Evening meal allowance - London
Discussion
Countdown said:
One of the best defences against expenses fraud is to have an expenses team of bitter vindictive old women who never travel anywhere 
My boss eventually spent 20 mins combing through my 19 receipts and gave me my claim.back with a triumphant, "You've made a mistake here" €0.40 had been discounted on one receipt, one where I paid actually cash, and not with a card. I'd put down the sub total before the discount.
The cost to the business of me fixing this was 10 mins and 2 sheets of paper.
I got back on the 18th April. When will my £472 be paid ? Why should I have to fund this out of my account loosing 2% interest?
Countdown said:
I've had people booking "business meetings" where their partners have accompanied them with the costs being charged to the Company CC.
I did put lunch with my girlfriend (now wife) on expenses once, but to be fair she was a customer of the company at the time, and it was about a fiver each.And I checked first.
So not really the same thing.
The only two times I got told off were my very first expenses claim; I was on a site visit with a grizzled old veteran of the company, didn't know better, and he said we were going to Spaghetti House. The MD pointed out that "lunch" meant a Boots meal deal, and that said grizzled vet knew better. Got paid anyway.
The other was when I'd been taken out to a European trade show by a supplier, and the evening entertainment one night was standing in a dark noisy nightclub full of strangers. I didn't know then that I'm autistic, but I darned well knew when I was about to overload and have a proper screaming smash-things-up meltdown (only mildly exaggerating), so I made my excuses and went back to the hotel for a lovely quiet dinner. The MD (different company) said he was OK with signing off the dinner, but was disappointed that I'd been so rude to a supplier. I managed to stay quiet and say thank you.
Greshamst said:
Pit Pony said:
I got back on the 18th April. When will my £472 be paid ? Why should I have to fund this out of my account loosing 2% interest?
You should definitely raise that with HR, and ask them for the 41p in interest you’ve missed out on/s
I'm contracting for a company but am subject to their rules on expenses:
London
Hotel £150 and you have to book the breakfast rate
Daytime subsistence £25
Evening meal £75
Out of London
Hotel £125 and you have to book the breakfast rate
Daytime subsistence £20
Evening meal £50
And here's the kicker. When you claim you can only claim the full amount. So if you bought a £3.50 meal deal for lunch outside London, as long as you keep the receipt, you get £20. You cannot claim £3.50 as the computer says no. Same with the evening meal.
When you submit your expenses, if a manager approves it up to £500, you get the amount the same day. If they fail to approve it within 72 hours and it is below £500, you are automatically paid.
London
Hotel £150 and you have to book the breakfast rate
Daytime subsistence £25
Evening meal £75
Out of London
Hotel £125 and you have to book the breakfast rate
Daytime subsistence £20
Evening meal £50
And here's the kicker. When you claim you can only claim the full amount. So if you bought a £3.50 meal deal for lunch outside London, as long as you keep the receipt, you get £20. You cannot claim £3.50 as the computer says no. Same with the evening meal.
When you submit your expenses, if a manager approves it up to £500, you get the amount the same day. If they fail to approve it within 72 hours and it is below £500, you are automatically paid.
vikingaero said:
I
When you submit your expenses, if a manager approves it up to £500, you get the amount the same day. If they fail to approve it within 72 hours and it is below £500, you are automatically paid.
Sigh. My last employer was like that, my current one has recently moved to Concur for expenses. I got paid today for a chunky claim that was submitted on 8th April.When you submit your expenses, if a manager approves it up to £500, you get the amount the same day. If they fail to approve it within 72 hours and it is below £500, you are automatically paid.
vikingaero said:
I'm contracting for a company but am subject to their rules on expenses:
London
Hotel £150 and you have to book the breakfast rate
Daytime subsistence £25
Evening meal £75
Out of London
Hotel £125 and you have to book the breakfast rate
Daytime subsistence £20
Evening meal £50
And here's the kicker. When you claim you can only claim the full amount. So if you bought a £3.50 meal deal for lunch outside London, as long as you keep the receipt, you get £20. You cannot claim £3.50 as the computer says no. Same with the evening meal.
When you submit your expenses, if a manager approves it up to £500, you get the amount the same day. If they fail to approve it within 72 hours and it is below £500, you are automatically paid.
It sounds like a broken per diem model. At a former employer, the UK team were on per diem and the US team were full expenses. The UK team never spent a penny on food because the US members would expense it for them. It meant the UK members could significantly increase their take home.London
Hotel £150 and you have to book the breakfast rate
Daytime subsistence £25
Evening meal £75
Out of London
Hotel £125 and you have to book the breakfast rate
Daytime subsistence £20
Evening meal £50
And here's the kicker. When you claim you can only claim the full amount. So if you bought a £3.50 meal deal for lunch outside London, as long as you keep the receipt, you get £20. You cannot claim £3.50 as the computer says no. Same with the evening meal.
