Work colleagues

[Northboy]

2 minutes ago, hk blues said:

As I said in another post, from the minute I was in the car on the road to the minute I got home was on expenses.

For me anything away from home is on expenses and, like you, provided there is nothing excessive my boss/company never have any problems.

Some years ago a guy at my work had to fly down to Manchester for the day. He got back to Aberdeen around 7:00pm and went out for a slap up meal at a well known local hostelry which he put through on expenses. In his defence I don't think he'd every travelled for work before and had no idea about expenses protocol. He either plead ignorance or argued his case well as the company ultimately paid up but it was a source of piss taking for years.

[Wile E Coyote]

55 minutes ago, hk blues said:

Huh - I posted about getting a car valeted, not eating lunch.

If you are referring to the previous post, then sure they'd be entitled to claim lunch if they were on the road - I did it pretty much every day.  But, not when they were working from home and at home during lunchtime!  You wouldn't expect to claim lunch when you are in the office, I hope, yet in their weird way of thinking they were entitled to claim lunch as they weren't in the office even though they were at home. 

I haven't got onto the subject of business mileage yet - some will recall the days when company car tax was based on business mileage.   I'll also throw in one guy who genuinely wouldn't accept he had to pay tax on his company car as a benefit-in-kind as he had 2 cars and only used the company one for business (that in itself was highly unlikely as free fuel was provided for company cars so why would you pay for fuel in your personal car when you can get free in the company one?) - this nonsense was escalated right up to head office in the States.  

Again, the issue wasn't so much the ripping the piss as the entitled attitude to it.  

I think you have misunderstood me. I meant if he eats lunch in his car its going to create crumbs and mess so claiming for a car valet is a legit expense IMO

[Left Back]

Some grassing b*****d has been handing CCTV photos to the press of me snogging some bird in the office.

Will be one of those peasants on the security desk.

[Shipa]

28 minutes ago, Wile E Coyote said:

I think you have misunderstood me. I meant if he eats lunch in his car its going to create crumbs and mess so claiming for a car valet is a legit expense IMO

I would agree that it is a legit expense. If you're office based, the company will probably employ a cleaner to clean the office at the company's expense. If the guy is on the road all the time, his car is effectively his office, why shouldn't it also be cleaned at the company's expense.

[GordonD]

Deleted

Edited June 25, 2021 by GordonD

[Turkmenbashi]

4 hours ago, ICTChris said:

Making employers liable for the cost of commuting would be an interesting exercise in unintended consequences.  A lot of employers aren't based in areas that are amenable to public transport.  If my company were to pay for a train pass for me then my commute would be much longer, I'd have to get a bus to the train staation then another bus from the destination to my office.  Considering I'll still need a car then I'd probably rather just drive in, especially if I'm working a couple of days a week.  If I worked in the centre of Edinburgh it'd be different but only maniacs drive into Edinburgh for work.

If you made companies pay or contribute to petrol costs then they'd be vulnerable to rises in the prices.  On the plus side it could be factored into encouraging people to choose more fuel efficient or electric cars and I bet companies would prefer staff to get trains or buses than be liable for fuel costs.  I do think you'd end up with sutations where a lot of companies, particularly smaller ones, would just not recruit people who lived any distance away from their main workplace.  Most of the places I've worked some people have had ridiculous commutes - guys driving into Edinburgh from South Ayrshire or to Inverness from Elgin  I once worked with a guy who lived on the Black Isle but worked in Edinburgh, he'd drive down on Monday morning, stay in a B&B until Thursday and drive back up on Friday.  Doubt the company would've fancied picking up his petrol costs.

A lot of this is predicated on the fact that many offices are out of town or in out of the way places designed for car travel - for example, Livingston.  Perhaps int eh post-pandemic, post retail collapse economy we'll start to see a move back to city centres as companies move towards having staff working from home and maybe touching down in a smaller space a couple of days a week.  To attract the young 'uns you have to have an attractive destination a lot of the time and somewhere in a city centre is a lot more attractive than a giant car park off the M8.

When I worked in Belgium I believe you are supposed to get tax relief or something on your commute into work. This has the consequence of almost everyone getting a company car (or in my case a company bike), with a fuel card, even for jobs where a car is completely unnecessary. Although I believe if your company car is used for non work related purposes this can also have tax consequences. Also everyone gets food vouchers which are supposed to cover any food, eaten during working hours. Because food eaten during work could be claimed back as tax relief or something like that.

