NHS Excess Travel Reimbursement for Relocated Staff

If your service has been through a reorganisation, your team has merged with another NHS employer, or you've accepted a different post specifically to avoid redundancy, and any of that has left you commuting further than you used to, this guide explains the NHS's own internal scheme for compensating that increased cost — distinct from anything you might separately be able to claim from HMRC.

What excess travel reimbursement actually is

This is an NHS employer-paid scheme, set out in Section 17 of the NHS Terms and Conditions of Service Handbook, that reimburses the additional cost of getting to work when your base changes through no choice of your own. The current wording has applied since 1 June 2026, when it replaced the previous Section 17 and all existing national agreements on this kind of protection.

• ✓ It applies specifically to a compulsory change of base — one imposed on you, not one you've chosen by applying for a role elsewhere
• ✓ It covers both car mileage and, separately, additional public transport costs, under paragraphs 17.23 and 17.31 respectively
• ✓ It's paid by your NHS employer as an expense reimbursement, not claimed from HMRC
• ✓ It's capped nationally at a maximum of four years from the date of transfer, with the exact period within that cap set locally

How the excess is actually calculated

The mechanism is a straightforward comparison, even though the underlying Handbook language is fairly technical. Under paragraph 17.19, employees are reimbursed for miles travelled that are in excess of the normal home-to-agreed-work-base return journey. For a compulsory change of base specifically, that means comparing your return commute to your new base against your return commute to your original, substantive base:

Why it's paid at the "reserve rate," not your normal mileage rate

This is a detail that catches people out if they assume excess travel is reimbursed at the same rate as ordinary business mileage. It isn't. Under paragraph 17.23, excess mileage claims arising from a compulsory change of base are paid using the reserve rate of reimbursement set out in Table 7 of the Handbook — a lower rate than the standard business mileage rate, set at 50% of the unrounded value of the standard rate for car users. The exact pence-per-mile figures are reviewed periodically by the NHS Staff Council (the standard rate is reviewed twice a year, in April and October), so always check the current published rate rather than relying on a figure that may have since moved.

This same reserve rate also applies in a couple of other, unrelated situations under Section 17 — for example, where an employee unreasonably declines a lease vehicle, or drives when suitable public transport was available. Excess mileage following a compulsory change of base is simply one of the circumstances the reserve rate is used for, not a special one-off rate invented specifically for relocation.

The national maximum: 4 years from the date of transfer

Whatever your local scheme actually pays, Section 17 sets a hard national ceiling on how long excess travel reimbursement can run for a compulsory change of base:

This four-year cap applies identically whether you drive or use public transport — paragraph 17.31 applies the same maximum to extra public transport costs as paragraph 17.23 applies to excess car mileage. It's worth being realistic about what this means in practice: the Handbook doesn't guarantee four years of payments, only that four years is the absolute upper limit local partnerships can agree to. Confirm the actual period that applies to your specific move with your own trust's relocation, redeployment or excess travel policy.

When this scheme actually applies

• ✓ A compulsory change of base, permanent or temporary, resulting from a reorganisation or merger of NHS employers
• ✓ Accepting another post as a genuine alternative to redundancy, where that post is at a different, more distant base
• ✓ The change of base must be required of you, not a base change you've brought about yourself by applying for and accepting a different role voluntarily

If you're currently weighing up whether to accept a role at a different base specifically to avoid redundancy, read this alongside our guide to suitable alternative employment in NHS redundancy — a longer commute is one of the factors that can support a reasonable refusal of an offer, and knowing that excess travel reimbursement exists (and for how long) is a genuinely useful piece of information when weighing that decision, alongside pay, band and hours.

Why this is completely different from claiming HMRC mileage tax relief

It's easy to mix this up with a completely separate piece of NHS-adjacent travel guidance on this site — our guide to NHS Mileage Tax Relief — so it's worth being explicit about how different the two mechanisms actually are.

In short: excess travel reimbursement is about your commute getting longer because your base changed. Mileage Allowance Relief is about a shortfall between what your trust pays you and what HMRC allows tax-free for business travel you do as part of your job, which is a completely different kind of journey and a completely different payer. It's entirely possible to be eligible for both at once, if you both have a longer commute following a base change and separately do genuine business mileage that your trust reimburses below the AMAP rate — but they're calculated independently, through different processes, and one isn't a substitute for the other.

Also different from a new starter's relocation expenses package

There's a third scheme worth distinguishing clearly, since it's also sometimes referred to loosely as "relocation" support: many trusts offer a one-off relocation or removal expenses package — commonly a contribution toward costs like moving home, legal fees or temporary accommodation, often capped at a fixed amount and tied to a minimum service commitment (frequently around two years, with the expectation that unspent obligations may need repaying if you leave early) — to help a genuinely new appointee relocate closer to a new job they've chosen to take.

How to actually claim excess travel reimbursement

• ✓ Confirm with HR or your line manager that your change of base genuinely qualifies as compulsory under your trust's policy — this isn't something to assume without checking
• ✓ Get the eligible period (up to the 4-year national maximum) confirmed in writing before you start claiming, so there's no dispute later about when payments are due to end
• ✓ Keep a clear record of your home-to-original-base and home-to-new-base mileage or public transport cost, since the claim is based on the difference between the two
• ✓ Submit claims through your trust's normal expenses process at the reserve rate, not the standard business mileage rate
• ✓ Review the arrangement if your circumstances change — for example if you later move house, which would change the underlying commute calculation on both sides

Frequently asked questions

This guide is independent, general information only and is not affiliated with NHS England, the DHSC, HMRC or any individual NHS trust, and is not tax or legal advice. Excess travel reimbursement periods and rates are set nationally and locally and can change — always check your own trust's current policy and the current NHS Terms and Conditions of Service Handbook before relying on a figure from this page.