NIHR payment rates for public involvement, explained.
In December 2025, NIHR raised its payment rates for public involvement in research by 10%. Here are the rates, what each one covers, and what to get right on expenses, benefits, tax and budgeting.
The rates
The 10% rise took effect on 16 December 2025. These are NIHR's general rates for involvement:
| Rate | What it covers |
|---|---|
| £13.80 | Less than half an hour, for example reviewing papers |
| £27.50 | About an hour or less, with little or no preparation |
| £55 | About two hours, with some preparation |
| £82.50 | About half a day, with preparation |
| £165 | All-day meetings |
| £330 | All-day meetings that need substantial preparation, for example chairing |
Funding committees
Public members of NIHR funding committees are paid a daily rate in five tiers, from £165 for observers to £495 for the most complex awards. Someone who sends in the preparation work but misses the meeting gets half the daily rate.
Document reviews
Paid by length: £55 for up to 50 pages, £137.50 for 51 to 200 pages, £220 for 201 to 400 pages, and £330 for more than 400 pages.
Joining from home
NIHR pays its own contributors a standing allowance of £5 per meeting to cover home costs when they join remotely.
A benchmark, not a wage
The rates are a benchmark: NIHR encourages researchers to use them, and says NIHR-funded researchers will be expected to use the new rate, though it can't be guaranteed. NIHR describes involvement payments as "a thank you payment", not a wage, and reviews the rates every three years.
Expenses: nobody should be out of pocket
- Offer out-of-pocket expenses so nobody ends up financially worse off: travel, food and drink, childcare or replacement carer costs, and the costs of a personal assistant or support worker.
- Cover expenses in advance where you can. If you pay them back afterwards, do it promptly.
- Pay expenses separately from payment for time, and pay the exact amount, not a rounded figure. If they're bundled into one payment, the whole payment can be classed as earnings.
- NIHR doesn't ask its own contributors for medical evidence to support requests for reasonable adjustments.
Benefits: advice before payment
NIHR says it is "very important that people receiving state benefits get expert advice prior to accepting payment."
- NIHR's Benefits Advice Service is free and confidential, coordinated by Cardiff and Vale Citizens Advice, for members of the public involved with NIHR organisations or NIHR-funded research. NIHR's guidance gives the contact as benefitsadviceservice@nihr.ac.uk. It doesn't advise on tax or National Insurance.
- Expenses paid back at cost aren't treated as earnings and don't affect benefits. Payment for time can be.
- People can turn down a payment, or ask for a lower amount, without it affecting their benefits.
- The Department for Work and Pensions calls this "service user involvement", which helps when someone reports it.
- NIHR's pages list benefit earnings limits that are older than the current figures on gov.uk, so check gov.uk for today's limits.
Tax
- NIHR doesn't deduct tax or National Insurance. Contributors are responsible for telling HMRC about their income and paying any tax due.
- Money and vouchers count as income; expenses don't. Tax is only due on income above the personal allowance, and people who are self-employed have a £1,000 trading allowance.
- HMRC says these payments are unlikely to count as earnings for PAYE or National Insurance. Anything above reasonable expenses may be taxable as miscellaneous income, declared through Self Assessment.
Choice: declining, vouchers and other thanks
- Contributors can decline payment, ask for a lower amount, or have it donated to a charity of their choice.
- Payment can be by bank transfer, cheque, cash or vouchers. High street or gift vouchers may be treated as earnings, and vouchers are usually offered to under-16s who aren't receiving benefits.
- Thanks don't have to be money: training, conference places, honorary appointments, or a fee or donation paid directly to a community group.
Budgeting in a funding application
- NIHR's advice: "Do not under budget for involvement when applying for research funding." Reviewers check whether the costs reflect real involvement, and you should budget as if everyone will accept payment.
- Itemise the costs in full: out-of-pocket expenses and payment for time and experience. The cost of whoever leads involvement goes under staff costs.
- NIHR's Learning for Involvement site has a "Budgeting for involvement" cost calculator. It was last updated in January 2025, before the December 2025 rise, so check it uses the current rates.
- Pay promptly, and tell people when payment will arrive. NIHR itself usually pays within six to eight weeks of receiving an expense claim.
In line with NIHR's rate.
We pay members £27.50 an hour, in line with NIHR's rate for public involvement, for answering our surveys, worked out for the time each task takes. Members see what a task pays before they start, and we publish our full rate card.
Applying to NIHR? Ten members who live with the condition can review your lay summary or draft information sheet, and you get a short report written for the involvement section of your application. The one-document step
Sources
- NIHR, Payment guidance for researchers and professionals involving people in research (opens in a new tab), version 1.9, December 2025.
- NIHR, Increased payment rates for public involvement in research (opens in a new tab), 16 December 2025.
- NIHR, Public Contributor Reward and Recognition Policy (opens in a new tab), version 1.2, September 2026.
- NIHR, Payment guidance for members of the public considering involvement in research (opens in a new tab), version 1.7, December 2025.
- NIHR, HRA and Health and Care Research Wales, a guide for members of the public on employment status and tax (opens in a new tab), version 2.0, December 2025.
- HMRC, EIM71105: research volunteers, lay participants and participants in clinical trials (opens in a new tab).
- NIHR, Finance guidance for applicants (opens in a new tab).
- Learning for Involvement, Budgeting for involvement: cost calculator (opens in a new tab).