SOP 42 - Staff and Trustee Expense Claims -...

Originator – Director of Finance Updated - 22/08/14

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SOP 42 - STAFF AND TRUSTEES EXPENSE CLAIMS About this Policy This document outlines the Legion’s policy on reimbursement of business-related expenses. It is based on clear and open principles to balance the need to provide value for money of charitable funds whilst ensuring that employees, trustees and volunteers are reimbursed in accordance with this policy when conducting Legion business. The policy outlines general principles, information about roles and responsibilities, what you can and cannot claim for and how to claim. This policy and related forms are also available within the Finance section of My Legion. If you have any queries about this policy and procedures, please contact:

� Accounting Services: [email protected]

� Rachel Balchin, Head of Financial Accounts: [email protected]

� For Proactis related queries: [email protected]


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Tables of Contents 1 General principles .............................................................................................. 3 2 Roles and responsibilities .................................................................................. 4

2.1 Claimants’ responsibilities .......................................................................... 4 2.2 Authorisers’ responsibilities ........................................................................ 5 2.3 Budget holders’ responsibilities .................................................................. 5 2.4 Finance responsibilities .............................................................................. 5

3 What you can and cannot claim for .................................................................... 6 3.1 Business travel and ordinary commuting .................................................... 6 3.2 Public transport journeys ........................................................................... 6 3.3 Driving ....................................................................................................... 8

3.3.1 Your own vehicle .............................................................................. 8 3.3.2 Mobility Car ...................................................................................... 8 3.3.3 A Legion car ..................................................................................... 8

3.4 Claiming for the congestion charge ............................................................ 9 4 Accommodation ................................................................................................. 9 5 Carers Accommodation Policy ......................................................................... 10 6 Meals ............................................................................................................... 10 7 Ineligible Expenses .......................................................................................... 11 8 Business Entertaining ...................................................................................... 11 9 Staff entertaining ............................................................................................. 12 10 Calls from mobile phones provided by the Legion ............................................ 12 11 Professional subscriptions ............................................................................... 13 12 Clothing ........................................................................................................... 13 13 Carer costs ...................................................................................................... 13 14 Foreign currency exchange costs .................................................................... 13 15 Pilgrimage department..................................................................................... 14 16 Annual Conference Allowance ......................................................................... 14 17 SOP 42: Staff and Trustee Expense Claim Procedures ................................... 15 SOP 42 – ANNEX A: Expenses Rates (2011) ......................................................... 17

Appendices Appendix A: Manual Expense Claim Form ……………………………………..LINK Appendix B: Claiming Process Flowchart..…………………………..…………..…18 Appendix C: Authorisation Process Flowchart.…………………….. …………..…19 Appendix D: Senior Rail Card Application Form….…………………...……………20 Appendix E: NYS Process Flow Chart….……………………………...…………....21 Appendix F: Authority for Overseas and Long Distance Travel ...........................22


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1 General principles 1.1. The Royal British Legion (‘the Legion’) will reimburse all expenses that

have been incurred wholly, necessarily and exclusively whilst engaged on official business on its behalf.

1.2. Expenses will only be paid if they comply with the principles of this

policy and are claimed and authorised through the Legion’s claims procedure (refer to: Paragraph 17.1)

1.3. Claimants and authorisers are both responsible for ensuring that claims

comply with this policy and the expenditure incurred is necessary to fulfil the claimant’s duties. If it comes to the attention of Finance that a claim has been processed and paid which does not comply with this policy, the claimant will be required to reimburse the Legion and disciplinary procedures may apply.

1.4. If a claim is submitted and authorised which does not conform to this

policy, authorisers must provide a reason for approving the claim; such claims will be reviewed by the Financial Controller. The claimant will be responsible for meeting any tax obligations arising from the claim

1.5. You cannot authorise your own business expenses under any

circumstances. Junior members of staff cannot incur expenses on behalf of their authoriser, and authorisers cannot approve claims where they themselves have benefited. In this situation, the claim must be forwarded to the next level of authority. Details of authorised approvers can be found in SOP 146: Financial Delegations of Authority.