When you submit your expenses, if a manager approves it up to £500, you get the amount the same day. If they fail to approve it within 72 hours and it is below £500, you are automatically paid.
Blown2CV said:
that is a seriously weird policy.
Not really. A lot of the big consulting firms and institutions do this. When I work on international assignments, I get a lump-sum per-diem that covers food and accommodation. I don't even need to submit receipts, just the boarding cards to prove I was in the country. I could sleep on a park bench and eat from the bins and pocket the full rate if I so wished.
It saves the client from having to sift through a very large number of receipts and verifying different claims in different denominations.
My company has the following policy for hotels and meals.
Lodging/Accommodations
Hotel lodging
Hotel accommodations should be arranged by the employee at a reasonable cost,
at the maximum rates defined below:
Large International cities (San Francisco, New York, Boston, Tokyo, London) :
Maximum price per night: USD $280 or equivalent (or €243)
Other cities: Maximum price per night: USD $180 or equivalent (or €157)
This maximum price includes resort fees and excludes taxes.
Managers’ prior approval is required if exceeding the above limits.
Meals
Meals taken when traveling or when inviting customers or prospects will be reimbursed,
assuming the amounts are reasonable.
Considered reasonable:
● For individual meals:
○ US region - USD 30 to 45 per meal and per person
○ Other regions - €25 to €40 per meal and per person
● For customers/Prospects meals:
○ US region - USD 90 per meal and per person
○ Other regions - €55 per meal and per person
Meals exceeding those guidelines will be subject to the approval of Manager.
Employees planning on an event that is expected to exceed or get close to $1,500
should submit an Expense Commitment Request in advance.
Alcoholic beverages are only reimbursed if taken during meals or during team events.
Most of my corporate dining is in central Paris rather than London, and you can get a very good meal there for €25. That's because many Parisian workers go out to have a proper sit-down meal at lunch. My French colleagues have 50% of the cost of their meals subsidised by the company, as I believe is the law for all French companies over 50 employees. So I never feel like I'm restricted by policy. On occasion when dining alone I've spent upwards of €80 on a meal without any mention of it before my manager approves my expenses. But then he knows I'm also happy to have a McDonalds when time is short. On a recent trip to Luxembourg I booked a serviced apartment and bought groceries which made my life more pleasant and also cut down on dining expenses. I don't particularly enjoy big fancy meals on my own.
Lodging/Accommodations
Hotel lodging
Hotel accommodations should be arranged by the employee at a reasonable cost,
at the maximum rates defined below:
Large International cities (San Francisco, New York, Boston, Tokyo, London) :
Maximum price per night: USD $280 or equivalent (or €243)
Other cities: Maximum price per night: USD $180 or equivalent (or €157)
This maximum price includes resort fees and excludes taxes.
Managers’ prior approval is required if exceeding the above limits.
Meals
Meals taken when traveling or when inviting customers or prospects will be reimbursed,
assuming the amounts are reasonable.
Considered reasonable:
● For individual meals:
○ US region - USD 30 to 45 per meal and per person
○ Other regions - €25 to €40 per meal and per person
● For customers/Prospects meals:
○ US region - USD 90 per meal and per person
○ Other regions - €55 per meal and per person
Meals exceeding those guidelines will be subject to the approval of Manager.
Employees planning on an event that is expected to exceed or get close to $1,500
should submit an Expense Commitment Request in advance.
Alcoholic beverages are only reimbursed if taken during meals or during team events.
Most of my corporate dining is in central Paris rather than London, and you can get a very good meal there for €25. That's because many Parisian workers go out to have a proper sit-down meal at lunch. My French colleagues have 50% of the cost of their meals subsidised by the company, as I believe is the law for all French companies over 50 employees. So I never feel like I'm restricted by policy. On occasion when dining alone I've spent upwards of €80 on a meal without any mention of it before my manager approves my expenses. But then he knows I'm also happy to have a McDonalds when time is short. On a recent trip to Luxembourg I booked a serviced apartment and bought groceries which made my life more pleasant and also cut down on dining expenses. I don't particularly enjoy big fancy meals on my own.
StevieBee said:
Blown2CV said:
that is a seriously weird policy.
Not really. A lot of the big consulting firms and institutions do this. When I work on international assignments, I get a lump-sum per-diem that covers food and accommodation. I don't even need to submit receipts, just the boarding cards to prove I was in the country. I could sleep on a park bench and eat from the bins and pocket the full rate if I so wished.
It saves the client from having to sift through a very large number of receipts and verifying different claims in different denominations.
