Employee Expenses Policy

UNIVERSITY OF CUMBRIA

EXPENSES POLICY AND PROCEDURES

FINANCE SERVICE

NB. This policy is available on the University of Cumbria website and it should be noted that any printed copies are uncontrolled and cannot be guaranteed to constitute the current version of the policy.

POLICY SCHEDULE Policy title Expenses Policy and Procedures Policy owner Finance Service Policy lead contact Finance Service Approving body Joint Negotiating Consultative Committee Date of approval JNCC 25th September 2014 Date of implementation 30th September 2014 Version no. 2 Related Guidelines, Procedures, HMRC Guide 480(2014): Expenses and Codes of Practice etc. Benefits Review interval 6 months - 03/2015

Page | 1 Contents

1) Introduction Page 3

2) Responsibilities of Staff Page 4

3) Travel Page 6

4) Meals and Accommodation Page 12

5) Miscellaneous Page 15

6) Entertainment / Hospitality Page 17

7) Appendix 1 – mileage examples Page 19

1) Introduction

Page | 2 This document outlines the University’s policy and procedures for the reimbursement and authorisation of expenses incurred within the UK and to ensure that, where travel is necessary, more environmentally friendly modes of transport are used.

The principles and financial limits outlined here also apply to expenditure incurred on procurement cards and orders placed through the purchase ordering system.

It is the policy of the University that all employees are only reimbursed for the actual cost of expenses incurred wholly, exclusively and necessarily in the performance of the duties of their employment. This will ensure compliance with HMRC rules so as to minimise the tax liabilities of employees and the University.

The Policy and Procedures will be subject to periodic review and are subject to change.

In the event that an expense claim or benefit is in respect of any item not included in this guidance, or an employee has a query relating to the payment of expenses, the matter must be referred for advice in the first instance to his or her line manager who may thereafter refer to the Payroll Manager or Deputy Director of Finance.

Where an external organisation is funding expenses, the limits within this policy should ordinarily be adhered to. Where this causes difficulties or uncertainty, staff members should contact the Payroll Manager for advice.

Please see the Employees Travelling and Working Abroad Policy (hyperlink) for the payment of expenses for travel outside of the UK.

Page | 3 2) Responsibilities of Staff

Responsibilities of staff making claims Staff making expense claims are responsible for the following:

 Complying with all the relevant University policy and Procedures including this policy.

 Completing the appropriate forms fully and ensuring that all claim totals add up.

 Submitting claims promptly or at regular intervals for on-going expenses. All claims should normally be made within 30 days of the expenditure occurring.

 Ensure that claims do not exceed 3 months. Claims that are more than 3 months old will only be paid in exceptional circumstances.

 Providing valid receipts, travel tickets or invoices to support all claims. Note that a credit card slip is not appropriate evidence. Generally, where receipts are not available, the claim would be subject to tax and National Insurance or will not be paid. However, in exceptional circumstances, where it is not possible to obtain receipts or they have been lost, payment will be considered when an appropriate and detailed explanation for the expenses and lack of receipt is provided.

 Fully documenting the reason for each expenses claim

 Obtaining approval from the line manager or other relevant budget holder prior to incurring the expense

 Recovering any financial contribution agreed by them towards the expenditure incurred from third parties.

Where an expenses claim is materially incorrect or lacks sufficient authorisation it will be returned to the claimant for corrections/amendments. Where the limits in this Policy are exceeded and this is not explained adequately, the claim will be returned.

There may be occasions when staff incur or intend to incur expenditure for items which are not explicitly covered by this policy. Such expenses should be discussed with the Payroll Manager ideally before the costs are incurred as some expenses may be taxable and an early conversation could avoid the payment being reported to HMRC.

The submission of fraudulent claims may be treated as gross misconduct and may result in dismissal from employment with the University.

Page | 4 Responsibilities of staff approving claims

Expense claims should be approved by the staff member’s line manager or, exceptionally, another relevant budget holder .

By approving a claim, managers are confirming that:

 The claim has been appropriately completed

 The claim is for legitimate University business

 The Expenses Policy has been complied with

 All appropriate supporting documentation or explanations has been provided

 The claim has the correct workorder (Agresso budget code). If the expense relates to a budget managed by another individual e.g. when a staff member has been working on a project, the claim should be discussed with the relevant budget manager ahead of approval.

