sister-in-laws who is a nurse can't study for accountancy qualifications even though her NHS trust has accountants, but can study for Masters degrees in a range of healthcare subjects paid by the NHS. She can also be sent on random leadership courses because there are managers in her department.

If kknandoowas already working in banking or had previously worked in banking or has other employees in his company that are working in banking so has a banking division then the course would be allowable. As kknandoo hasn't then it's not.

**northernladuk** · 25 May 2011, 07:56

There is also the question if this qualification will actually help you get in to the sector, especially for 5K!! Even getting in to banking will you ever make this back? Doesn't sound like the best investment but would need to investigate this before spending that much.

**BlasterBates** · 25 May 2011, 11:51

Postgraduate Diploma in Banking

Why not look up the courses and buy the text books, and just read them, a lot cheaper.

The John Hull book on Options, Futures and Other Derivatives is a bible, in the banking sector.

"I read a book on it" is perfectly OK to help you get your foot on the door. They'll always test you anyway in interviews.

**SimonMac** · 25 May 2011, 12:31

Originally posted by northernladuk View Post

But companies are willing to invest this training to make more money and take it as a loss towards further gain. We don't know what the companies do with the training tax wise. If the OP wants to invest and pay out of his own pocket as an investment then fair dinkum but if he wants to claim it as a business expense he can't.

Also companies normally get massive discount on training vouchers so rarely pay full price

**Wanderer** · 25 May 2011, 20:15

Originally posted by kknandoo View Post

I am considering doing PG Diploma in Banking to have some professional qualitifcation to improve my chances of working in banking sector. As everybody else, am a lone ranger!! Can I get the company sponsor the course ? Spoke to my accountant and the answer was NO!

A few people have posted quite negative comments about training in the past but reading HMRC's guidance, the definitions of what is allowable seem to be quite broad. It seems to me that the only thing you won't get away with is something that appears to be more of a jolly than a training course though even then you could argue that you are doing it to develop confidence and leadership skills.

Have a read of Appendix 9 of HMRC's guidance on expenses.

Work-related training is training for an employee’s current employment or a 'related employment'.
It is defined as any training course or other activity which is designed to impart, instil, improve or reinforce any knowledge, skills, or personal qualities which are, or are likely to prove, useful to the employee when performing his or her duties

Qualifying training is training which is undertaken with an employment or prospective employment in view.

A related employment is:
• any office or employment held with the employer or which is to be held with the employer or a connected person
• any such office or employment to which the employee has or can realistically expect to have a serious opportunity of being appointed.

My reading of the rules are than you can claim for travel and subsistence during the training too.

Go for it, I say.

company sponsership for PG Diploma