Unreasonable Employer - Expenses
Discussion
dancole90 said:
Morning all,
They said a cash float is not an option, nor is a company credit card.
You are giving the company a free loan. If they go bust, you get to keep the debt. They said a cash float is not an option, nor is a company credit card.
Since I refuse to use my funds for company expenses, my present company will use their credit card to pay the hotel / car hire directly. The purchasing manager controls the card, employees do not get them.
That would leave you with fuel to pay for but I assume there are fuel card schemes for that(?).
I would take the actions of your company as a very strong sign that they are short of cash and are running on overdrafts. Your free loans will not be repaid if their bank manager thinks today is the day. You get to be an unsecured creditor with little chance of recovery.
I'm in the same situation, all expenses are covered by myself then claimed for online and paid back to my bank account in a few working days. Luckily I'm not OOO that often that it affects me, alternatively we can claim for an advance on expenses if you are low on funds.
But a mate was also in the same situation and was provided with a £1500 float.
As another poster said, you are carrying all the risk should your company go bust, not a nice situation to be in.
But a mate was also in the same situation and was provided with a £1500 float.
As another poster said, you are carrying all the risk should your company go bust, not a nice situation to be in.
The company is in a good financial position. We're the largest in the UK for our industry with profits every year the Millions, and yearly bonuses are always very generous. When we were took over and became part of a group all the policies on expenses as well as many other things changed to how the other companies operated.
Purity14 said:
Get the £250 card for now.
Max it, pay it off, max it pay it off. Consider it a trial run for your expences.
After two months, the credit card company will give you a £1000 limit, then a £2000 soon enough.
I use this method, I started with a Credit card of £1750. - Within two years of spending no more than £2000 per month, and then paying it off, I now have a credit limit of £12,000 !
This.Max it, pay it off, max it pay it off. Consider it a trial run for your expences.
After two months, the credit card company will give you a £1000 limit, then a £2000 soon enough.
I use this method, I started with a Credit card of £1750. - Within two years of spending no more than £2000 per month, and then paying it off, I now have a credit limit of £12,000 !
I would then be applying for a cashback or Points card
In my view - 1000 pounds is a big hit to ask ANY employee to take from their PERSONAL finances before getting paid.
Personally I would regard anyone SAVING 1000 pounds* each month to be doing VERY well these days - so I would surmise that for many - 1000 pounds is coming straight out of what should be NORMAL savings or money for normal everyday expenses.
Personally I would regard anyone SAVING 1000 pounds* each month to be doing VERY well these days - so I would surmise that for many - 1000 pounds is coming straight out of what should be NORMAL savings or money for normal everyday expenses.
John145 said:
If you look on the bright side, having a credit card that you are fully in control of (ie paying off on time) looks good for your credit history.
It will add to your credit history, but whether it's good or bad depends on who is looking at it.I'm sure some credit card companies don't want customers who never pay any interest.
LeoSayer said:
I'm sure some credit card companies don't want customers who never pay any interest.
Rot. Most companies make a percentage at the front end where they charge 3/4% of the transaction cost.OP - sounds like you need to get a few of your fellow field operatives to get together and request a meeting with management about this. in my view it is unacceptable.
Sir Fergie said:
In my view - 1000 pounds is a big hit to ask ANY employee to take from their PERSONAL finances before getting paid.
Personally I would regard anyone SAVING 1000 pounds* each month to be doing VERY well these days - so I would surmise that for many - 1000 pounds is coming straight out of what should be NORMAL savings or money for normal everyday expenses.
You don't need to be saving £1,000 a month - you just need to have £1,000Personally I would regard anyone SAVING 1000 pounds* each month to be doing VERY well these days - so I would surmise that for many - 1000 pounds is coming straight out of what should be NORMAL savings or money for normal everyday expenses.
Sir Fergie said:
In my view - 1000 pounds is a big hit to ask ANY employee to take from their PERSONAL finances before getting paid.