Submission of Forms

• Claims must be submitted using the University Employee Expense claim form.

http://staff.cumbria.ac.uk/Internal/Finance/Documents/Payroll/EmployeeExpensesClaimFo rm.xls

Page | 5 3) Travel

Wherever possible, alternative forms of communication should be substituted for travel. Where a member of staff is contemplating business travel, environmental, cost and safety factors should be considered in the decision on the necessity for the journey and how it is best carried out. These are reflected in the following simple hierarchy, with the first options being preferred:

Avoid Travel:  Can the purpose of the journey be satisfied without travel? Use Communicator or phone / video conferencing.

If Travel is Essential:  Walk or cycle for short journeys where this is practical.  For longer journeys use public transport where this is practical, particularly between Carlisle and Lancaster sites. If meeting times don’t coincide well with public transport schedules and it is practical for attendees, then the meeting times should be changed.  If none of the above are practical, share a Car Club vehicle where these are available on your campus or share a University hire car with someone who is already going your way.  If car sharing with someone else is not practical, book a University hire car or use a Car Club vehicle where these are available.  Only if none of these options are feasible should staff consider using their own cars.

Air Travel:  Air travel should not normally be used for travel within mainland UK. For travel to the near continent, rail travel should be used where ever this is practical.

Train or Car Share?

In the north west of England, it will usually be cheaper for one or two members of staff travelling together to use the train rather than sharing a car. This is not a universal rule: it depends on the precise nature of the journey and type of rail ticket.

For three or more travelling together, the cost of using a car will usually be lower per person than using the train. Again, this is not a universal rule. It is important to note that this does not mean three or more people travelling together must always share a car: the overall journey must be assessed against safety and environmental considerations.

Page | 6 Travel by Road

The University discourages driving on University business for safety and environmental reasons. Where it is necessary to drive, the University encourages staff to use hire cars or car club vehicles rather than their own vehicles.

Before undertaking any journey in their own vehicle or booking a hire car, employees must register and log the journey at Cumbriaunicarshare.com in order to facilitate car sharing.

Anyone driving on University business must ensure that they are familiar with section six of the University’s Health & Safety Policy. A copy can be downloaded from: http://www.cumbria.ac.uk/Public/FM/Documents/OHSS/PoliciesGeneralHealthAndSafety.p df

Anyone who wishes to drive on University business must return the following to Facilities Management Administration in Lancaster:

 A completed University Driver and Vehicle insurance Form with a copy of all parts of their driving licence. Driving licences are to be resubmitted annually.

 For those wishing to use their own car for business journeys a copy of their car insurance document showing that their car is covered for business travel. The individual member of staff must meet any additional costs and this must be provided each time the cover is renewed.

Staff who have not submitted the relevant documents will be required to do so before being able to use a hire car or claim mileage payments for use of their own car.

What journeys qualify as business travel?

Business travel is defined as any journey that you have to make in the course of doing your job. The most common examples are travel from a University campus to an external organisation and travel from a staff member’s contractual base campus to another campus.

All staff members have a contractual base campus. This is the campus which will be used in calculating expense claims. Contractual base campuses will be reviewed periodically in order to ensure that these reflect the place staff members are carrying out most of their work.

What journeys do not qualify as business travel?

Journeys that do not count as business travel include:

• Commuting - travel between your home and your contractual base campus.

• Private travel - any other travel where the purpose is not for business.

Page | 7 Employees’ Own Car, Bicycle or Motorcycle

If, after considering all the relevant guidance, it is still necessary to undertake travel using a staff member’s own vehicle, the following guidance in Appendix should be applied.

Staff who commute to their base campus by public transport using an annual season ticket do not need to deduct home to base campus mileage when making business journeys in their own vehicles. A copy of the season ticket should be provided to Payroll and the relevant declaration made on the expenses claim form.

Business mileage will be reimbursed in accordance with the rates below. These rates will be periodically reviewed by the Payroll Manager and Deputy Finance Director and updated.

Miles per tax Own Car Share in Motorcycl Bicycl year Car own car e e (+)

Up to 10,000 30p 5p per 20p 20p miles passenger

Over 10,000 25p 5p per 20p 20p miles passenger

(+) a salary sacrifice bicycle scheme is available to University staff. Bicycle mileage cannot be paid for journeys undertaken using bicycles obtained under this scheme until ownership has been passed to the member of staff.

Staff members who ordinarily drive specially adapted vehicles due to a disability and are therefore unable to use hire cars or public transport should discuss this with their line manager/HR to ensure a reasonable adjustment to this policy is in place. If no alternative to private car mileage is possible, 45p per mile, less home to base mileage, will be payable.

