Thanks to the shenanigans of our elected representatives, expenses are hitting the headlines as much as bonuses these days. Human Resources Magazine website currently has three contrasting headlines about expenses. “Bogus expense claims average £17 a month per employee” claims a survey by Travelodge; “Business travellers frequently end up out of pocket because of complex expense procedures” claims a survey by KDS and research by CIPD and KPMG finds that “74% of private-sector and 50% of voluntary and charity employers have reduced their travel expenses“.
It would be interesting to know whether the Travelodge findings are the product of staff with fixed overnight allowances choosing budget rooms and pocketing the difference – surely not. The KDS survey has a marketing flavour as they are providers of on-line travel bookings and expenses management. The CIPD survey reflects organisations cutting back on actual journeys.
I have only ever worked for organisations where all expenses required receipts and matched the cash spent; and nowadays I have to be prepared to account for all out-of-pocket expenses to either clients or HMRC. Fixed allowance systems (traditional in the public sector and writ large for MPs) have apparent benefits, avoiding the need to challenge claims and being seen as even-handed. But they take away the need for the employee to be prudent and can, for some, become an income source (MPs again). Significantly they affect the role of the line manager who is also discouraged from being economical, having merely to confirm the trip genuine; leaving HR or Finance to approve or refuse the money claimed. This can encourage line managers to see themselves in the ‘us’ half of ‘them and us’: never conducive to effective leadership.
Posted by Frank Hobson 