1.6. If additional information is requested by an authoriser or by the Finance

Department, this must be provided before the claim can be authorised and paid.

1.7. Claims should be submitted within three months of incurring the expenditure. Older claims can only be accepted if exceptional circumstances occurred, such as long illness. At the end of the tax year all outstanding claims up to 5 April should be submitted in April.

1.8. All claims must be supported by original itemised bills. The reason for

missing itemised bills must be clearly explained, unless they are for small items of expenditure for which bills are not issued (e.g. toll charges, parking tickets). Otherwise the expense claim should be rejected.

1.9. Expense items not specifically covered by this policy may be subject to

personal tax. If in doubt, please contact the Financial Controller for advice. Claimants will be notified of any taxable benefits incurred, as Finance will submit this information to the HMRC at the end of the tax year.


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1.10. Travel expenses can no longer be claimed retrospectively, travel must be requested via our Travel Management Company.

1.11. Travel claims received will be subject to approval from an individual’s

line manager, the relevant director and the Financial Controller. This does not include subsistence or parking.

1.12. Volunteers or staff needing to travel overseas on Legion business must

obtain prior approval from a Director. Trustees with overseas responsibilities should obtain written approval from the Director General for their planned journeys.

1.13. All authorised claims will normally be paid by electronic payment.

Where an electronic payment cannot be used a cheque will be issued to the respective employee/volunteer/trustee.

1.14. The responsibility for monitoring compliance with this policy lies with

the direct authorisers and the Financial Controller, who will frequently check that claimants and authorisers are compliant.

1.15. Any attempt to falsify a expense claim will be considered as gross misconduct and appropriate action will be taken against the claimant/authoriser.

1.16. This policy will be managed and reviewed regularly, updates and re-issues will be posted on MyLegion.

2 Roles and responsibilities

2.1 Claimants’ responsibilities

2.1.1. When you submit a business expense claim, you take responsibility for the validity of the information you provide. By agreeing to the declaration during the claim process, you certify that your claim complies with this policy.

2.1.2. Expenditure must not be claimed for items covered by a framework agreement. Claimants are responsible for adhering to the procurement policy which details the relevant purchasing systems in place.

2.1.3. As a claimant, you are responsible for providing details of each item of

expenditure so that the reasons for the claim are clear to the authoriser. You should provide:

� the date you incurred the expenditure � the reason for the expenditure � a comprehensive description of the circumstances, such as

other participants’ names if applicable, number of nights spent away and additional information, where necessary.


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2.1.4. If you claim mileage for business use, you can only claim the ‘standard’ rate for the first 10,000 miles in any one tax year – starting on 6 April each year. After 10,000 miles a lower rate will apply (see SOP42 Annex A for details of applicable rates). You are responsible for keeping a record of your mileage to determine the point at which you exceed 10,000 miles (note that Proactis system also records the mileage).

2.1.5. You are also responsible for the correct coding of expense claims (see

Proactis for a list of account codes).

2.2 Authorisers’ responsibilities

2.2.1. Members of staff should have their expenses authorised by their line

manager. Where the line manager is not an authorised signatory, or where their level of authorisation is insufficient, the claims must be authorised by the next level manager and/or the Head of Department. In their absence the Director of Finance or Director General may authorise expenses. (See SOP146: Financial Delegations of Authority for details).

2.2.2. When the authoriser is not available, they should nominate a stand-in

authoriser, normally their line manager. If using Proactis, authorisers must amend the settings themselves in order to delegate the stand-in authoriser (see the Proactis guidance notes on MyLegion for more information).

2.2.3. The authoriser takes responsibility for ensuring that the claim complies with this policy and certifies that:

� claimants have clearly documented the reason for expenditure and the authoriser understands the nature of the claim

� all the items included on the claim are checked in accordance with this policy

� mileage is valid and claimed at the correct rate � the claim has been coded correctly � the expenditure is valid and is not covered by an existing

framework.

