FAQs
A look at queries answered by the NHS Appointments Commission
Q. Am I personally liable for the consequences of board decisions?
A. The short answer is technically yes, but you should be indemnified by your organisation. The matter was fully explained in HSC 1999/104, published five years ago and still current today, and is paraphrased below. Although not referred to in the 1999 circular, it applies equally to primary care trusts and strategic health authorities (SHAs).
The threat of legal action against chairs or non-executives personally rather than the trust or SHA on which they serve is very small but legally chairs or non-executives are personally liable for their actions and decisions whether acting as individuals or as members of a board.
To provide protection, trusts and SHAs provide an indemnity for decisions taken properly in the normal course of board business.
NHS trusts and the then health authorities were advised in HSC 1999/104 to issue suitable indemnities to their non-executive board members, as follows:
"A chairman or non-executive member or director who has acted honestly and in good faith will not have to meet out of his or her own personal resources any personal civil liability which is incurred in the execution or purported execution of his or her board function, save where the person has acted recklessly."
This indemnity may be extended to lay members of those committees exercising delegated powers to make decisions or take actions on behalf of NHS boards.
The position of executive directors, however, is markedly different from non-executives so the indemnity does not extend to them. The reason for this is that the trust or SHA is always liable for the actions of its employees in the course of their employment.
The indemnity is 'issued' simply by minuting its acceptance in the minutes of the board.
Q. I am confused about the tax liability on my travelling expenses. Can you clarify the position?
A. Under the normal rules governing Schedule E tax, you would be liable to pay tax on any home to office expenses you receive. The Inland Revenue have, however, agreed a "special arrangement"
under which your NHS organisation will meet any liability on this element of your travelling expenses.
Car journeys on NHS business, other than home to office, are subject to the normal Inland Revenue rules, under which you will be liable to tax on any mileage allowance paid at a rate over 40p for the first 10,000 miles (see last bulletin). This liability is not covered by the "special arrangement"
and you will have to meet any resulting tax liability.
