Money Moral Dilemma: Should I keep the delay compensation I got for the train ticket I expensed?

darwendiver

You were inconvenienced, not the company.

Firefarie71

You should ask whoever paid for the ticket. Where I work, if I claim Delay Repay it has to go back to the business. I can claim travel time though from the end of my usual working day to when I arrive home. 

You wouldn't want to be reprimanded for pocketing money that company policy states isn't yours to keep. 

TamsinBrown

What were you thinking you would do with compensation repayment as you filled out the form? I reckon you'd probably made your decision already at that point. In that case, go back to that moment in your mind and choose whether or not you want to change your mind.

Further to that, is this guilt or fear of getting caught out that's driving your indecision? 

I know I would keep it and explain later if needed. I would've been the person who was inconvenienced, not any organisation or company, therefore the compensation belongs to me.

I would not have claimed for only 15 minutes delay. It would have to be at least an hour before that idea even came into my head.

Ed264

As you say, the compensation is for your delay. Keep the £9. It can hardly be viewed as fiddling expenses.

davidrobertchapman

I regularly travel between my home city and central London - a 2hr+ journey which is routinely delayed. In my Civil Service job, I don’t get overtime so every delay is eating into my time rather than my organisation’s. However, if I got a delay-repay and didn’t pay it back, I would be considered to be misconducting myself. If I am owed compensation, I return it to my organisation, as it’s public money.

Grumpy_chap

I'm surprised that 15 minutes even qualifies for delay repay, but it clearly does so there you go.

I think the key thing here is "on the way there" so the OP was not inconvenienced / did not lose time as, if the train was on time, they'd have simply spent an extra 15 minutes in the meeting.  Was the meeting delayed by their late arrival?  Did the meeting finish later?

It would possibly be a different thing if the delay had been on the way home, as the delay would then have impacted the OP directly and not the company.

JamesLittmann

For me it’s a question of being fair and even handed. If you were travelling during your working day, then effectively the company lost the time, so they should get the refund. 

If you are travelling outside of working hours and you lost personal time, then I think it’s fair enough to keep the compensation. 

Obviously if you were working for a charity or non got profit you might want to reconsider this. But otherwise, just do what seems fair and reasonable. If in doubt give it back. 

[Deleted User]

Was it your time wasted, or did you simply arrive late at your destination?  If you had to make up the time then you are entitled to the compensation, if not, you know it isn't yours.  Unless you need it enough to steal it, use it for good, donate it to a deserving charity. 

Just_An_Opinion

With my employer, if you are on the way to a meeting/training course, etc then the delay repay goes to the company because that was their time.

If the delay is on your way home, the delay repay is yours because you're inconvenienced.

So it would be worth checking your company travel policy.

[Deleted User]

The company you’re a member of had already agreed they would repay you the full price for your ticket. As you personally were inconvenienced by the train delay, and you put in the complaint/claim, you are entitled to keep this small compensation payment without the need to feel guilty. You should, however, offer to pay the cost of the fare itself if you also receive a refund from the rail company for that, and not put in a false claim for something you didn’t pay for.