2.3 Budget holders’ responsibilities

2.3.1. Budget holders must check the monthly reports issued to them, making sure that expenses are allocated to the correct cost centres and reporting any discrepancies to Accounting Services.

2.4 Finance responsibilities

2.4.1. Accounting Services will perform checks on at least 10 % of authorised expense claims. Checks will ensure that expenditure has been properly incurred and evidenced whilst monitoring compliance with policy and procedure.


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2.4.2. Accounting Services will retain the receipts from expense claims for audit and Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs’ (HMRC) inspections.

2.4.3. If queries arise from these reviews, Finance will seek to clarify them with claim authorisers.

3 What you can and cannot claim for

3.1 Business travel and ordinary commuting

3.1.1. Only ‘business travel’ made without public transport, can be reimbursed by the Legion. Travel for ‘ordinary commuting’ cannot be reimbursed. Travel via public transport should be requested via https://onlineclient.nyscorporate.com/sso/ssostartup.aspx .

3.1.2. ‘Ordinary commuting’ means any journey which takes you from home

to your permanent place of work or vice versa. So you cannot claim for mileage in your private car, in your Legion car, or for any other type of transport for these journeys.

3.1.3. ‘Business travel’ is any travel, which is not ‘ordinary commuting’. This

includes journeys: � from home to a location other than your permanent workplace � from one temporary place of work to another.

3.1.4. ’Business Travel’ does not include:

� journeys for non-business purposes (such as visiting relatives) � visiting another office when the primary purpose is not business

related (such as to attend a Christmas party).

3.1.5. You cannot turn an ’ordinary commuting’ journey into a business journey by arranging a business appointment on the way. You must be able to show that your visit was necessary for your job and not just personal convenience.

3.1.6. Season ticket loans are available to support you with all aspects your

‘ordinary commute’. However, the combined value of your loans from the Legion must be less than £5,000 throughout the whole tax year.

3.2 Public transport journeys

3.2.1. When travelling on business, you must contact TRBL’s travel management company (NYS Corporate), to ensure the most efficient and cost effective form of transport for your journey.


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3.2.2. You may only travel first class in exceptional circumstances, such as where there is no reasonable alternative or it is not suitable because of a registered disability. You must justify travelling first class when booking with TRBL’s travel management company.

3.2.3. You can travel by air if there is no practical alternative, flying is cheaper

than alternatives, or the time you would save outweighs the additional cost.

3.2.4. You cannot claim for any part of your journey that is covered by a season ticket or other travel entitlement.

3.2.5. If you are entitled to a Senior Rail Card, the Legion will reimburse you £36 through the payroll towards the cost of the card when used for business travel and where you can show that you will make future savings on Legion business journeys. This payment will be subject to National Insurance and tax deduction and the £36 has been calculated to take account of this. All claims should be submitted to Human Resources for approval (see APPENDIX G for the Senior Rail Card reimbursement form).

3.2.6. The Legion does not permit the use of travel warrants. Direct debit must not be set up allowing this service by individual departments. Anyone found using a travel warrant will be asked to reimburse the Legion.

3.2.7. As a principle, the use of taxis is not allowed as a primary mean of transport and for personal convenience. Taxi fares will only be reimbursed if public transport is:

� not available � more expensive � not suitable because of reasons of personal safety (such as

working late at night) � not suitable because you need to transport heavy or bulky items � not suitable because you have a registered disability.

3.2.8. If you do use a taxi for a Legion event, you must document each

journey, providing the following details: � name of the person/people taking the taxi � pick up destination and time, clearly stating if this is a home

address � drop off destination , stating if home address � reason for travel, and if the taxi was used by the Legion staff,

explain why public transport was not used (please note – personal convenience or attending a black tie dinner are not permissible reasons for taking a taxi).


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3.3 Driving

3.3.1 Your own vehicle

3.3.1.1. You can use your private vehicle on Legion’s business if public transport is: � not available � more expensive � not suitable because of reasons of personal safety (such as

working late at night) � not suitable because you need to transport heavy or bulky items � not suitable because you have a registered disability � not suitable because it would take too long.