The mandatory breakfast thing is also unusual and seems to only be in there because of the max claim weirdness. There would be no point in them trying to save money on people claiming breakfast if they just pay out the maximum whatever you buy i guess.
Don’t people get given corporate credit cards…?
I book my transport and accommodation on Concur- costs charged to my corporate card either when booked (travel) or on check-out (hotel) and receipts emailed to Concur. And then almost everything else gets paid by corporate card during the trip, receipts scanned and uploaded by mobile Cobcur app as I go. Concur’s mostly pretty good at matching receipts to credit card payments.
I guess I’m lucky in that it’s rare for me to cover work expenses with my own cash.
I book my transport and accommodation on Concur- costs charged to my corporate card either when booked (travel) or on check-out (hotel) and receipts emailed to Concur. And then almost everything else gets paid by corporate card during the trip, receipts scanned and uploaded by mobile Cobcur app as I go. Concur’s mostly pretty good at matching receipts to credit card payments.
I guess I’m lucky in that it’s rare for me to cover work expenses with my own cash.
basherX said:
Don’t people get given corporate credit cards…?
I book my transport and accommodation on Concur- costs charged to my corporate card either when booked (travel) or on check-out (hotel) and receipts emailed to Concur. And then almost everything else gets paid by corporate card during the trip, receipts scanned and uploaded by mobile Cobcur app as I go. Concur’s mostly pretty good at matching receipts to credit card payments.
I guess I’m lucky in that it’s rare for me to cover work expenses with my own cash.
When you go out for a meal.... is there a limit you can put on your credit card? That is what we are talking about. Not how we pay.I book my transport and accommodation on Concur- costs charged to my corporate card either when booked (travel) or on check-out (hotel) and receipts emailed to Concur. And then almost everything else gets paid by corporate card during the trip, receipts scanned and uploaded by mobile Cobcur app as I go. Concur’s mostly pretty good at matching receipts to credit card payments.
I guess I’m lucky in that it’s rare for me to cover work expenses with my own cash.
h0b0 said:
basherX said:
Don’t people get given corporate credit cards…?
I book my transport and accommodation on Concur- costs charged to my corporate card either when booked (travel) or on check-out (hotel) and receipts emailed to Concur. And then almost everything else gets paid by corporate card during the trip, receipts scanned and uploaded by mobile Cobcur app as I go. Concur’s mostly pretty good at matching receipts to credit card payments.
I guess I’m lucky in that it’s rare for me to cover work expenses with my own cash.
When you go out for a meal.... is there a limit you can put on your credit card? That is what we are talking about. Not how we pay.I book my transport and accommodation on Concur- costs charged to my corporate card either when booked (travel) or on check-out (hotel) and receipts emailed to Concur. And then almost everything else gets paid by corporate card during the trip, receipts scanned and uploaded by mobile Cobcur app as I go. Concur’s mostly pretty good at matching receipts to credit card payments.
I guess I’m lucky in that it’s rare for me to cover work expenses with my own cash.
Comments like these provoked my post
quote=Pit Pony]
Greshamst said:
Pit Pony said:
I got back on the 18th April. When will my £472 be paid ? Why should I have to fund this out of my account loosing 2% interest?
You should definitely raise that with HR, and ask them for the 41p in interest you’ve missed out on/s
basherX said:
h0b0 said:
basherX said:
Don’t people get given corporate credit cards…?
I book my transport and accommodation on Concur- costs charged to my corporate card either when booked (travel) or on check-out (hotel) and receipts emailed to Concur. And then almost everything else gets paid by corporate card during the trip, receipts scanned and uploaded by mobile Cobcur app as I go. Concur’s mostly pretty good at matching receipts to credit card payments.
I guess I’m lucky in that it’s rare for me to cover work expenses with my own cash.
When you go out for a meal.... is there a limit you can put on your credit card? That is what we are talking about. Not how we pay.I book my transport and accommodation on Concur- costs charged to my corporate card either when booked (travel) or on check-out (hotel) and receipts emailed to Concur. And then almost everything else gets paid by corporate card during the trip, receipts scanned and uploaded by mobile Cobcur app as I go. Concur’s mostly pretty good at matching receipts to credit card payments.
I guess I’m lucky in that it’s rare for me to cover work expenses with my own cash.
Comments like these provoked my post
Pit Pony said:
Greshamst said:
Pit Pony said:
I got back on the 18th April. When will my £472 be paid ? Why should I have to fund this out of my account loosing 2% interest?
You should definitely raise that with HR, and ask them for the 41p in interest you’ve missed out on/s
edited to add that my corporate card is not taken everywhere once outside of the US.