Personally I would regard anyone SAVING 1000 pounds* each month to be doing VERY well these days - so I would surmise that for many - 1000 pounds is coming straight out of what should be NORMAL savings or money for normal everyday expenses.
Absolutely. This isn't reasonable. I will incur the odd meal out, etc whilst working away but these are clearly regular expenses and asking employees to fork out for hotels is bonkers. This at the very least should be booked and paid for via the company.Personally I would regard anyone SAVING 1000 pounds* each month to be doing VERY well these days - so I would surmise that for many - 1000 pounds is coming straight out of what should be NORMAL savings or money for normal everyday expenses.
rotarymazda said:
I would take the actions of your company as a very strong sign that they are short of cash and are running on overdrafts.
Don't necessarily agree with this. As mentioned in a previous post, the OP's situation is similar to my wife, after her company, the 4th largest in that industry in the world got taken over by the global number 2 almost ten years ago. My wife's employer is listed on the NYSE and has over 5,000 employees globally. With what I know of their financial situation and profits, cash-flow is not a problem for them. The company (or rather her PA) books company travel etc., but flights, hotels, parking and other expenses are always billed to her own credit card. When she travels over to the US, India or East Asia on average once a month along with shorter trips to Europe, this means a monthly £3k-£4k spend is not unheard of. When she told me about this arrangement, I found it baffling also, perhaps it is a US thing where personal credit cards are much more relied upon. On the plus side, we've just replaced our tumble dryer and bought a load of baby stuff using the points she racks up on the credit card just from the last few months of work trips.
My former employer is a FTSE 100 listed company with 17,000 employees globally and I believe they are just about to put the same arrangements in place and I know of several friends who work at large organisations who also do not operate a company credit card scheme. They can't all be on their uppers.
Edited by Highway Star on Wednesday 23 July 13:34
Edited by Highway Star on Wednesday 23 July 13:36
dancole90 said:
When we were took over and became part of a group all the policies on expenses as well as many other things changed to how the other companies operated.
Is there a written expenses policy and have you got a copy of it?I'd be fairly amazed if a company big enough to write policies etc, doesn't have some procedure for this situation. At the ordinary employee level, using your own money for expenses is not on - but of course it's easier to just fob you off in the first instance.
Eric Mc said:
Whether they are hard up or not - asking employees to carry the burden of the company's debt regarding business expenses is just wrong.
However is standard practise unfortunately. I currently expense about a £1000 per week if I submit on Tuesday it is paid on Friday, does allow me to build plenty of cash back! My colleagues worst month was £17k! lemonslap said:
However is standard practise unfortunately.
I've been in jobs that paid expenses all my working life and I've always had a float and in this and the last job we could have company charge cards if we want them. A lot of quite well paid people run their lives surprisingly close to (and often over) the edge financially and they really need the company credit card.
lemonslap said:
Eric Mc said:
Whether they are hard up or not - asking employees to carry the burden of the company's debt regarding business expenses is just wrong.
However is standard practise unfortunately. I currently expense about a £1000 per week if I submit on Tuesday it is paid on Friday, does allow me to build plenty of cash back! My colleagues worst month was £17k! If the employer settles promptly and without undue hassle, then fair enough, it works well in that context. It's still putting the employee at risk, however.
And if the employer starts playing silly buggers - I'd be looking for a new job.
The Moose said:
elanfan said:
Rot. Most companies make a percentage at the front end where they charge 3/4% of the transaction cost.
Most merchants aren't paying 3/4% to accept credit cards...Sheepshanks said:
I've been in jobs that paid expenses all my working life and I've always had a float and in this and the last job we could have company charge cards if we want them.
A lot of quite well paid people run their lives surprisingly close to (and often over) the edge financially and they really need the company credit card.
Different industry's I guess makes the difference, I have worked for very large and small electrical manufactures for the past 10 years and have always self funded.A lot of quite well paid people run their lives surprisingly close to (and often over) the edge financially and they really need the company credit card.
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