[B.K.]

I worked with a guy, late 90's early 000's (he was my equivalent covering the Midlands & Wales)

Twice a month he would claim for staying in a hotel somewhere around the Cardigan Bay area, which was nothing unusual back in the day, as that was all our normal work patterns, staying out 2 nights a week, every week.

Problem arose when a new boss started in the accounts department in the groups head office in Swindon and just happened to notice his expenses one month and took it upon himself to check his previous claims.

Home printed hand written receipts or as was the rumour at the time that he had nicked a book of receipts from one of his official stays there, none the less ...... silly b*****d hadn't realised that the new boss man was originally from that said town in Wales, what a coincidence there, and enlightened everyone that the hotel he had claimed to be staying in for all these months had in fact burnt down and been condemned the previous January, some 16 months earlier.

Like I said silly bugger, but not a well liked guy, so no tears shed !!

Dilemma he was offered by the big wigs was, pay back the missing £000's immediately and sack yourself OR lets see what the police have to say (& still pay it back) !!

LESSON TO BE LEARNED HERE.

 

 

 

 

 

[scottsdad]

A week today, and I'll be posting my pish and Star Trek pictures to P&B from my office.

[Miguel Sanchez]

6 hours ago, ICTChris said:

Making employers liable for the cost of commuting would be an interesting exercise in unintended consequences.  A lot of employers aren't based in areas that are amenable to public transport.  If my company were to pay for a train pass for me then my commute would be much longer, I'd have to get a bus to the train staation then another bus from the destination to my office.  Considering I'll still need a car then I'd probably rather just drive in, especially if I'm working a couple of days a week.  If I worked in the centre of Edinburgh it'd be different but only maniacs drive into Edinburgh for work.

If you made companies pay or contribute to petrol costs then they'd be vulnerable to rises in the prices.  On the plus side it could be factored into encouraging people to choose more fuel efficient or electric cars and I bet companies would prefer staff to get trains or buses than be liable for fuel costs.  I do think you'd end up with sutations where a lot of companies, particularly smaller ones, would just not recruit people who lived any distance away from their main workplace.  Most of the places I've worked some people have had ridiculous commutes - guys driving into Edinburgh from South Ayrshire or to Inverness from Elgin  I once worked with a guy who lived on the Black Isle but worked in Edinburgh, he'd drive down on Monday morning, stay in a B&B until Thursday and drive back up on Friday.  Doubt the company would've fancied picking up his petrol costs.

A lot of this is predicated on the fact that many offices are out of town or in out of the way places designed for car travel - for example, Livingston.  Perhaps int eh post-pandemic, post retail collapse economy we'll start to see a move back to city centres as companies move towards having staff working from home and maybe touching down in a smaller space a couple of days a week.  To attract the young 'uns you have to have an attractive destination a lot of the time and somewhere in a city centre is a lot more attractive than a giant car park off the M8.

You're better than this, Chris.

[Lex]

We get a £30 use it or lose it meal/drink allowance if we are away for a night.
Couple of years ago I arrived at the hotel late after the kitchen was closed and the bar was calling last orders.
Ordered two pints and about £25 of crisps and soft drinks for the drive home. Was tough to make sure that £30 was maxed to the penny as usual, but I managed it.

[WeAreElgin]

Dozy c***s that say shit like "the expenses limit is a limit and not a target" were my favourite. Spewing c***s having to approve my £29.85 evening meal which clearly shows a £4.85 meal and £25 of pints on the receipt. I guess those days are probably over. [emoji22]

[JamesP_81]

24 minutes ago, Lex said:

We get a £30 use it or lose it meal/drink allowance if we are away for a night.
Couple of years ago I arrived at the hotel late after the kitchen was closed and the bar was calling last orders.
Ordered two pints and about £25 of crisps and soft drinks for the drive home. Was tough to make sure that £30 was maxed to the penny as usual, but I managed it.

Haha that's the same with my work , £30 limit so dinner is never just what do I want to eat but what can I get off the menu for exactly £30 . Like you say its use it or lose it so these people who don't claim or try to keep their claim as low as possible are missing the point.  At best it's highly unlikely that anyone is going to give a toss that these warriors are saving the company a tenner here and 20 quid there , at worse it could highlight that they're able to work away without claiming so why can't their colleagues . 