It is the individual’s own responsibility to ensure that they claim the appropriate rate for their mileage claims. If the incorrect rate is found to be claimed any tax liability issued by HMRC will be payable by the individual. Travel within Carlisle

Staff using their own car for journeys between University sites and for business journeys in Carlisle should use alternatives to cars where practical. Where a private car is used, employees can claim mileage for this provided that the journey(s) are not substituting in whole or in part for their normal journey to work. Hire cars should not be used for travel solely within Carlisle. Long-distance journeys

A long journey is one that involves driving over 100 miles (one-way, single) or over 200 miles (total, per day).

Page | 8 Where public transport is available and it is cost-effective, this should always be chosen instead of car travel. If staff wish to make long journeys by car this should usually be by hire car and it should be agreed with their line-manager in advance, having considered the safety, environmental and cost implications and consulting with the University’s Driver Safety Policy.

Where a claim for mileage is being made, the reasons for this decision must be explained on the claim form.

The University expects staff to walk, cycle or use alternative public transport rather than taxis. Taxi journeys of less than five miles are permitted where there is not good alternative public transport and it is not practical to do the journey on foot or cycle. Longer taxi journeys are only permissible in exceptional circumstances and these should be agreed in advance with line-managers and explained on the claim form. For example, it would not normally be appropriate to take a taxi to an airport. Where the flight departure is very early or late in the day and public transport does not provide a good connection, it will often be cheaper to arrange one-way car hire with Enterprise or book a hotel room at the airport. Hire Vehicle Fuel

At the start of the booking hire cars should always be supplied with a full tank of fuel. Unless particularly long journeys are undertaken, it is unlikely that fuel will need to be purchased for a hire car. Where this is needed it will usually need to be paid for by the user and claimed according to the expenses procedures with receipts and an explanation provided. Car Parking

Car parking fees incurred at University sites other than the staff member’s contractual base campus or during visits to external organisations will be reimbursed subject to the production of proof of expenditure. Co-Wheels Car Club vehicles and Enterprise hire vehicles can park on any University-owned site without the need to obtain any permit or ticket. Penalty Charges

The University will not reimburse any sort of penalty charge, fine, recovery fee or related administration charges incurred while driving on University business whether in a University, private, hire or car club vehicle. Tolls and Congestion Charges

Road users’ tariffs such as tolls and congestion charges will be reimbursed provided that they had to be incurred as part of the journey and were paid promptly in order to avoid any late penalty charges.

Page | 9 Indicative mileages between University sites

En er gu s

Indicative Mileage for Coc New Single Journeys A Carl ker ton W m isle mou Rig hit ble Ba cam th Lan g, eh sid rro pus Cen cast Pen av e w es tre er rith en

Ambleside 33 49 33 36 29 46 39

Barrow 33 87 62 48 69 50 67

Carlisle - Brampton Road 49 87 28 70 21 40 33

Carlisle - Fusehill Street 49 86 28 68 20 42 39

Carlisle - Paternoster Row 50 87 27 70 21 40 38

Cockermouth Centre 33 62 28 83 33 15 10

Lancaster 36 48 70 83 52 81 86

Newton Rigg, Penrith 29 69 21 33 52 47 43

Whitehaven 46 50 40 15 81 47 7

Energus 39 67 33 10 86 43 7

NB: The mileages stated above are indicative based on standard routes between all the University sites. Staff making mileage claims must use the above mileages for their claim except where external factors (such as poor weather or road closure) affected their route: please state these factors on the expense form if claiming for different mileage.

Personal route preference is not relevant to the mileage claimed.

Page | 10 Travel by Rail

• Where possible, rail booking should be made via a procurement card.

• All employees should use standard class rail travel unless proof (for example, a screen print out of standard class ticket price) can be supplied with the claim that the price of a first class ticket was the cheaper option.

• Original rail tickets must be provided with your expenses claim unless you can produce evidence of the journey details e.g. E-tickets, web confirmation, etc.

• Where circumstances require you to hand in your tickets and they are not returned, please provide an explanation of this on the claim form. Air Travel

Travel by air should not normally be used within mainland UK unless evidence (screen print out of other travel option) can be provided that it was the cheaper alternative. All bookings should be made via a University procurement card. In the event that this is not available claims can be made via an expenses claim form providing a reason is given for the unavailability.

Credit Card and Travel Booking Fees for air or rail travel

The University will not reimburse for any credit card or booking fees unless evidence is provided that the travel booking sites that do not charge fees on their bookings were unavailable. Staff should make use of sites such as Virgin Trains and Red Spotted Hanky in preference to sites that charge fees such as TheTrainLine.

