ULEZ Charge for NHS and Charity

It’s not widely advertised by Transport for London but during the pandemic the Mayor of London has setup an option which allows ULEZ charge to be reimbursed to certain keyworkers and people working or volunteering in the charity sector.

 

Since the start of the ULEZ charge area, the zone has been active 24 hours a day 7 days a week and since the lockdowns started in London, the mayor made some changes which meant that the London Congestion Charge which runs within the same area as the ULEZ charge would be extended to 7 days a week and the operating hours for the Congestion Charge increased to 7am to 10pm.

 

As keyworkers from the NHS as well as charity volunteers & staff have been vital in helping people during the pandemic, the Mayor of London created a new scheme to allow these workers to get reimbursed for any ULEZ or Congestion Charges they’ve had to pay while commuting into central London.

 

People who may be eligible for the reimbursement of ULEZ charge and Congestion Charge are

 

• NHS Staff
• NHS Patients
• Local authority employees
• Charity employees or volunteers
• Care home workers, working within the Congestion Charge Zone

 

Note: NHS Staff can only claim back the congestion charge.

 

How to claim ULEZ or Congestion reimbursements

 

The reimbursement is not claimed directly from Transport for London.  If you travelled through the zone, you would as normally pay the relevant charges.  Remember to do this, as you will receive a fine if you do not and they will not cancel your fine even though you may be entitled to the reimbursement.

 

The reimbursement process will usually be through your employer or the hospital you were treated at.

 

For NHS Staff (including locum and agency staff), you will be eligible to claim if you meet the following criteria.

 

1. If you are using your vehicle to carry:

• Bulky, heavy or fragile equipment/supplies
• Patients’ notes or other confidential material
• Controlled drugs
• Clinical waste, contaminated sharps, radioactive materials or non-medicinal poisons
• Prescription-only medicines or waste medicinal products
• Clinical specimens, body fluids, tissues or organs

or

2. Be responding to an emergency when on call.

The reimbursement would be claimed through your employer.

NHS patients can claim back both the congestion and ULEZ charge.  The reimbursement process will be through the hospital or organisation you went to get treatment, this includes vaccine centres based in the zone.

For local authority employees and charity workers (volunteers), the process of claiming reimbursement is through the local authority your work for or the charity you are involved with.  For charity workers or volunteers, you must be a part of a campaign that is delivering direct support to people within the zones.

Care home workers looking to make a claim for reimbursement must work for a CQC (Care Quality Commission) registered care home within the congestion charging zone.

The best way to ensure that you are entitled to the ULEZ and Congestion Charge reimbursement is to check with your employer before driving into the zone.