3.3.1.2. You must explain the reasons for claiming mileage on the claim form

(see Appendix A)

3.3.1.3. Insurance cover is not provided under the Legion’s vehicle insurance arrangements and the Legion does not take any responsibility for private vehicles.

3.3.1.4. Members of staff and volunteers using private vehicles on Legion

business must ensure that the vehicle is: � roadworthy (have valid road tax, MOT when appropriate and

regular safety checks, such as condition of tyres) � has valid insurance cover which either includes:

o a clause permitting use for business purposes; o when the vehicle is not registered in the name of the

claimant, a clause specifically permitting the use of the vehicle, by the claimant, on the business of the Legion.

3.3.2 Mobility Car

3.3.2.1. If you have a mobility car and claim car allowance, you can claim

mileage cost at Legion car rates (see SOP42 Annex A).

3.3.3 A Legion car

3.3.3.1. If you have a car provided by the Legion, or claim a car allowance, you can only claim mileage at Legion car rates (see SOP42 Annex A). If you claim for car hire or car hire is arranged through the Legion, you can only claim Legion car mileage rates.

3.3.3.2. If you receive a car allowance you cannot claim car hire cost or request the Legion to provide a car when travelling on Legion’s business. Staff with a Legion car or car allowance cannot claim for private business mileage.


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3.3.3.3. Staff with a Legion car or receiving a car allowance are allowed to claim second class rail/air travel.

3.3.3.4. Staff with a Legion car must forward their mileage recorded on the car odometer to the fleet administrator quarterly.

3.3.3.5. The mileage claimed must be the actual mileage travelled, based on the shortest route, Authorisers should check the mileage distances periodically.

3.4 Claiming for the congestion charge

3.4.1. You can claim for the Congestion Charge (currently in operation in London) if you cannot avoid travelling on business through the Congestion Charge zone. You cannot claim the Congestion Charge for private journeys or for your regular journey to and from the office.

3.4.2. Drivers are responsible for meeting all Congestion Charges, paying by the method of their choice, and reclaiming through the Legion expenses procedure. The Legion will not be responsible for any late or non-payment fines.

3.4.3. If you pay for a resident’s registration fee for private use you cannot reclaim this from the Legion.

4 Accommodation

4.1. If you require overnight accommodation, you must contact TRBL’s travel management company who will ensure you obtain the best local rates available. When claiming for overnight accommodation, you must justify this using the online form or via telephone. You can claim for overnight accommodation if:

� you would leave or arrive back home at an unreasonable time

(before 6.30am or after 9pm) � you are working at a different location from your normal place of

work on consecutive days, if the extra daily travelling time would be more than 90 minutes each way (or where the cost of travelling is more than the cost of accommodation)

� you would not be able to do your job if accommodation were not available

� overall cost of having accommodation provided is less than any alternative which enables the claimant to properly fulfil their duties

� demonstrable health and safety issue

4.2. Accommodation rates apply as per SOP 42: Annex A


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5 Carers Accommodation Policy

5.1. Legion officers attending official Legion events, or students attending Legion Membership Courses, may be accompanied by their ‘Carer’ and the costs for their accommodation will be met by the Royal British Legion.

5.2. In approving the payment for a ‘Carer’s’ accommodation, the budget

holder must satisfy him/herself that the Legion member requiring the care is in receipt of one of the following three categories of Qualifying Disability Benefit: � Disability Living Allowance (at the middle or higher rate of the

personal care component). � Any Rate of Attendance Allowance. � Constant Attendance Allowance (linked to a War Pension or an

Industrial Disablement Benefit at the full daily rate).

6 Meals

6.1. You can claim for meals whilst away on official business, in accordance with the limits set by the Legion’s Board of Trustees (see SOP42 Annex A).