Page | 11 4) Meals and Accommodation

Introduction

If staff are required to be away from home overnight due to travel to an external organisation or a campus that is not within a reasonable commuting distance, the University will reimburse the cost of meals and accommodation within the limits set out below.

Reasonable commuting distance is where the normal travel time from the staff member’s contractual base location to their destination is less than one and a half hour.

Ordinarily, it is expected that staff will commute to and from the University’s campuses in the North of England rather than stay overnight and incur the cost of accommodation and meals. The only circumstances where the cost of accommodation or breakfast / evening meals may be reimbursed are:

- where the staff are required to attend meetings or functions at these campuses that end after 9pm or begin before 8am the next morning, or

- where the cost of the accommodation and / or meals can be demonstrated to be less than the cost of the additional travel that would need to take place, or

- where there is a safety,staff welfare issue or breach of working time directives with regard to the distance the staff member would otherwise be travelling.

Only actual cost of accommodation and meals will be reimbursed by the University. The university does not operate a per diem allowance or any form of daily allowance where receipts are not required.

Expenses shall not be paid where accommodation or meals are provided as part of an event (e.g. at a course or conference). Meals

Expenditure on meals will only be reimbursed on production of original receipts, up to the approved limits.

If staff travel to an organisation or campus that is not within reasonable commuting distance and are required to leave home before 6:30am the cost of breakfast may be claimed in line with the limits below. If such travel results in the staff member being unable to return home before 8pm, the cost of an evening meal may be claimed in line with the limits below.

The cost of lunch cannot be claimed by staff when working at other University campuses.

The maximum amounts that can be claimed for meals are as follows:

Breakfast (if not part of a hotel accommodation package) - £5

Lunch - £5

Evening Meal - £15

Page | 12 Alcohol

Claims for alcoholic drinks will not be paid and these items should be excluded from claim forms.

Page | 13 Meals provided to staff

If a Faculty or Service wishes to provide free or subsidised food at an event that is solely attended by University staff, HMRC require that each attending employee is taxed on the value of the food except in the following circumstances:

- the food is provided as part of a team-building event such as an away day, or

- the food is provided as part of an annual Christmas party or equivalent which is open to all staff and the cost is less than £50 per employee.

Food that is provided for free or at a subsidised rate to staff only at working lunches, leaving functions or at employee meetings will lead to tax and national insurance charges. This applies whether the food is provided by internal catering, purchased via procurement card or purchase order or is claimed back via expenses. The provision of food in these circumstances should be discussed with the Payroll Manager before the event takes place.

Where food is provided to University staff only, the relevant line manager is responsible for providing the Payroll Manager with the following information:

• Date of provision. • Reason for the provision of hospitality including whether any element of training was involved. • External catering company used. • Names of those attending. • Method of payment (e.g. purchasing card, order, expense claim, etc.). • Total cost including VAT.

See Page 17 for guidance regarding providing meals at events which include non- employees. Gratuities

It is University policy not to pay for tips and gratuities and these will be excluded from any claim for reimbursement unless they have been specifically included as a statutory service charge. It is essential that this be adhered to in order to comply with HMRC regulations. Overnight Accommodation Hotel accommodation should ordinarily be pre-booked using a procurement card or via purchase order. Where an expense claim is submitted for this expenditure, an explanation should be provided for not using these methods.

Members of staff will be reimbursed for the cost of reasonable overnight accommodation when necessarily away on University business up to the following limits:

Location Rate Per Night

UK (excluding London) £80.00

London £120.00

Page | 14 If suitable accommodation cannot be found within these limits, higher cost can be incurred but these must be agreed in advance by the employees’ line manager and explained on the claim form.

Staff visiting other campuses and staying overnight should check if University accommodation is available before booking hotels. Enquiries should be directed to Facilities Management.

Page | 15 5) Miscellaneous Telephone Calls

Staff members may claim reimbursement of phone calls on mobile or home telephones where the calls are wholly, exclusively and necessary in the performance of the duties of their employment. The University will not, however reimburse employees for their line rental costs. Claims must be accompanied by a copy of their itemised bill. Payment of Advances

Only in exceptional circumstances, staff members can apply to receive an advance to cover the costs of expenses they are due to incur. This will only be payable if all other payment forms have been explored fully (e.g. the use of a procurement card or purchase order) and the amount the staff member will be out-of-pocket is unduly onerous.