Edited by h0b0 on Monday 13th May 17:24
We used to get given a physical employee handbook when you first joined the company which detailed this kind of stuff. They stopped doing it and someone asked me recently what the policy was as couldn't find anything on the company intranet. It's maybe deliberately vaugue. It used to be £35 plus the equivalent of half a bottle of wine for alcohol. That's also a bit vague as go to the right restaurant and you could get many pints for that.....
I usually say just don't take the piss and I'll approve them. We have to provide receipts but get £5 a night sundry expenses that don't require expenses, used to be to cover phone calls, papers etc. Our accounts payable do the normal checks such as receipts etc then it goes to the budget owner for approval. I normally just got approve but now and again I'll see what they've claimed and have seen claims for umbrellas and maps. Some folk claim for every penny spent while away they can.
I did a work sponsored masters many moons ago, there was a group of us and going to places with hand written receipts was a winner for having a big piss up....
You'd think the mileage allowance needs looked at it's been 45p per mile since I started 20 years ago.
I usually say just don't take the piss and I'll approve them. We have to provide receipts but get £5 a night sundry expenses that don't require expenses, used to be to cover phone calls, papers etc. Our accounts payable do the normal checks such as receipts etc then it goes to the budget owner for approval. I normally just got approve but now and again I'll see what they've claimed and have seen claims for umbrellas and maps. Some folk claim for every penny spent while away they can.
I did a work sponsored masters many moons ago, there was a group of us and going to places with hand written receipts was a winner for having a big piss up....
You'd think the mileage allowance needs looked at it's been 45p per mile since I started 20 years ago.
We are always made to stay in the cheapest hotels possible (usually some tatty Travelodge on a depressing industrial estate near a motorway somewhere with no cooked breakfast.
I had to join sales on a trip to Canada a few years ago and got to see how they are treated compared to us. I had to flew Air Transat Economy and got there first, sales were emailing me from their much nicer, probably business class (I am assuming as they had wifi) plane.
They put me in the same hotel as sales and it was a beautiful boutique hotel, the sort of place I would love to stay in for a holiday. The sales person I was there with told me to charge my food to their corporate card and have a few drinks if I wanted. They also took me out for breakfast, again charging to their card and kept asking if I wanted coffee's again on their card.
Pisses me off that we have to stay in the grottiest hotels out of our own pocked and claim it back, yet sales get treated like rock stars, stay in the nicest places, have no limits on food and drink and get a company card.
I had to join sales on a trip to Canada a few years ago and got to see how they are treated compared to us. I had to flew Air Transat Economy and got there first, sales were emailing me from their much nicer, probably business class (I am assuming as they had wifi) plane.
They put me in the same hotel as sales and it was a beautiful boutique hotel, the sort of place I would love to stay in for a holiday. The sales person I was there with told me to charge my food to their corporate card and have a few drinks if I wanted. They also took me out for breakfast, again charging to their card and kept asking if I wanted coffee's again on their card.
Pisses me off that we have to stay in the grottiest hotels out of our own pocked and claim it back, yet sales get treated like rock stars, stay in the nicest places, have no limits on food and drink and get a company card.
ThingsBehindTheSun said:
We are always made to stay in the cheapest hotels possible (usually some tatty Travelodge on a depressing industrial estate near a motorway somewhere with no cooked breakfast.
I had to join sales on a trip to Canada a few years ago and got to see how they are treated compared to us. I had to flew Air Transat Economy and got there first, sales were emailing me from their much nicer, probably business class (I am assuming as they had wifi) plane.
They put me in the same hotel as sales and it was a beautiful boutique hotel, the sort of place I would love to stay in for a holiday. The sales person I was there with told me to charge my food to their corporate card and have a few drinks if I wanted. They also took me out for breakfast, again charging to their card and kept asking if I wanted coffee's again on their card.
Pisses me off that we have to stay in the grottiest hotels out of our own pocked and claim it back, yet sales get treated like rock stars, stay in the nicest places, have no limits on food and drink and get a company card.
What do you do in the business, why the difference in policy?I had to join sales on a trip to Canada a few years ago and got to see how they are treated compared to us. I had to flew Air Transat Economy and got there first, sales were emailing me from their much nicer, probably business class (I am assuming as they had wifi) plane.
They put me in the same hotel as sales and it was a beautiful boutique hotel, the sort of place I would love to stay in for a holiday. The sales person I was there with told me to charge my food to their corporate card and have a few drinks if I wanted. They also took me out for breakfast, again charging to their card and kept asking if I wanted coffee's again on their card.
Pisses me off that we have to stay in the grottiest hotels out of our own pocked and claim it back, yet sales get treated like rock stars, stay in the nicest places, have no limits on food and drink and get a company card.
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