Expenses Policy

This policy must be followed by all Wilson Vale employees to:

satisfy HMRC legislation.
ensure consistent and fair policies are adopted throughout the company.
enable us to clearly explain to clients the basis on which expenses are incurred.

All monies paid to individuals must be claimed via an expense form, via head office, adhering to this policy.

It is a disciplinary offence for monies to be reimbursed directly from any company cash balances including site cash.

Expense claims incorrectly completed, on the incorrect expense form or not in line with this policy may be rejected. Please note:

Any disallowable items will be deducted from your expense claim and will not be re-imbursed.
Items that do not have appropriate back up will be deducted from your claim, you will need to obtain sufficient back up and re-submit the claim on the following month’s expense form.
Items that do not match the back up provided may be amended to match the backup amounts.

Business Travel: Company Cars Users

Personal mileage is not reimbursable by the company. Business mileage will be reimbursed at the rates set by HMRC for the vehicle type that you have been issued with. You will be notified when the expenses claim form has been updated for the new rate, but it is your responsibility to ensure that you are completing the correct form. Home to work mileage cannot be reclaimed. If your contract does not state a ‘normal place of work’ then you must deduct 20 miles each way from your business journeys.

Destinations must be stated on every journey.
Home mileage starts and ends at the registered address held on our payroll system. It is your responsibility to submit any changes to this direct to payroll before you submit a mileage claim.

All mileage claims should be submitted for the most direct route for the journey. Journeys will be checked using the AA and RAC route planner for confirmation. Any variations to this will only be reimbursed at the discretion of the management team. If you have been provided with an electric vehicle, you may reclaim the cost of charging the vehicle at ‘super-fast’ charging points in exceptional circumstances, where a full charge is not sufficient to cover the business miles needed for your day. If you are reclaiming the cost of charging you must not also claim the miles for the onward journey.
When servicing the car, you are required to use the company’s chosen partner garages where discounts have been agreed on parts and labour. Authorisation from a Board Member for additional work or use of an alternative must be obtained in advance. You may be required to obtain more than one quote. Please make it clear on your expense form that you have obtained authorisation, claims that have not been properly authorised will not be re-imbursed.
When sourcing tyres please compare quotes from two organisations before proceeding and / or use partner garages.
No parking fees will be reimbursed without receipt. It is your responsibility to use car parks that provide a receipt either via an app or the parking meter.
Parking fines are not reimbursable. The Company will re-direct parking fines to you personally.
Fines or legal expenses arising from other motoring offences alleged or proven are not reimbursable.
Closing and opening mileage must be logged accurately on the expense form.

Personal Car Usage: Support Employees

It is the employee’s responsibility to ensure that his or her own car insurance policy covers business usage. The Company will not reimburse any additional cost, which may be incurred.
When a personal car is used on company business, reimbursement of mileage will be made at the agreed company rate - 45p for the first 10,000 miles and 35p for any miles after in any one tax year. An additional claim for fuel is not allowed. These rates may be updated by HMRC from time to time and where there is a difference between the rate stated in this policy and the relevant HMRC rates then the HMRC rates will prevail.
Journeys between home and normal place of work should not be included in any such claim. As a support employee, you will not have a normal place of work so in- line with your contract you must deduct 20 miles each way.
Home mileage starts and ends at the registered address held on our payroll system. It is your responsibility to submit any changes to this direct to payroll before you submit a mileage claim.
Destinations must be stated on every journey.
All mileage claims should be submitted for the most direct route for the journey. Journeys will be checked using the AA and RAC route planner for confirmation. Any variations to this will only be reimbursed at the discretion of the management team.
No parking fees will be reimbursed without receipt.
Fines or legal expenses arising from other motoring offences alleged or proven are not reimbursable.
Toll roads may be used, receipts must be provided.

Personal Car Usage: Head Office and Unit Employees

It is the employee’s responsibility to ensure that his or her own car insurance policy covers business usage. The Company will not reimburse any additional cost, which may be incurred.

When a personal car is used on company business, reimbursement of mileage will be made at the agreed company rate of 35p per mile. An additional claim for fuel is not allowed. HMRC may update this rate from time to time and where there is a difference between the rate stated in this policy and the relevant HMRC rates then the HMRC rates will prevail.
Journeys between home and normal place of work should not be included in such claim. For example, if the total of the journey made was 50 miles but you would normally drive to work 5 miles there and 5 miles back the claim for mileage should be for 40. If the journey starts and ends at your normal place of work, then you can claim for the entire amount.
Home mileage starts and ends at the registered address held on our payroll system. It is your responsibility to submit any changes to this direct to payroll before you submit a mileage claim.
Destinations must be stated on every journey.
All mileage claims should be submitted for the most direct route for the journey. Journeys will be checked using the AA and RAC route planner for confirmation. Any variations to this will only be reimbursed at the discretion of the management team.
No parking fees will be reimbursed without a receipt.
Fines or legal expenses arising from other motoring offences alleged or proven are not reimbursable.
Toll roads may be used if required, receipts must be provided.

Hotel Accommodation

The cost of hotel accommodation must be kept within reasonable limits, you should ‘shop around’ to find the most preferential rate and use local providers where cheaper.
Refreshments from hotel mini bars are not refundable.
All bookings should be made by the individual and the best rate obtained.
A VAT receipt, addressed to the company, not the individual must be obtained.
Hotel costs not supported by a VAT receipt addressed to the company will not be reimbursed.
If you are booking accommodation for colleagues, you must provide their names clearly on the receipt/expense form.

Air Travel

All air travel must be authorised in advance by a member of the Board and then economy class/budget airlines only to be used.
When using air travel please consider the cost in comparison to other means of transport, it is preferable to use the cheapest method of transport.

