General Guidance
This policy applies to all employees of FS Commercial Ltd (“the company”) who incur expenses in carrying out their duties. The company will set off against taxable pay expenses which have been incurred wholly, necessarily and exclusively in the performance of their duties.
Expenses will set-off in line with current legislation and interpretation of HM Revenue and Customs (‘HMRC’) rules.
However, employees must advise the company if they have been on site for nearly 24 months otherwise any expenses set-off will be subject to PAYE and NIC.
You will be able to set-off legitimate business expenses properly incurred in connection with your duties in accordance with the Company’s expenses policy as amended from time to time. Employees must ensure wherever possible that a VAT receipt is obtained for business expenditure incurred. Any expenses outside of this policy will not be reimbursed.
Authorization
All completed expense claim forms, together with the receipts must be submitted to the company for authorization at the following address:
Expenses Dept FS Commercial Ltd, 6th Floor, 5 Temple Square, Temple Street, Liverpool, L2 5RH.
When signing any claim form, it is your responsibility to ensure that any expenditure which has been incurred is in accordance with company procedures stated in this policy and that claims are arithmetically correct. Claims not signed by you will not be processed for payment and will be returned to you for signature. Failure to act within these guidelines will constitute a disciplinary offense.
What legitimate expenses am I able to claim for?
Mileage: You may claim a mileage allowance if you use your own vehicle for travelling to and from work.
- Mileage allowance for cars and vans is paid at a higher rate for the first 10,000 miles travelled during the tax year and at a lower rate above 10,000 miles – currently 45p per mile and 25p per mile respectively
- A lower rate of mileage allowance is paid for motorcycles, currently 24p per mile
- You can claim mileage for riding a bicycle to work, and that is currently 20p per mile
- Mileage allowance covers licence and insurance, servicing, tyres, spare parts etc., as well as fuel
- We may ask for a copy of your registration document when you claim mileage as proof of ownership.
Travel: Other travel costs that can usually be claimed (with receipts) are: Ferry costs, Bus Tickets, Taxi Fares, Tube and Train Tickets, Parking Costs, Plane Tickets, Toll Charges, Congestion Charges. If you are unable to get receipts for these items we may still be able to reimburse you providing there is alternative supporting documentation (such as work location information) to confirm that the expenses were necessary for you to carry out your work.
Subsistence/Meals: If you are at work for over 5 hours including travel time you will be able to claim for up to £5.00, if you are at work for over 10 hours including travel you will be able to claim up to £10.00.
Accommodation: You can claim for accommodation if you are staying away from your normal permanent address in the course of your work. We must have a receipt that includes the hotel/B&B’s name, address and telephone number. You are entitled to accommodation costs, plus up to £25.00 per day can be claimed in respect of meals, but receipts must be provided.
Tools/Clothing: You may claim for industrial tools that are solely for your use at work and clothing that relates to safety wear (such as fluorescent jackets and steel toe-cap boots). VAT receipts must be included for these claims. You may also claim for the cost of laundering protective clothing. You also need to provide receipts for these.
Telephone (fixed line or mobile): You can only claim for business calls, not private calls or rental. Please highlight each business call on your itemised bill and include the original bill when you send us your expense claim. If you use a pay-as-you-go mobile phone and pay top-ups, you must still provide an itemised bill if you wish to claim for business calls.
Professional associations: If you belong to a professional body, you may find that fees and subscriptions are allowable expenses. Check if yours is allowable on HMRC’s website: http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/list3/list3.htm
24 month rule
Employees are eligible to claim expenses incurred for travel and subsistence only when they are working at a temporary workplace.
A temporary workplace is a place which an employee attends only to perform a task of limited duration or temporary purpose.
Where an employee has spent or is likely to spend 40% or more of his/her working time at a particular site for a period of more than 24 months the workplace will be defined as a permanent workplace.
Ordinary commuting is travel between the employee’s home and a permanent workplace or travel from home to any other place which is not a workplace.
Where a site is expected to run and/or has run for more than 24 months, it is not expected that employees will be required to work on the same site for the duration of the project. However, employees must advise the company if they have been on site for nearly 24 months otherwise any expenses set-off will be subject to PAYE and NIC.