Expense policy | jokingseducare

Statement and Purpose of Policy

1. This Policy sets out Jokings Educare Ltd (the Employer or we) 's approach to Staff expenses and provides guidance on how Staff Members can claim payment for expenses incurred when undertaking activities on behalf of the Employer. The Policy outlines the process for obtaining expense payment, which expenses can be claimed, and any limits on how much can be claimed for certain expenses.

2. This Policy applies to all Staff Members irrespective of seniority, tenure, and working hours, including all directors and officers, casual or agency staff, trainees, interns, fixed-term staff, volunteers, workers, and contractors (Staff or Staff Members or you). If an exception applies to any Staff Member, this will be set out in their employment contract.

3. This policy does not form part of any employment contract, and the Employer retains the right to amend it at any time, at our discretion.

Roles and Definitions

4. Jessica Uliabueze has the ultimate responsibility for assessing and processing expense claims. They decide what constitutes a reasonable expense in a given situation and when any exceptions to this Policy may apply.

5. Staff should contact Jessica Uliabueze if they have any questions about this Policy or expenses in general or if they wish to discuss an expense they’ve incurred or expect to incur. Staff can email Jessica Uliabueze at jessica@jokingseducare.com.

6. References throughout this Policy to ‘covering’ or ‘claiming’ expenses refer only to the advance payment of planned expenses.

7. References throughout this Policy to 'activities' or 'expenses' for ‘business purposes’ refer to those activities or expenses that are undertaken or accumulated to further the Employer’s business legitimately. If a Staff Member has any doubt about whether an activity or anything else is for business purposes, they should discuss this with Jessica Uliabueze.

Jokings Educare Ltd’s Approach to Expenses

8. The Employer will cover all reasonable expenses incurred by Staff by this Policy.

9. It is the Employer’s policy to minimise expenses where possible. Where possible we will (and we require that our Staff Members) keep expenses to a minimum.

Expenses That Jokings Educare Ltd May cover

10. The Employer will cover reasonable expenses incurred by Staff, up to any limits and conditions specified, which fall into one or more of the following categories:

a. Travel expenses.

b. Accommodation expenses and other expenses accrued when Staff must be away from home for business purposes.

c. Subscription and membership fees.

d. Meal costs for meals taken whilst working unusual hours (e.g. past dinner time).

e. Entertaining expenses.

f. Other expenses.

11. Which expenses are considered ‘reasonable’ within each of the above categories is determined with reference to the details set out below. If a member of Staff has any doubt as to whether an expense is reasonable they should discuss the matter with Jessica Uliabueze before incurring the expense (e.g. before booking tickets or purchasing items).

12. The amount that can be claimed for any expenses claimable under this Policy for which limits have not been explicitly set is limited to what Jessica Uliabueze considers reasonable for a given expense.

Travel Expenses

13. Staff can claim reasonable travel expenses incurred for travel necessary for them to perform their job or that they have been asked by a manager (or similar) to undertake. This includes travel to locations other than a Staff Member’s usual place of work for work purposes. It does not include regular travel to the Staff Member’s usual place of work (i.e. commuting).

Accommodation Costs and Other Expenses Associated With Overnight Stays

14. Staff can claim reasonable accommodation expenses incurred when they stay away from home overnight for business purposes.

15. Staff can claim the cost of meals taken whilst away from home for business purposes.

Subscription and Membership Fees

16. Staff can claim the costs of subscription or membership fees for services, organisations, databases, software products, or similar, which are required for the Staff Member to perform their job.

Meal Costs

17. Staff may sometimes claim the cost of meals purchased during work.

Entertaining Expenses

18. Staff can claim expenses obtained whilst entertaining clients, customers or partners of the Employer. Entertaining expenses will usually be the cost of dining out or of facilitating similar social activities to support discussions and negotiations on a business relationship, collaboration, or project. As the contents of this category of expenses is not able to be neatly defined, Staff are encouraged to discuss any plans to claim entertainment expenses with Jessica Uliabueze and/or their line manager.

19. Any Staff Member who entertains clients, customers, or partners must also comply with the provisions of the Bribery Act 2010 as well as the Employer’s Anti-Bribery Policy, which is available online at https://www.jokingseducare.com/anti-bribery-policy to ensure that they do not engage in unlawful bribery. To achieve this, the general principle that Staff should have in mind when planning hospitality expenses is that hospitality expenditure should be reasonable, proportionate to purpose, and made in good faith. Expenditure should be connected to a legitimate business activity and not more lavish than required. If a Staff Member is in any doubt whatsoever as to whether their hospitality plans may constitute bribery, they should discuss the situation with Jessica Uliabueze before moving forward with any plans.

Other Expenses

20. Staff can also claim for expenses incurred for:

a. Meal, accommodation, Travel, and entertainment.

21. Any expenses incurred by Staff that fall outside the categories outlined above may be claimable on a case-by-case basis at the Employer’s discretion. Staff should not expect to make successful claims for any other expense category, of course. If a Staff Member expects to incur or has incurred an expense outside of the above categories, which they wish to claim, they should discuss this expense with Jessica Uliabueze as soon as reasonably possible.

Submitting An Expense Claim

22. When claiming expenses, Staff should adhere to the procedure set out below as well as possible. If any issues arise (e.g. if a Staff Member is unable to obtain a receipt with a VAT number for an expense), they should contact Jessica Uliabueze to discuss the issue to establish whether an expense may still be claimable.

23. Staff can only request payment required to meet an expense before the expense is incurred - it is our policy not to reimburse Staff for expenses after they have been incurred.

24. To claim payment for an expense, Staff must submit a claim in writing to Jessica Uliabueze within 28 days after an expense is incurred. This claim must include:

a. The cost incurred, including VAT and any other taxes paid.

b. The name, address, and VAT registration number of the business with whom the expense was incurred (e.g. the restaurant or stationery shop).

c. The name and job role of the person who approved the expense (if applicable).

d. The name and job role of the Staff Member who incurred it.

e. A description of the expense, its purpose, and when it was incurred.

25. Wherever possible, Staff should provide evidence of the expense they’ve incurred (or expect to incur). If payment is requested in advance of an expense, it may be approved in the absence of evidence, in which case evidence of the expense must be provided as soon as possible after it’s incurred. Appropriate evidence will usually constitute original receipts, invoices, or similar documents. Where relevant, these should be itemised and include amounts spent and VAT numbers.

26. Payments for successful expense claims will usually be paid to Staff Members via payroll.

27. The Employer intends to approve all reasonable expenses within the scope of this Policy. We reserve the right to refuse any claim that is outside of the scope of this Policy or that is submitted late, at our discretion. Late claims may be exceptionally approved on a case-by-case basis if good reason is given for their lateness.

28. Staff are expected to adhere to any expense limits in this Policy. If limits are exceeded, Staff are expected to cover excess costs. However, we acknowledge that sometimes unexpected expenses arise or costs exceed expected amounts due to circumstances outside of Staff Members’ control (e.g. if a flight is cancelled and must be rescheduled). In such circumstances, we will evaluate the situation holistically and, in exceptional circumstances, may approve expense claims for amounts above the limits set out in this Policy.

29. Any Staff Member found to have made (or to have attempted to make) a fraudulent claim under this Policy or who otherwise breaches this Policy may be subject to disciplinary action under the Employer’s Disciplinary Procedure, which can be accessed by request from Jessica Uliabueze and is available online at https://www.jokingseducare.com/code-of-conduct.

30. The Employer will make all necessary Pay As You Earn (PAYE) deductions for income tax, National Insurance contributions, and any other deductions due on expense payments. For this reason, staff must provide all of the necessary details when claiming expenses.