Subject Reimbursement and Compensation
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE?
Reimbursement is used when the subject is paid back for travel expenses such as mileage, lodging, food while traveling.
Compensation is "payment" for things such as time, discomfort, inconvenience.
What are the requirements for reimbursement?
Reimbursements must be paid with Oracle Expenditure types found under the Travel Heading. For instructions on how to process a reimbursement please see "Goods and Services Procurement Guide". You may also call the Procurement Help Desk at 924-4212. The money will not be reportable to the IRS as income, but will be withheld if the subject owes money to the state. You may want to speak to procurement regarding the typically turn around time for reimbursements, so that you are including accurate information in the consent form. Another option for reimbursements is a petty cash fund. Speak with Procurement regarding this option. Please do not state in the consent form that you are "reimbursing" the subject if you do not plan to process the payment under the expenditure type found under the Travel Heading- since the tax ramifications are different.
What are the requirements for compensation?
Compensation may be given in several different forms. These may include check via Oracle, gift cards, petty cash or small gifts such as pencils/ stickers. The state encourages the use of check via oracle for most payments, however circumstances do allow other methods of compensation in special circumstances if approved by the IRB. If using oracle the expenditure type of Services, Human Subject Payments found under Contractual Services should be used. Please note that the paid amount will be reportable to the IRS as income and will be withheld if the subject owes money to the state. It is critical that the researcher does not imply in the consent form that one is being "reimbursed" if you plan to process the payment via compensation methods, since there are very different tax implications for the subject.
PROCESS FOR MAKING PAYMENTS TO RESEARCH PARTICIPANTS:
UVA is going live with a new supplier registration process beginning today, October 1st 2018. This will impact the process for paying research participants. The point of this communication is to make sure the Clinical Research Coordinator (CRC) community understands how this change will impact current processes. The following link has information about the new system: http://www.procurement.virginia.edu/pagevendorregistration#Information%20for%20Suppliers
New supplier (in our case research participant) registration process:
Collecting Participant Info:
Research Coordinators will have 2 options, each involving the collection of different information from their Research Participants:
- The NEW preferred option is to have the research participant self-register. That will mean the CRC simply collects the full legal name and email address of the research participant.
- In cases where the research participant does not have an email address, is unable to self-register, and/or prefers not to self-register, the CRCs will continue to collect the information that they traditionally have (SSN, full name, visa type for foreign individuals, address, phone)
Registration of Participant as "Supplier":
CRCs will pass the collected information along to their Fiscal Administrator. The FA will either:
- Submit an invitation request for the Research Participant to self-register (new preferred process). In this case the research participant registers all required information.
- Or proxy register the Research Participant (similar to past process). In this case, the FA will register all information collected from the research participant by the CRC.
Some general recommendations and information about the registration process:
- It is recommended that Research Participants are registered into the system at the start of a project, rather than waiting for when a payment needs to occur. That way when a payment needs to be made, it can be done quickly and without a delay.
- Once a Payment Voucher request is submitted to central procurement, Research Participants should receive a check in the mail within 7 to 10 days.