Where this is necessary, staff should follow the procedures detailed in the Cash Advance Procedures, Requirements and Responsibilities document on StaffNet (http://staff.cumbria.ac.uk/Internal/Finance/Documents/CashAdvanceProcedures.doc), the application will then be reviewed by senior staff within the relevant Faculty or Service and by the Deputy Director of Finance. As is set out in the guidance, receipts must be provided to support the use of the advance and any balances that cannot be accounted for will be repayable by the staff member. Course and Conference Fees

Course and conference fees should be paid for via a Procurement Card or Purchase Order. All such costs should be approved in line with university guidance on professional development Subscriptions

The University policy is not to pay for subscriptions to professional bodies on behalf of any individual staff member even if it is required for him/her to perform his/her role.

An employee is able to claim a tax deduction for annual subscriptions paid to certain approved professional bodies or learned societies from HMRC, where the body’s activities are relevant to the duties of the employment.

More details on this process can be obtained from: http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/incometax/how-to-get.htm

For details on the approved bodies or societies see: http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/list3/index.htm

Page | 16 Gifts to staff are personal costs and must not be funded by the University. Such a gift would risk conferring a taxable benefit on the recipient. Examples of personal gifts include gifts to mark occasions (birthdays, weddings, exam successes, etc.). These cannot be classified as business costs and must be paid for personally. Prizes are usually taxable, please contact the Payroll Manager for advice.

Page | 17 6) Entertainment and Hospitality

UK Bribery Act 2010

In order to adhere to the 2010 Bribery Act and to protect both staff and the reputation of the University from accusations of bribery or corruption, the University will strictly enforce and monitor adherence to the guidance set out below. At all times, staff should remember that it is a disciplinary offence for an employee to accept or request gifts or hospitality as an inducement or reward for:

 Taking or not taking an action.  Showing favour or disfavour to associated individuals or organisations such as suppliers, partners or students.

Staff should also consider how receiving gifts or hospitality might be perceived by others. The actions of employees should not give the impression that they have been or may have been influenced by a benefit to show favour or disfavour to any person or organisation. Staff should familiarise themselves with the University’s Gifts and Hospitality Policy before these are offered or received: http://staff.cumbria.ac.uk/Internal/Finance/Documents/GiftAndHospitalityPolicy.doc

Entertaining non-employees

When the University considers providing food, drink or other types of hospitality to non- employees, appropriate steps need to be taken to ensure that the University and employees do not incur additional tax and national insurance charges.

In order for the provision of “entertainment” to be free from any additional tax charge, the following points must be adhered to:

1) The purpose of the related event must be business related. It cannot be a social event where the aims and objectives of the University are secondary.

2) There must be at least an equal ratio of external guests to University employees unless there is sound justification for doing otherwise. Ideally there should be more external guests than University employees at any one function/event.

3) A full record of all attendees must be completed and sent to Payroll. This must state:

 The name(s) of attendees (including any University employees)  The name of the organisation which they represent and,  The purpose of the entertainment (for example , “negotiation of contract”)

See form at http://docs.cumbria.ac.uk/Internal/Finance/Documents/Payroll/Business- Entertaining-Approval-Form.doc.

This guidance, and the requirements regarding completion of the relevant form, applies whether the costs are procured or paid for via internal catering, procurement card, purchase order or the expenses system.

Page | 18 Internal events

See Page 13 for details of the procedures to follow if an event only including University staff is being considered.

Page | 19 Appendix Using Employees’ Own Car, Bicycle or Motorcycle: Examples

If a journey to another campus or an external organisation begins at home, a staff member may claim the difference between the actual distance travelled and the distance between their home and their contractual base campus. For example:

John lives in Kendal and his contractual base campus is Lancaster. The distance between his home and his base is 22 miles. John is asked to attend a meeting at the Brampton Road campus and he travels from his house. Although the full distance from his home to Brampton Road is 41 miles, John works out the mileage he can claim for a single journey is 19 by deducting the miles he normally commutes (22) from the miles he travelled to his temporary place of work (41).

Where a journey to another campus or external site begins at a campus, the full distance can be claimed. For example:

Jane lives in Preston and her contractual base campus is Lancaster, she travels to Lancaster in the morning and then is asked to travel to Fusehill Street campus for an afternoon meeting. The full 67 miles between Lancaster and Fusehill Street can be claimed for both the outbound and return journeys.

Where a journey ends at home, the home to work mileage should be deducted. For example:

Frank lives in Penrith and his contractual base is Fusehill Street campus. He is asked to travel to Lancaster during the afternoon. The full 67 miles between Fusehill Street and Lancaster can be claimed for his outbound journey but Frank will only be able to claim the mileage from Lancaster to his home in Penrith(52) less for his home to work mileage(19).

Page | 20