Faculty & Associate University Librarian Professional Expense Allowance Plan (PEA) Policy and Procedures (HTML)

Policy Governance Details

• Policy Title: Faculty & Associate University Librarian (Librarian) Professional Expense Allowance Plan (PEA) Policy and Procedures
• Approved by: Board of Governors
• Date of Most Recent Approval: April 16, 2026, effective May 1, 2026
• Supersedes / Amends Policies Dated: 
  • Faculty Professional Development Allowance Plan Policy and Procedures, June 27, 2019
  • Librarian Professional Development Allowance Policy and Procedures, March 27, 2002
• Date(s) of Original Approval: April 16, 2026, effective May 1, 2026
• Responsible Executive: Provost and Vice-President (Academic), and Vice-President (Operations & Finance)
• Policy-Specific Enquiries: Human Resources Services

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Table of Contents

• Policy
• Eligibility for the PEA
• Allowable Expenses
• Ineligible Expenses
• Carry-Forward, Unspent Funds, and Repayment Provisions
• Policy Review

Policy

1. McMaster University provides an allowance for business expenses of its faculty members and Associate University Librarians (“Librarians”) directly related to the performance of their teaching, research and professional duties. Business expenses include, but are not limited to, professional development expenses. In support of these activities, an annual Professional Expenses Allowance (“PEA”) is provided to each eligible faculty member and Librarian. This plan and its implementation will conform to Revenue Canada’s regulations pertaining to taxable benefits to individuals and to the Broader Public Sector Perquisites and Expenses Directives, and will be administered in accordance with the University’s Policy on Reimbursements to Individuals for University Business (AP-01) and its accompanying guidelines.

Eligibility for the PEA

2. Eligibility is as follows:
   1. A faculty member must participate in the University’s Career Progress/Merit Plan to be eligible under this Policy.
   2. A Librarian must have a Continuing appointment to be eligible under this Policy.
   3. A faculty member on reduced workload or a Librarian with an appointment that is less than full-time will receive a pro-rated PEA.
   4. A faculty member or Librarian appointed between May 1 and July 1 will receive the full PEA for the fiscal year. A faculty member or Librarian appointed after July 1 will receive a pro-rated PEA, calculated based on a July 1-June 30 year (e.g., 11/12 for August 1 start date, ¼ for April 1 start date).
   5. The PEA is not pro-rated for a faculty member or Librarian who takes a statutory leave of absence or a supported leave of absence due to short-term or long-term disability. A faculty member or Librarian on a Long-Term Disability (LTD) leave is eligible up to a maximum of two years from the start of their LTD leave. A faculty member or Librarian collecting LTD Benefits from the LTD provider who is considering pursuing professional activities giving rise to professional expenses should contact their LTD Disability Case Manager to review whether or not there would be any impact on their LTD claim or benefit.
   6. For paid research leaves beyond the first awarded, a faculty member or Librarian who takes a 12-month leave will be entitled to an Enhanced PEA equal to 200% of the PEA in effect for the fiscal year in which the leave begins. A faculty member or Librarian who takes a leave of less than 12 months will be entitled to an Enhanced PEA equal to 150% of the PEA in effect for the fiscal year in which the leave begins.
   7. Professional expenses funded by external agencies will comply with the regulations of the funder and will be administered outside of this Policy. If the external agency has no regulations or provides limited direction, the expenditures will be administered in a manner consistent with this Policy.
   8. The funds are designated strictly for use by the individual faculty member or Librarian.
3. Annual PEA Amount:
   1. The annual PEA amount is specified in the current Joint Committee Agreement.