� Your claim must be supported by itemised receipts. � You cannot claim for taking visiting staff from another office to

lunch or dinner. � You can claim for breakfast, up to the approved rate, if it is not

included in the rate charged for overnight accommodation while on Legion business or if it is necessary for you to be travelling on any Legion business before 6.30am (this does not include the normal home to work journey).

� You can claim for lunch, up to the approved rate, if on Legion business, not at your ordinary place of work or where lunch is not otherwise available (for example, as part of a training course) or not broadly similar to the claimant’s normal lunch facilities.

� You can claim for dinner, up to the approved rate, if you are away from home, on Legion business after 8pm other than at your ordinary place of work.

6.2. You can claim for refreshments up to £2 for every four hour interval when travelling involves long distance driving on Legion duty. If members of staff travel together on Legion business, for example to attend a meeting or event more than 10 miles from their normal place of work, senior staff may pay for meals for the whole group.

6.3. The member of staff who paid for the meal can reclaim the full amount, provided a list of all employees involved is appended to the claim.


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6.4. Meals arranged through NYS cannot be reclaimed via the Legion, proof of purchase must be provided.

6.4. Meal expenditure limits apply, as per SOP42 Annex A.

7 Ineligible Expenses

7.1. You cannot claim for the following expenses: � private phone calls, unless it is a confidential call (see SOP 47:

Use of portable electronic equipment) � newspapers � laundry � cost of babysitters � video/ additional TV programmes � any other form of entertainment.

8 Business Entertaining

8.1. Business entertaining is not an allowable expense under normal circumstances. Only in certain circumstances (see paragraph 8.2 below) nominated personnel can be allowed to entertain third parties after obtaining permission from a Director and when there is a clear business purpose. The amount claimed should be within a financial limit set by the relevant Director and will be reimbursed on production of itemised receipts only.

8.2. Entertainment counts as business-related if its purpose is to: � discuss with a third party a particular business project that will

significantly benefit the Legion � form a new business connection or maintain an existing one

when the third party is not a supplier or service provider (so an individual or company who would benefit from the business with the Legion cannot be entertained).

8.3. Claims for business entertaining must include details of all parties

being entertained, including Legion staff, their names, their roles, the organisations they represent and the reason for the entertainment being provided. If more than one office holder is in receipt of the provision then their name must be recorded on the claim and a justification for their inclusion must also be noted. The most senior member of staff must submit any claim for business entertaining.


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9 Staff entertaining

9.1. Staff entertaining is normally a taxable benefit and any claim will create a tax liability for the individuals ‘benefiting’. This means that staff being ‘entertained’ could be liable for tax. However, there will be no individual tax liability in the following circumstances:

� on any contribution paid by the Legion, as a whole or in part, towards the cost of the staff Christmas meal, up to the annual amount agreed

� on food and drink provided for Trustees when attending meetings at the Legion’s head office

� on food and drink for staff where they have been invited to attend a meeting or event that effectively requires them to forego their normal mealtime

� tea and coffee.

9.2. According to HMRC, staff entertaining means where food and drink is provided for staff in the following circumstances:

� at their normal place of work � where there is no specific business purpose for the provision � where the purpose is to reward staff.

9.3. As a general rule, you cannot claim for lunch purchased at or within 10

miles of the office where only staff or staff and volunteers are present (although volunteers can claim out of pocket expenses for lunch for themselves).

9.4. Sandwiches cannot be provided at meetings unless:

� there is a significant number of volunteers present � the meeting has to continue over meal times - such as Board of

Trustees or Membership Council Meeting or training courses � there is a third party present and the purpose of the meeting is

to raise funds, to dispense or plan to dispense benevolence and the number of employees attending is incidental to the provision of lunch. Claiming for lunches with suppliers or consultants is not allowable.

10 Calls from mobile phones provided by the Legion

10.1. If the Legion provides you with a mobile phone, you can only use it for business calls. Any calls made to your home, to a relative or friends is treated as private use (for more details, please refer to ‘SOP 47-Use of Portable Electronic Equipment’).

