There are many more categories than just employee and self-employed. Employment law is… Tricky. And I apparently do it…
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And I apparently judge it…I hope the EAT is ready for increased workload.
Maybe I’ll see you on a virtual region hearing at some point
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I’m not sure that officers can claim it because HQAC have agreed a tax free sum with HMRC for us already. That lovely £25 or so a year that we get. (I’m not a tax lawyer though and have always erred on the side of paying too much tax than getting in trouble for claiming things I shouldn’t)
There’s a reason that tax is a distinct specialism within accountancy 
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While these all can add credence to us being “workers” rather than volunteers these on their own don’t determine whether someone is a volunteer or not.
The key thing is that the relationship is transactional/contractual (I believe the term is “mutually of obligation”) - in return for completing a task you receive pay or a benefit in kind over & above out of pocket expenses.
Remuneration is meant to be used for purchase of new uniform & other items such as No 1 or boots so the volunteer isn’t out of pocket. These are expensive items so volunteers should get money towards them so they are not out of pocket. However it is not unreasonable to limit the claiming of these items to the volunteers doing the most hours so the remuneration set at 28days for 8hrs or more on certain activities is not unreasonable.
Unfortunately no one tells us this rationale & it becomes the myth of “pay” similar to wages. Why we get taxed on it I don’t know but sometimes hMRC has weird rules.
We now have a volunteer agreement which is a good step in reducing the confusion but at the end of day there is no right to volunteer with the organisation & there’s no mutuality of obligation so we are volunteers 
Is the UAA included on the P60?
The reason that (some CFAV) get taxed on the VA is as simple as others have stated already - it’s not reimbursement for out of pocket expenses; therefore, it is income.
Everyone is entitled to receive a level of untaxed income and all income above that is liable to taxation.
If you sell handmade goods on a market stall for ‘beer tokens’ once a month, that’s income too.
For most employees, the tax on their primary income is taken care of by PAYE. They pay tax at a rate calculated to give them their tax free allowance as part of their salary, and therefore all other income is liable to tax at the appropriate rate. For most people this is 20% BR, so they’ll find that 20% tax is taken off their VA.
If they are a high earner then they might have more tax taken off their VA.
Anyone who doesn’t use PAYE (self-employed for example) is entitled to receive the full amount of VA, and their tax is sorted out on all of their total yearly income at once via self-assessment.
If, for whatever reason, an employee doesn’t earn as much as originally calculated in a year (perhaps they leave their job after 4 months and don’t find work until the next FY) then they are of course entitled to claim a rebate for any tax they’ve already paid which they shouldn’t have.
If it was genuinely intended for expenses surely the amount of VA received shouldn’t vary by rank?
Exactly, VA is not meant to cover out of pocket purchases. It is above and beyond that, as @wdimagineer2b has explained. It just so happens that a lot of people use it for that. I also know people who put their cadet VA pay into a separate pot each time to save up for a holiday. It makes no odds.
I was thinking that as I typed it & then thought of it some more. Costs for the individual do increase as they increase rank in the organisation. Officers have to purchase their uniform including No 1s. With NCOs it’s optional. The higher the rank the more activities you attend, the more hours you put in and the more obligation to attend events (dinners for example).
It’s a rough guide but there is a logic to have different rates for different ranks.
Remuneration / Volunteer Allowance is really intended to be a fairly open-ended assistance in return for giving up time to the Corps.
It’s not recompense for expenses incurred. Indeed, there is already a method for claiming expenses, such as travel and subsistence, home to duty, No 1 uniform re-ranking (for Officers), &c.
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The key bit that makes it not employment is that although you can claim 28 days a year, there is no contractual obligation to do 28 days a year. There is also no contractual obligation for the organisation to provide you with those 28 days a year.
I don’t necessarily agree with this though, but that is my understanding of the system as it is.
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It’s not that, because even zero hour contract people can still be employees.
The answer is unclear, and if anyone ever did try to get it determined the MOD would fight it as long as they could and as high as they could. And if they lost, they’d probably change the system for the worse anyway.
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Good point, I’m wrong on that then! It’s all a bit weird imo.
Even if they didn’t lose, I could see VA disappearing over night if someone challenged it legally.
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Love it how so many people go on about doing this for the cadets yet then get so hot under the collar when the subject of remuneration, VPNs, comes along and then they kick off. 
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Because it’s important. For many staff, it’s the VA that makes them able to volunteer at all.
I’m fortunate, I don’t need VA, and a day with the RAFAC represents, even on the worst day at the Criminal Bar, a pay cut*, being self-employed, I don’t get even the option to claim holiday pay for a camp. (and I know many others don’t either.)
However, when I was looking for an apprenticeship to do my job, I was entirely reliant on VA to do anything at all, just to go on a camp required an advance pay claim just to pay for the week away. Without an advance pay claim before Nijmegen one year, my team would not have been able to go, because I wouldn’t have been there!
So, it’s all well and good this “I do it for the cadets, so I don’t need pay” attitude, and making fun of people who come across as mercenaries, but some staff are not so fortunate, and if we want young staff to give up their time, many will need that help.
(*This wasn’t always the case, there were days when I started when I could go to court at a loss, and even Plt Off pay would have been a payrise!)
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And don’t forget some of us use some of our claims to either subsidise or pay for CIs attending things. Or stuff that helps us do more cadet stuff.
Anyone who spouts nonsense like the above is just stirring the pot. There is nothing wrong with claiming what you’re allowed to. Or not claiming it. Either is acceptable, and people stating the other side are mercenaries or too pious (delete as appropriate) are not helping the cause
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This.
Without the military covenant and volunteering days at work and VA. I could not do this second job.
Its grueling, demanding BUT personally rewarding too.
The VA is needed to offset all the costs and losses.
.
Never does. But at least it helps to minimise it a bit!
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VA definitely helps to purchase new kit for me/Mrs Tornado… As well as some “flash cash” for a holiday.
Military covenant/reserve forces leave definitely helps, and allows me the ability to do cadet activities, while having some leave for family time.
After buying extra leave at work…having parental leave, my 5 weeks leave and upto 2 weeks cadet forces leave…my colleagues often comment… “more leave? But you’re never here…”
I wouldn’t get out of bed for a job that only gave me that 
I’m going to start next year with 54 days of annual leave