Should I snitch on cashback 'womble'?

duchy

prowla wrote: »

I think the person doing the bookings is abusing their position.

And I think it should be a disciplinary matter.

On person seeing themself alright is not a good thing for the company.

It may also be against company rules for taking & declaring gifts.

However, on the flipside, they may well be saving the company money and getting the best deal.

I would view it differently if each individual was making their own booking and individually doing it via cashback site.

All covered in my post above.
We have no idea what this specific company's travel policy says so we have no idea if it is disciplinary or not.

I worked for years in business travel -you'd be amazed how many people had no interest at all in booking their own hotels or flight - They consider it to be an admin function and beneath their notice and the small amount of cashback wouldn't bother them (Oh how the other half live !! ) I'd often point out where a saving could be made....or a benefit gained -and many simply didn't want to know <shrug>

mr-mixalot

I don't see a problem, if she's is tasked with bookings then she doing what any savvy money saver would do, as per a previous poster some companies prefer the more expensive option and they write off the money they spend anyway or claim it back

I'm sure the OP would do the same if they were in this position

GSXRCarlos

The real difference has to be if it's a personal card or a company card.

If it's a compay card then it's company money - simple.

If it's a personal card, and she's claiming expenses then good on her, but the income from cashback should be being declared on her tax forms.

We all have little tax dodges, but to be earning in the region of £80 a month will start to raise questions. If nothing else she should be paying tax on the income - Jimmy Carr got slated for tax dodges, why shouldn't she?

Surely if she's booking that many hotel stays she can negotiate that kind of discount with the hotel company directly??? - That would be what she's paid to do!

duchy

Not so simple
Cashback sites don't see the card so it's a bit of a red herring -plus most companies nowdays get employees to pay on their personal cards and then reimburse after (a canny way of making sure expenses claims are completed in a timely manner as well as improved cash flow for the company). Whose card it is is irrelevant -ultimately the company is paying for the transaction whether it is direct or through reimbursement.

EssexHebridean

There does seem to be an astonishing level of spite behind this one. Is the OP honestly saying that he/she has never made a phone call or answered a text in company time, used a company pen or even - shock horror - taken one home with her? It all comes down to the same thing at the end of the day.

Re the question of paying tax on the income from the cashback, I assume that means that all those mentioning that declare their cashback earnings and similar on a tax return and pay tax on it?

If the OP is that concerned then I suggest a first port of call being to talk to the colleague concerned on the basis that they are concerned that they could get into trouble - it may be that it's all above board. If however they are simply a person who has some sort of grudge, or is just plain jealous, then go ahead and complain - fill your boots, but don't expect to come out of it popular - with either your employers OR colleagues.

happyinflorida

The one thing everyone should learn from this is - don't tell anyone what you are doing!

Cimscate

Bit silly to boast about it but can't see what harm it's doing as long as she is still getting the best rate. I booked theatre tickets for me and a friend gaining about £4 a ticket, did I tell her - no!
Did I feel guilty, maybe a little. Would I do it again, yes!!!
:j:j

sugarbaby125

I would advise you not to interfere, as the issue is not for you to judge or take action. She may have earned cashback but she may not have been paid it. Payment sometimes takes months to be cleared, then paid, or is not paid at all! Leave your colleague to her own devices, then there can not be any come back for you personally, if your colleague is ever taken to task on this issue

You need to bear in mind, that cashback sites are notorious for NOT paying cashback that has rightfully been earned, in my personal experience. I ended my association with 2 well renowned cashback sites, as they withheld £50 or more of my earned cashback

stefano

I have seen work colleagues getting sacked for accepting cashback/gifts/freebies from suppliers, as there is clearly a conflict of interest as it may prevent the person from finding a better deal, and any benefits should be turned over to the company, as it is gained through the company money.

bananz

A colleague and I were doing this in my old job back in 2008/2009 when cashback was less well-known and relatively new. We had a lot of flight and hotel bookings to make for stays all over Europe and discovered good discount sites via quidco that presented significant savings for the company as opposed to booking direct as had been the norm previously. We never shouted about what we were doing, but didn't consider it to be particularly dodgy as such as we always booked the cheapest deals we could find (and spent time researching) and would go direct and forego cashback if that was the best option. TBH with pay freezes in place and threatened redundancies, we kind of viewed it as small compensation for that and a perk of an otherwise unrewarding job! I think as long as she's not looking at cashback first over hotel prices themselves then the OP should just keep schtum! Sour grapes and all that. My colleague and I saved the company thousands of pounds more by using links provided by cashback sites than we ever made ourselves!