Evening meal allowance - London
Discussion
Sporky said:
We had someone go significantly overboard - five figures. He was given the choice of paying it back, being fired and taken to court, or going to (IIRC) five years' notice with the money taken out of his pay over that period.
He's still with us...
What kind of meal does one get for £10,000?He's still with us...
BigBen said:
Sporky said:
We had someone go significantly overboard - five figures. He was given the choice of paying it back, being fired and taken to court, or going to (IIRC) five years' notice with the money taken out of his pay over that period.
He's still with us...
What kind of meal does one get for £10,000?He's still with us...
We had a limit of (I think - it was a decade or so ago now) £25 per person per night, they were averaging over £80.
A company I worked for had a policy of $110/day. But, one of the senior guys didn’t want to waste his time approving expenses so said only one meal a day could be expensed. He quit but the policy remained.
Unintended consequence was teams going out and ordering a bottle of wine each to hit the limit because they were annoyed they had to pay for breakfast and lunch.
The problem was that none of the senior people knew this was going on because they didn’t have the same policy and they didn’t do their own expenses. It only came to light at an ask me anything. The policy was immediately changed.
Unintended consequence was teams going out and ordering a bottle of wine each to hit the limit because they were annoyed they had to pay for breakfast and lunch.
The problem was that none of the senior people knew this was going on because they didn’t have the same policy and they didn’t do their own expenses. It only came to light at an ask me anything. The policy was immediately changed.
Blown2CV said:
the tax man would be on your case for BIK if they got wind you were claiming for what would be classed more as a perk than a legitimate business expense. It only takes one disgruntled ex employee to whistleblow routine expensing of £60-70 meals and you'd be screwed!
Agreed, you have to be able to justify it.Spent a lot of time in the Norway recently. Eating out is expensive. But that's what it costs there, so its reasonable, when viewed in context.
In London- you can almost pay as much, or little as you want..
technically it's not quite fair enough as you typically wouldn't have access to cooking facilities, a decently priced supermarket etc. and buying in quantities to make it cheaper per meal etc. Whatever it costs for a burger a chips i reckon. Clearly you don't have to actually choose that, but it's not a bad rule of thumb. I usually would end up expensing £20-30.
Deliveroo to the hotel room has been a game changer for me on days when i just can't be f
ked to get my st together and leave the hotel.
Deliveroo to the hotel room has been a game changer for me on days when i just can't be f
ked to get my st together and leave the hotel. IJWS15 said:
I see many posters are forgetting that they are not paying for the meal they would have eaten if at home………
Last company I worked for had a £27 evening meal allowance and a (IIRC) £10 all day allowance. If breakfast wasn’t at the hotel then it was in the all day allowance. I think I exceeded the meal allowance once although you learn to eat in the bar to avoid the room service charge.
One thing the policy did was kill early starts, other big companies I worked for just required it to be reasonable and I never had a breakfast claim refused when I had left home at 6 am.
Don’t underestimate the cost of expenses to the business, I once went to check progress on a claim and the lady in accounts referenced a screen which had a total of £8k at the bottom. I asked and the number was the expenses I had been paid that financial year (to Sept), in 1995 it was about 40% of my salary.
When I was running a one man Ltd company doing freelance consulting, my wife did most of the admin. Last company I worked for had a £27 evening meal allowance and a (IIRC) £10 all day allowance. If breakfast wasn’t at the hotel then it was in the all day allowance. I think I exceeded the meal allowance once although you learn to eat in the bar to avoid the room service charge.
One thing the policy did was kill early starts, other big companies I worked for just required it to be reasonable and I never had a breakfast claim refused when I had left home at 6 am.
Don’t underestimate the cost of expenses to the business, I once went to check progress on a claim and the lady in accounts referenced a screen which had a total of £8k at the bottom. I asked and the number was the expenses I had been paid that financial year (to Sept), in 1995 it was about 40% of my salary.
She was a stickler. Her turn of phrase was "I dont think even your dodgy accountant would risk that with the HMRC"
In the year before covid, I pretty much was away 4 nights every week, so my expenses were way more than my salary. (But less than my dividend)
This is ours, I'd say generous I guess for the whole day;
We will reimburse meals and drinks, against submitting of receipts, with a maximum of £ 70 per day (or a different amount based on the big mac index as detailed above). All claims must be accompanied by a receipt. Alcoholic beverages should be limited and must exclude spirits (> 35% A.B.V.), provided that the employee has completed all work-related tasks and will not drive post consumption.
We will reimburse meals and drinks, against submitting of receipts, with a maximum of £ 70 per day (or a different amount based on the big mac index as detailed above). All claims must be accompanied by a receipt. Alcoholic beverages should be limited and must exclude spirits (> 35% A.B.V.), provided that the employee has completed all work-related tasks and will not drive post consumption.
HiAsAKite said:
Agreed, you have to be able to justify it.
Spent a lot of time in the Norway recently. Eating out is expensive. But that's what it costs there, so its reasonable, when viewed in context.
In London- you can almost pay as much, or little as you want..
When you've got up at silly o'clock, travelled miles across the country, done an 11 hour day, eventually got to your hotel at 7pm, in an town you don't know, and you don't want to eat a fat burger with lard fried chips, but something healthy with a quiet ambience, you shouldn't have to keep to £12. Spent a lot of time in the Norway recently. Eating out is expensive. But that's what it costs there, so its reasonable, when viewed in context.
In London- you can almost pay as much, or little as you want..
Can you find something as healthy and nutritious as you'd normally eat at home for a low price.
all this talk saying it should only cost what it does to feed yourself at home is crazy. You can cook a roast chicken dinner at home for around £2 per person. A ribeye steak at home (not an everyday meal for most) would cost around £8 per head yet in an average restaurant be what £30 to£35.
Can of coke at home 40p from a multipack, £3 when out.
Can of coke at home 40p from a multipack, £3 when out.
loskie said:
all this talk saying it should only cost what it does to feed yourself at home is crazy.
I'm not sure anyone said that.As I read it, it was "the cost of an equivalent meal", not the same cost. As you say, if you eat out the same thing will be more expensive.
I read it as more like "if you eat spag bol at home with a Ribena, maybe don't expect to eat foie gras and lobster with champagne on expenses". Which seems very reasonable.
loskie said:
all this talk saying it should only cost what it does to feed yourself at home is crazy. You can cook a roast chicken dinner at home for around £2 per person. A ribeye steak at home (not an everyday meal for most) would cost around £8 per head yet in an average restaurant be what £30 to£35.
Can of coke at home 40p from a multipack, £3 when out.
My point is that the equivalent of a week night home meal when I'm working away is Deliveroo or an M&S salad, crisps, sandwich. With a bottle of beer. Can of coke at home 40p from a multipack, £3 when out.
I don't at dine in a restaurant when I'm at home, so I don't expect to when working away.
But I'm self employed so I'm the one paying.
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