10.2. If staying away from home on business, you are entitled to one five minute phone call home for every night away.


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10.3. If you have a Legion mobile phone, you must pay for any personal calls you make over a monthly allowance of £5. You will be asked to highlight your personal calls on the bill and to pay for those over the £5 allowance.

10.4. You can only claim for telephone line rental expenditure if the line is registered in the name of the Legion (please refer to ‘SOP 47-Use of Portable Electronic Equipment’).

10.5. You can claim for the cost of calls on your privately owned phone in the course of authorised Legion business by submitting an itemised bill and marking all business calls.

10.6. Please do not make private calls from your workplace unless it is unavoidable. If you have to make a long or expensive private call from your workplace, you should seek your manager’s approval in advance and pay for the call. Private international calls are not permitted.

11 Professional subscriptions

11.1. The Legion will pay for one job-related professional subscription per person for staff who are members of professional bodies approved by HMRC (please refer to the following link for the complete list of HMRC approved organisations ‘www.hmrc.gov.uk/list3/list3.htm’). You can claim for subscriptions to approved professional bodies if membership is a requirement of your job.

11.2. The relevant invoice/payment request forms should be approved by authorisers and forwarded to Accounting Services for payment. You cannot pay for the subscription then claim through the expenses system unless the professional body only accepts payment by Direct Debit.

12 Clothing

12.1. Uniforms and protective clothing necessary for staff to fulfil their duties are provided by the Legion and are not taxable. You cannot claim for any other items of clothing.

13 Carer costs

13.1. You cannot claim for costs such as childcare or other dependent care. For details of the Legion’s ‘Busy-Bee’ childcare vouchers scheme, please see the HR section of MyLegion.

14 Foreign currency exchange costs


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14.1. If you need foreign currency for overseas travel, you should seek the best available rate and lowest commission. You must provide information about the exchange rate and amount exchanged in your claim.

15 Pilgrimage department

15.1. Escorts’ Expense: claims must not exceed £25 per day and be directly related to duties as escorts and paid on production of receipts. The stand-in escorts (such as from other agencies overseas) may receive up to £10 per day on production of receipts, if lunch is not provided.

15.2. Board of Trustees Members: general tour expenses will be reimbursed in full. Out of pocket expenses may only be claimed by the Trustee for themselves and must be directly related to his duties as escort. Claims must not exceed £25 per day and should be made on production of itemised bills only.

15.3. Standard Bearers: expense claims must not exceed £25 per day (paid on production of itemised bills) and should include the cost of lunch where taken.

16 Annual Conference Allowance 16.1 Lunch and out of pocket refreshments allowance is set each year by

the Director General – details are issued to participants before Conference.


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17 SOP 42: Staff and Trustee Expense Claim Procedures

Staff members should ensure the policy has been reviewed before following expense claim procedures. Staff should check the eligibility of their claim before seeking authorisation. Guidance for this can be found on SOP 42: Appendix B and Appendix C.

All members of staff with access to the Proactis system are encouraged to use this to claim all forms of expenses incurred on behalf of the Legion. Proactis will ensure staff comply with SOP 42 and will provide an audit trail in case of query. It is understood that volunteers do not have access this system, and there may be instances where staff members are unable to claim via this method. In which case, the manual procedures should be followed.

Travel must be requested via the Legion’s travel management company who will be paid for arranging your travel, on your approval. There are two methods for arranging travel, the online system can only be access by authorised bookers using the link: https://onlineclient.nyscorporate.com/sso/ssostartup.aspx,. Alternatively, NYS corporate management company may be contacted on 01904 420200. Guidance on the approval / payment process process can be found on Appendix E.

17.1 Electronic Expense Claims

17.1.1. Users of the Proactis electronic system should follow the procedure;

Proactis Guide –Expenses, found in MyLegion (http://mylegion.britishlegion.org.uk/sites/Finance/Pages/default.asp )

17.1.2. When using Proactis for making a claim all mandatory fields must be

filled in, if additional information is requested by an authoriser or by the Finance Department, this must be provided before the claim can be authorised and paid.