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Allowable Expenses

4. Expenses covered by this allowance must not provide a personal benefit to any individual to avoid classification as a taxable benefit. Expenses must be business-related requirements for the effective performance of the faculty member or Librarian’s job, including for their professional development, and be compliant with:
   1. Canada Revenue Agency regulations pertaining to taxable benefits to individuals;
   2. Broader Public Sector Perquisites and Expenses Directives; and
   3. University Policy on Reimbursements to Individuals for University Business (AP-01) and its accompanying guidelines.
5. Provided they meet the criteria set out in clause 4, above, eligible expenses may include, for example:
   1. annual or lifetime professional dues and membership fees for learned societies;
   2. manuscripts, subscriptions to professional and/or learned journals and other similar professional publications;
   3. books, materials, equipment and services directly related to research or teaching;
   4. office supplies relating to the performance of teaching or research duties;
   5. equipment, including computers used or consumed in the performance of the faculty member’s or Librarian’s duties in teaching and/or research;
   6. computer software and supplies used or consumed in the performance of the faculty member’s or Librarian’s job-related duties in teaching and/or research;
   7. travel, including transportation, registration fees, food and accommodation for the faculty member or Librarian to attend scholarly conferences, field trips, research visits, or workshops;
   8. hosting meals or forums/events which include networking as a formal courtesy with guest researchers or other visitors to the University, or University-related activities that contribute to the achievement of academic objectives. The attendees may include graduate or undergraduate students, teaching assistants, lab or course support staff. In order to be eligible under this Policy, these hospitality expenditures must contribute to the effective performance of the faculty member or Librarian’s job, or to their professional development, for example: through the provision of a forum to exchange new ideas or further discuss ongoing research activities with students or staff or to provide networking opportunities with off-campus partners. In all cases, the reimbursement of this type of expenditure must be accompanied by a description of the specific professional development or other business-related purpose of the expenditure and a complete list of attendees;
   9. expenses incurred in the preparation and completion of scholarly manuscripts, and page or reprint charges;
   10. usage fee for cell phone, internet access or conferencing services is eligible where usage is primarily for business purposes. If the usage is not primarily for business purposes, only the portion related to University business is eligible;
   11. non-emergency health and dental insurance premiums that are incurred at the sole and exclusive discretion of the faculty member or Librarian for the period of time that they are travelling internationally while on University business, excluding expenses for access to private health clinics and medical services outside those provided by the provincial health care system or by the MUFA benefit plan;
   12. academic regalia;
   13. office equipment, furniture and accessories required to support working remotely;
   14. direct costs of research consistent with applicable McMaster University policies, pursuant to clause 6 below;
   15. payment to individuals other than themselves for services (including honoraria), consistent with McMaster University policies and legislation, pursuant to clause 7 below; and
   16. other professional development expenses not mentioned above.
6. Research that requires certification
   1. Expenses related to research that requires certification cannot be paid directly from the PEA. These include research that involves:
      1. human participants, their records or tissues;
      2. animals and their tissues;
      3. biohazardous materials (e.g., viruses, bacteria or yeast, cancer or immortalized cell lines, parasites, toxins of a biological origin, plant or aquatic pathogens);
      4. nuclear substances and radiation devices;
      5. controlled goods (e.g., weapons, ammunition, explosives, weapon design and testing equipment, missile technology, technology necessary for the development, production, or use of a controlled good); or
      6. license for research in the field.
   2. PEA funds intended to support research that requires certification must be transferred to an Internally Sponsored Research account. The research office will ensure that any required certifications have been received. This is required before the research activity takes place.
   3. The transfer of PEA funds must be approved by the Chair or AVP & University Librarian, as appropriate, and must indicate an expiry date that aligns with the date the PEA funds would otherwise have expired under clause 12 of this Policy if they had not been transferred.
7. Payments to individuals for services
   1. Expenses related to payment for services (labour costs, contractor fees, or honoraria) cannot be paid or reimbursed directly from the PEA.
   2. Where payments are made to individuals for services, they must be processed in accordance with appropriate legislation and University policies and processes, as follows:

• • 1. to an employee through payroll;
    2. to an independent contractor, through a PO/Non-PO voucher, following the completion of an approved Independent Contractor Questionnaire; or
    3. to an individual as an honorarium, through a PO/Non-PO voucher.