Train Travel

In order for the claim to be valid and paid, the supporting documentation must clearly state the arrival and departure station and date of travel. The expenses form must also detail the site visited.
Standard class shall be used. It is your responsibility to book the most cost-effective ticket available and to book as far in advance as possible to get the best rate.
In the event that 1st Class travel is cheaper than standard class than this will be acceptable as long as printed evidence is provided, i.e., sending printouts of both options.
Train travel will be monitored to ensure that it is at a reasonable level and a sensible cost when compared to other means of transport.

Public Transport and Taxi

The use of taxis is only allowed for travel in conjunction with train/air travel. i.e. the whole journey cannot be taken solely by taxi.

Meals

When an employee is staying away from home on business the Company will reimburse up to £25 plus VAT per employee, per night, for food and non-alcoholic beverages.

Where you are claiming for meals for yourself and colleagues, please ensure that the names of your colleagues are provided clearly on the receipt.
Reimbursement of the expenditure incurred will only be made if the claim is supported by original receipts. Credit card receipts will not be accepted as a full itemised receipt is required.
Alcoholic beverages will not be re-imbursed, in the event that alcohol is listed on the meal receipt the amount of the alcohol will be deducted from your claim.
Tips may be reimbursed, provided that the overall claim per person does not exceed the £25+VAT allowance.

Entertainment of Clients

The Company will reimburse reasonable costs incurred on client entertainment with the prior authorisation of a member of the Board.
Do not separate VAT on client entertaining into the VAT column on the expense form, the full cost should be allocated to the client entertaining code.
In order for reimbursement the claim must include:

The names and company names of the clients or suppliers
Names of any Wilson Vale employees
Job Roles of those included in the claim
Details of who has pre-authorised the claim

Reimbursements for entertaining will not be allowed unless the attendees and their role (client/supplier/employee) are clearly detailed.

Please note that the entertainment of solely Wilson Vale employees is a taxable benefit and will not be re-imbursed. Wilson Vale employees may only claim for the cost of meals for subsistence or when included in a client entertaining claim.

Working Lunches

The cost of working lunches may be reimbursed to a modest level. A receipt along with the names of the attendees must be provided. When the cost of the working lunch covers large numbers of employees (on Trading Accounts Day for example) it is sufficient to provide the names of the departments who have attended.

Gifts

No employee is authorised to purchase gifts for any other employee for any reason and no reimbursements will be made.

To mark a non-work-related event such as marriage, birth of a child, bereavement a gift may be arranged. This will be organised, upon request, by either the HR Manager or Financial Controller at Head Office. The gift will be flowers or champagne to a maximum value of £50 (incl VAT).

Uniforms

Uniforms should be purchased from authorised uniform suppliers and invoices for uniforms should then be processed through unit bookwork in the normal way. As part of the uniforms, trousers will be provided. If individuals wish to provide their own trousers instead then this will be at their own personal cost.

In the event that suitable clothing cannot be sourced via an authorised uniform supplier (for example for medical reasons or client request) items of uniform may be claimed via an expense form. Details of who the uniform is for and a reason for the purchase must be provided with the expense claim. Purchases of uniform that are not from an authorised supplier must be pre-authorised by your Line Manager before the purchase is made.

Equipment

Cost of personal equipment to perform work related tasks, such as knives, will not be reimbursed as all should be provided on site.

Purchases for Sites

Items purchased for sites should be made using approved Wilson Vale suppliers and be processed via the site bookwork. In the event that an item cannot be sourced via the existing supply chain employees may purchase and claim the cost of items via an expense form.

Non-food items, such as props for an event, Use site cash where possible.

Lower risk food items such as dry goods and confectionery may be purchased via expenses.

Higher risk food items such as raw meat and raw fish must not be purchased via expenses for food hygiene reasons. In the event that a site has a critical need to purchase raw meat and fish then please contact Head Office to find an alternative source.

Please clearly detail on your expenses where items purchased for sites should be recharged.

If items purchased under expenses are to be recharged to a client that require a PO number, please provide details of the PO on your expense form.

Authorisation Procedures

Prior to the submission of an expense claim you must satisfy yourself that the costs are both necessarily incurred and reasonable and the following has been checked: -

The correct form has been completed.

The form has been signed by yourself.

Receipts supporting the claim are enclosed and correct, with a VAT number where applicable. Please note, credit card receipts/bank statements are not sufficient supporting documentation. Full receipts/invoices must be provided.

VAT where appropriate is correctly claimed.

Recharges are clearly identified detailing unit and cost category.

Mileage claims are documented with the relevant journey details.

Prior to payment of an expense claim, a member of the Board will be responsible for the final authorisation and at their absolute discretion, items may be disallowed.

The completed expense claim form must be received at Head Office in line with the agreed timetable as indicated on the company calendar. If the deadline is missed payment will be delayed until the following month. All expenses to include mileage and purchases, should be submitted within a 2-month period of the costs being incurred. Anything after this period will be reimbursed at the discretion of the management team. A full, clear scanned copy of your expense submission (correctly completed, signed, and containing all receipts) must be received at the office by the deadline in order to be processed in the current expense month.

If you can hand deliver your expense claim by the required deadline then this is acceptable, a scanned copy is then not required.

If you have sent your expenses via a full scanned copy, then a postal copy to Head Office is not required. You should ensure that you have received payment for your expense claim before disposing of your copy of the receipts and form.

Unit employees may submit expense claims via the post but must be received at Head Office by the specified deadline, any expense claims received into the office after the deadline will be actioned in the following month even if they have been posted prior to the deadline. Scanned copies of expenses for unit employees are preferred.

In the event that you believe you may need to incur expenses that are not covered by this policy you must seek guidance from The Finance Department prior to incurring any cost.