[steelmen]

If I'm away for work it's usually a few days or a week and I claim for things that aren't my everyday expenses.,  So I don't claim for lunches as I'd be buying my lunch anyway.  I do always get taxis or Ubers everywhere and claim it.  A few years ago I went abroad for work and my taxi bills to and from the airport cost more than the flights.

Nah screw that, I claim for everything when i am away. Starbucks always got me as I never ever ask for a receipt but then I figured out they would accept a screen shot of the purchase in the app on my phone.

My work are really good on expenses. They see it as you are away because of them so they take care of you from the moment you leave until your home again. So it’s unlimited but don’t take the piss. One of our guys went to VeeamOn in Vegas and was claiming $60 for breakfast $10 for food and $50 tip (we did wonder if he got a happy ending with it) he was told he’d be reimbursed half the tip, he left 2 weeks later.

My best expense claimed? My ticket to the watch Barcelona v Juventus in the champions league while I was at vmworld! And a pile of water as I was fcuked from the drink the night before. My boss put it under entertainment. He said if anyone asked I got a meal with it.

[hk blues]

21 hours ago, Wile E Coyote said:

I think you have misunderstood me. I meant if he eats lunch in his car its going to create crumbs and mess so claiming for a car valet is a legit expense IMO

Gotcha.

Too many dots for me to join there mate!

Those guys would not only have claimed the car valet fee, but dry cleaning bill for their suits!

[Eednud]

Back in the 80’s I was advised to never put a root on a company card, I never did anyway.  Last job my boss enjoyed his wine (as I did/do) and it was usually anything in the $75-100 range. He’d get me to pay on my company instead if his as he signed off on my expenses.

Edited June 26, 2021 by Eednud

[GordonD]

1 hour ago, TAFKAM said:

You occasionally get hotels that tell you everything on the receipt will be down as 'food' but it's increasingly rare in my experience.

 

[thistledo]

On 25/06/2021 at 17:57, WeAreElgin said:

Dozy c***s that say shit like "the expenses limit is a limit and not a target" were my favourite. Spewing c***s having to approve my £29.85 evening meal which clearly shows a £4.85 meal and £25 of pints on the receipt. I guess those days are probably over.

 

On 26/06/2021 at 10:42, TAFKAM said:

You occasionally get hotels that tell you everything on the receipt will be down as 'food' but it's increasingly rare in my experience.

Many years ago I was working with a company and travelling down to London every week for the whole week, did it for months, but they flew us business class and we ripped the arse right out of the business lounge bar. But more important was the £28 limit on night time meals, which apparently could only include one alcoholic drink (was never sure if this was a myth) anyway we found this bar that only ever printed "food & drink" on the receipts, it was glorious, could get like a £5/6 burger and the rest on pints. 

[hk blues]

On 25/06/2021 at 20:45, Shipa said:

I would agree that it is a legit expense. If you're office based, the company will probably employ a cleaner to clean the office at the company's expense. If the guy is on the road all the time, his car is effectively his office, why shouldn't it also be cleaned at the company's expense.

OK, just for the sake of argument -

Many companies provide uniforms to staff and pay to have them laundered.  So, the sales guy is entitled to have his/her suit cleaned as it's their uniform?  In fact, the company should actually pay for the suits as well.

 

 

 

 

[hk blues]

On 26/06/2021 at 04:05, steelmen said:

Nah screw that, I claim for everything when i am away. Starbucks always got me as I never ever ask for a receipt but then I figured out they would accept a screen shot of the purchase in the app on my phone.

My work are really good on expenses. They see it as you are away because of them so they take care of you from the moment you leave until your home again. So it’s unlimited but don’t take the piss. One of our guys went to VeeamOn in Vegas and was claiming $60 for breakfast $10 for food and $50 tip (we did wonder if he got a happy ending with it) he was told he’d be reimbursed half the tip, he left 2 weeks later.

My best expense claimed? My ticket to the watch Barcelona v Juventus in the champions league while I was at vmworld! And a pile of water as I was fcuked from the drink the night before. My boss put it under entertainment. He said if anyone asked I got a meal with it.

The above is how it should be done by both the employer and employee.  

[Rugster]

I commuted to Kent for the best part of a year and absolutely everything was on expenses, literally. I only spent money at the weekend when I was home. Never saved so much money in my life. I also earned enough Marriott points for a 7 night stay in Las Vegas and a 2 nighter at the Dalmahoy.