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Ineligible Expenses

8. Ineligible expenses include interest charged on overdue charge accounts and other personal expenses that, under current tax legislation, would be considered a taxable benefit to the individual, or any disallowed perquisite under the Broader Public Sector directive. These ineligible expenses also include, but are not restricted to, gifts, personal meals, social club membership fees, and personal living expenses.
9. It is the individual’s responsibility to ensure that the expenses charged against their PEA account are legitimate costs incurred for business-related requirements for the effective performance of their job, including for their professional development, and supported by the required documentation.
10. In the event that the faculty member or Librarian is unable to account for the charges to the satisfaction of the Department Chair or AVP & University Librarian, as applicable, the Chair, after consultation with their Faculty Dean or the AVP & University Librarian, will refuse payment or request reimbursement if the claim has already been paid. If such action has previously been taken against the faculty member or Librarian in respect of an ineligible claim, and if the Chair, after consultation with their Faculty Dean or the AVP & University Librarian, determines that sanctions are appropriate, they will initiate proceedings under the Code of Conduct for Faculty or in keeping with the employment contract and applicable policies for Librarians. If the Chair, Dean, or AVP & University Librarian determines that the charges may constitute theft or fraud, they will inform the Provost, who will consult with Human Resources Services and the Chief Internal Auditor.
11. The Department Chair or the AVP & University Librarian, or their delegate on record, shall determine whether a claimed expense qualifies as an eligible expense as described above. Where there is a disagreement with respect to the eligibility of an expense, the matter shall be referred to the appropriate Faculty Dean or to the Provost for Librarians. The decision of the Dean or Provost, as applicable, shall be final and binding on all parties, and there shall be no further appeal.

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Carry-Forward, Unspent Funds, and Repayment Provisions

12. PEA accounts will be adjusted to budget at April 30. If a faculty member or Librarian does not spend all of their PEA in a given fiscal year (May 1 to April 30), the unspent balance will be made available to them in the following two years. In addition, a faculty member or Librarian is allowed to borrow against future PEA for up to two years. Thus, in a given year, the carry-forward plus the borrowing provisions allow a faculty member or Librarian to spend a maximum of five years’ PEA, plus any Enhanced PEA awarded. Deficits are to be the first charge against future PEAs and unspent balances in excess of the maximum carry-forward revert to the Department Chair or Dean as savings to the Department, or to the AVP & University Librarian, and may be allocated, saved or spent at the discretion of the Department Chair or Dean or the AVP & University Librarian, as applicable. Any unspent balance of a PEA or Enhanced PEA for a faculty member or Librarian whose position becomes vacant during the year will also revert to the Department Chair or Dean, or to the AVP & University Librarian, for similar purposes. Unspent PDA balances as of April 30, 2026, under the previous policies will be governed by the PEA policy.
13. All goods purchased under this plan are the property of McMaster University but are available for the use of the individual faculty member or Librarian while they hold their appointment and remain eligible under this Policy. All goods must be purchased using approved methods in accordance with purchasing policies. Disposal of such goods is at the discretion of the Dean, upon the recommendation of the Department Chair or the AVP & University Librarian, as applicable; the procedures of the federal funding councils serve as guidelines for such decisions.
14. If an individual’s employment with the University ends, they will be responsible to repay to the University any PEA amount they have borrowed against future years, as well as any expenses for which they have been reimbursed and have not received or experienced before their last day of employment, unless otherwise expressly approved in writing. For example, a faculty member or Librarian who submitted and received reimbursement for a conference they planned to attend in October and resigned from their employment in June will be responsible for repaying those funds to the University.
15. A faculty member or Librarian who retires or leaves the University will be entitled to a pro-rated PEA for any portion of a year of their appointment that has been completed. In no case will the unspent balance of a PEA be paid out to the faculty member, Librarian, or their estate. Any unspent balances will accrue as savings to the Department and may be allocated, saved or spent at the discretion of the Department Chair or Dean, or the AVP & University Librarian.

Policy Review

16. Per the McMaster University Policy Framework, the Provost & Vice-President (Academic) and Vice-President (Operations & Finance) will typically review this Policy every five (5) years. Smaller and more frequent reviews may occur to ensure that this Policy is current and compliant with legislative requirements, current professional standards, and leading practices.

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