17.1.3. Staff who have access to scanning/faxing facilities should whenever

possible submit the scanned receipts as attachments in Proactis or fax them to the authoriser giving details about the claim number they relate to.

17.1.4. Expenses sourced through TRBL’s travel management company

must be approved in Proactis, in a timely manner. 17.1.4. It is the claimants’ responsibility to send all itemised bills attached to

the expense claim printout to Accounting Services, 199 Borough High Street, London SE1 1AA. Supporting documents should be stapled


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together in the order in which they appear on the expense claim or in the voucher number order automatically assigned by the system (Proactis). The voucher number should be clearly written on the original bill. When paying by credit/debit card, an itemised bill must be submitted.

17.2 Manual Expense Claims

17.2.1. Manual claims must be submitted on the standard claim form

(Appendix A) which is available - http://mylegion.britishlegion.org.uk/sites/CorpComms/Documents/expense%20claim%20form.xls

17.2.2. Manual claim forms must provide information as per paragraph 2.2.

Authorisers must reject claims that are unclear or do not provide the information required in order to assess validity and compliance with RBL’s business expenses policy. The list below highlights a few of the most frequent occurrences:

� claim is not signed by the claimant; � claim does not meet SOP 42 requirements and the claimant

failed to obtain authorisation � prior to incurring expenditure; � illegible manual claims; � wrong calculations/additions; � unexplained reason for missing receipts; � spend should have been sourced through Travel

Management company ~ NYS Corporate � not enough detail provided/no proper description for each

item of expenditure.

17.2.3. Claimants must print their name and sign their own expense claim form. They cannot delegate this responsibility to someone else.

17.2.4. All itemised bills should be stapled to the form in the same order in

which the items of expenditure are listed on the claim.


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SOP 42 – ANNEX A: Expenses Rates (2014) Public Transport Second class rail, tube or bus fare (see paragraph 3.2. above) Driving - Your own vehicle If public transport is not used (see paragraph 3.3. above), the following rates apply: Cars

� 45p per mile for the first 10,000 miles in each tax year � 25p per mile thereafter.

Motorcycle � 24p per mile

Bicycle � 20p per mile

Driving - Legion Car The current fuel rates approved by HMRC applicable to staff with a Legion car or car supplement can be found on MyLegion. At 1 March 2014, the rates were:

� petrol vehicle – 18p per mile � diesel vehicle – 15p per mile.

Accommodation Costs The standard limit for overnight accommodation will be based on the price of the Premier Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Travelodge or Union Jack Club single bed rate. For London accommodation, it will be based on the Union Jack Club tariffs for single bed rooms. National Officers’ accommodation claims will be based on the agreed rate at the Royal Overseas League. Where there is no available accommodation within these price ranges, the maximum rates are:

� Non-London overnight accommodation (bed and breakfast) - up to £90

� Non-London dinner, bed and breakfast (if dinner is taken at the same hotel as the accommodation) - up to £118

� London overnight accommodation (bed and breakfast) – up to £110*

� London dinner, bed and breakfast (if dinner is taken at the same hotel as the accommodation) – up to £138*


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*If you are making use of the London maximum rates, you will be required to indicate in Proactis why a hotel booking exceeds the non-London rates. If this is a result of a London hotel booking, please make this clear in the box provided. If you are staying away from home at a friend or relatives rather than staying in hotel accommodation, you can claim the cost of a gift, or meal, up to the value of £20 per night. You will need to provide an itemised VAT receipt to support this. Meals

� Breakfast, if leaving before 6.30am up to £8 � Lunch up to £10 � Evening meal (when business hours extend after 8pm) up to £18 � Evening meal, when staying in a hotel overnight up to £28


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CLAIMANT

Business expense (wholly, necessarily & exclusively incurred on RBL

Does expenditure meet RBL’s SOP 42 requirements, i.e.

allowable expenditure within stated limits?

