Wolverhampton LOC are committed to being open and honest about the fees it pays itself.

We would like to encourage anyone who wants to be active in trying to shape the future of optometry in Wolverhampton to join the committee.

The work of the LOC is funded by a statutory levy. This is collected as a percentage of sight test fees. The LOC is committed to trying to keep this figure down, and has been successful in achieving this. The Levy currently stands at 2.5%.

Of this, 0.5% is collected to fund the LOC Support unit. LOCSU has provided valuable resources to Wolverhampton LOC, as well as providing a national voice for optometry. Authorisation for this payment is sought at every AGM.

A thorough review of the amount the committee pays itself has been conducted over months since the 2023 AGM and the following fees were agreed at the committee meeting on 11th October 2023:

External meetings in office hours (8:00am to 6:30pm) :  £80 per hour, capped at £400 per day. This includes any extra travel time beyond what the committee member would have undertaken normally that day.

Meetings out of office hours and for Admin work: £50 per hour, capped at £400 per day.

Where a meeting is cancelled with less than 48 hours notice an invoice for the time can be claimed, but any outstanding admin work that can be undertaken in that time should be done instead. This is to cover for the financial loss of having to cancel patients or other personal plans and not having opportunity to rebook/rearrange. If 48 hours or more notice is given then no claim can be made.

Time spend is rounded up to the nearest 15 minutes, with the understanding that committee members will not abuse this by doing a series of short tasks and rounding each up to 15 minutes.

All claims by committee members must be documented fully and signed off by two officers, neither of whom can be the claimant.

Committee meetings:

Face to face meetings: £90 per meeting.
Virtual meetings: £75 per meeting.

Travel: Receipts to be presented for train/air/bus travel (economy or 2nd class) any upgrades to be paid by the individual. Alternatively 45p per mile as per HMRC rules from usual place of work (not home).

Sustenance: £25 per day for overnight stays if not already paid by the LOC.

Overnight stay: Remunerated up to £125 per night if not already paid by the LOC.

Honorarium:

£500 Treasurer
£1000 Secretary (to be split between co-secretaries)
£500 Chair
£500 Vice-Chair

The Social Media officer receives £500 annually, which covers all social media work.