Prior to incurring any expenditure, confirm with AUTHORISER that the

proposed action complies in all respects with SOP42 requirements

no yes

Was expenditure incurred in the last

3months?

no

Do you hold itemised bills to support

yes

CLAIM USING PROACTIS

DO NOT CLAIM

yes no

Please send all supporting bills to: Accounting Services, Finance,

199 Borough High Street, London, SE1 1AA

yes

CLAIM USING MANUAL EXPENSE CLAIM FORM

Please attach all supporting bills to the expense claim

form and send them to your AUTHORISER

SOP 42 APPENDIX B: CLAIMING PROCESS

manual expense claim electronic expense

no


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AUTHORISER

Was expenditure wholly, necessarily & exclusively incurred while on RBL

business?

yes no

REJECT CLAIM OR ASK FOR AMENDMENT as appropriate

Does expenditure meet RBL’s SOP 42 requirements, i.e. allowable

expenditure within stated limits?

yes

Was expenditure incurred in the last 3 months?

yes

no yes

no

Do you agree that all required itemised bills have

been provided?

AUTHORISE CLAIM

Electronic claim will be passed on to

Accounting Services for review and

Claim and attached receipts must be sent to Accounting Services for review and processing

no

manual claim electronic claim

SOP 42 APPENDIX C: AUTHORISATION PROCESS

If any P11D Entry

INFORM CLAIMANT


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SOP 42 APPENDIX D- SENIOR RAIL CARD HOLDER REIMBURSEMENT FORM Senior members of staff who are entitled to purchase Senior Rail Card will be reimbursed £36 through the payroll towards the cost of the cards when used for business travel and where the claimant can demonstrate future savings on Legion business journeys. This payment will be subject to NI and tax deduction and the amount reimbursed has been grossed up to reflect this.

Please fill in the form and forward to HR. Claimant’s full name:……………………………………................... Claimant’s department:……………………………………………… Claimant’s cost centre:……………………………………………….. Authorised by (full name):…………………………………………… Authoriser’s signature:……………………..… Date:………………………... Senior rail card number:…………………………...………………………………… Please attach a copy of the senior rail card. Claimant’s Signature:……………………… Date:……………………


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SOP 42 APPENDIX E – NYS Travel Authorisation Process

Process – NYS send a weekly transactional invoice through to Finance which is then loaded into Proactis as stand-alone invoices. Each invoice will have a breakdown attached containing further information relating to the expense incurred. Authorisation – The budget holder will need to authorise the invoice in Proactis. Budget holders please note - self authorisation will not be valid and will be forwarded to your line manager, if you receive an invoice that includes a transaction(s) realting to you please reject and state this in the comment box so the invoice can be forwarded onto your line manager. Queries – It is the responsibility of the budget holder and/or authoriser to highlight any errors in the transactions and/or misuse of the contract and notify the Finance Systems Team and/or the Procurement Team. If there are any errors in relation to the coding used please reject the corresponding invoice stating the correct coding. It is the responsibility of the budget holder to ensure the traveller/booker is made aware of the correct coding for future reference. If a transaction has been cancelled and/or NYS have made an error then a credit note will need to be requested by the traveller/booker directly with NYS and the corresponding credit note will be included in the next available import.


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SOP 42 APPENDIX F

AUTHORITY FOR OVERSEAS AND LONG DISTANCE TRAVEL

This form is to be completed by trustees/volunteers/staff requiring to proceed

overseas or on long distance journeys within the United Kingdom.

Destination:

Date of outward journey:

Date of return journey:

Justification:

…………………………………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………………………………

Charge to: ………………………………………………………………………………………

Agreed by budget holder: ………………………………………………….Signature

…………….…………………………………………………………………Name

Countersigned by Director …………………………………………………………. .

(for Staff)

Countersigned by the Director General: ……………………………………………

(for Directors)

National Chairman: ………………………………………………………………………

(for Trustees/Volunteers)

SOP 42 - Staff and Trustee Expense Claims -...

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Transcript of SOP 42 - Staff and Trustee Expense Claims -...