Travel expenses situation at work as a graduate

peter_parker786

Good Afternoon, 

I’d like advice please on a situation I have at work concerning my travel expenses. 

For context: 

I have a graduate scheme job and been employed on it for the past 9-10 months based in London. I live in the midlands, so I travel to London usually once or twice a week. It’s also a rotational grad scheme meaning I switch teams every six months or so with different line managers, but the same career manager throughout. 

This career manager allowed me to expense my travel as he does the same and I’ve being doing it since. I switched teams and my current line manager has also approved travel for me citing that I don’t receive London weighting.

However, recently I had a chat with someone from HR (careers advisor for us grads) and she said you can’t usually expense to a contractual location, but stated it’s manager’s discretion, i checked and she’s right as it’s not entirely travel policy. She hasn’t followed up with it since. 

As a result, I’ve done my due diligence, brought it up with both managers and they still insist to expense my travel with their approval, but I’m worried about potential ramifications. 

Any advice would be welcome - thank you. 

MattMattMattUK

peter_parker786 said:

Good Afternoon, 

I’d like advice please on a situation I have at work concerning my travel expenses. 

For context: 

I have a graduate scheme job and been employed on it for the past 9-10 months based in London. I live in the midlands, so I travel to London usually once or twice a week. It’s also a rotational grad scheme meaning I switch teams every six months or so with different line managers, but the same career manager throughout. 

This career manager allowed me to expense my travel as he does the same and I’ve being doing it since. I switched teams and my current line manager has also approved travel for me citing that I don’t receive London weighting.

However, recently I had a chat with someone from HR (careers advisor for us grads) and she said you can’t usually expense to a contractual location, but stated it’s manager’s discretion, i checked and she’s right as it’s not entirely travel policy. She hasn’t followed up with it since. 

As a result, I’ve done my due diligence, brought it up with both managers and they still insist to expense my travel with their approval, but I’m worried about potential ramifications. 

Any advice would be welcome - thank you. 

Your employer could withdraw it, technically it is a taxable benefit so you should be paying tax on it, it is not a legitimate expense as far as HMRC are concerned. I guess the ramifications are that you could end up having to pay tax on it, included backdated tax.

Altior

Pretty key is what is the location in the contract, ie when the scheme is completed, what is the permanent base going forward.

Even though it's for extended periods, it's arguable to expense it if you will be going to different locations around the country, periodically. Less so if this will be your permanent base I'd say. Being on the scheme or having completed it, is then pretty irrelevant. 

peter_parker786

The location in the contract is, and will always, be the London office. Travel policy is you can’t expense to a contractual location, but it’s a managerial responsibility to uphold this of which I’ve gotten approval from two managers.

peter_parker786

Just wondering what I should do as next steps. Do I just start paying for it myself to protect myself from potential drawbacks? Because I’m usually there once a week times and sometimes twice - so can cover it myself. 

And I’m aware some people across different teams, more senior than me, got their travel expense requests denied- they may think it’s unfair if it got out

peter_parker786

Altior said:

Pretty key is what is the location in the contract, ie when the scheme is completed, what is the permanent base going forward.

Even though it's for extended periods, it's arguable to expense it if you will be going to different locations around the country, periodically. Less so if this will be your permanent base I'd say. Being on the scheme or having completed it, is then pretty irrelevant. 

 

Sorry I forgot to quote you, but see the above for my reply on this - thank you 

Grumpy_chap

peter_parker786 said:

Just wondering what I should do as next steps.

Do nothing.
Carry on as you are.

You asked the Career Manager who was satisfied to authorise the expenses.
As have the Rotational Managers.
HR have taken a fence-sitting position and said the decision is to the respective Line Managers.

Don't keep rocking the boat.

I also am not wholly sure that this would even give rise to a taxable BIK as @MattMattMattUK has indicated.  He is knowledgeable and usually correct on these matters and we usually agree in our assessment but I am not sure that we have sufficient detail to make a full assessment based upon the content of the thread so far.  There may be detail that allows this expense to fall outside the BIK regime.

MattMattMattUK

Grumpy_chap said:

peter_parker786 said:

Just wondering what I should do as next steps.

Do nothing.
Carry on as you are.

You asked the Career Manager who was satisfied to authorise the expenses.
As have the Rotational Managers.
HR have taken a fence-sitting position and said the decision is to the respective Line Managers.

Don't keep rocking the boat.

I also am not wholly sure that this would even give rise to a taxable BIK as @ MattMattMattUK has indicated.  He is knowledgeable and usually correct on these matters and we usually agree in our assessment but I am not sure that we have sufficient detail to make a full assessment based upon the content of the thread so far.  There may be detail that allows this expense to fall outside the BIK regime.

I think it would be classed as ordinary commuting and so not an allowable expense. As the OP's regular place of work is the office and they are travelling from home I am fairly sure HMRC would not allow it as an expense and so I would become taxable, I could be misunderstanding though.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/ordinary-commuting-and-private-travel-490-chapter-3#ordinary-commuting

Grumpy_chap

MattMattMattUK said:

I think it would be classed as ordinary commuting and so not an allowable expense. 

You are absolutely correct that, if this is classed as ordinary commuting, then this is not an allowable expense and BIK liability will arise.

I am not certain that this is definitely ordinary commuting (though I understand why you have suggested it is).  I think there could be arguments that could be put forward that this is not ordinary commuting.  The devil is in the detail.  We do not have the detail.

Lavendyr

Any decent employer would not clawback if you have documented managerial approval for your expenses. 

If you don't receive London weighting are you sure you are contracted to London?

Altior

peter_parker786 said:

The location in the contract is, and will always, be the London office. Travel policy is you can’t expense to a contractual location, but it’s a managerial responsibility to uphold this of which I’ve gotten approval from two managers.

Yes, so from the information available it sounds like a managerial misunderstanding. 

Possibly there will be a correction to the tax affairs, as others have alluded to, it sounds like BiK. 

Ordinarily, it shouldn't matter where the colleague is located, if it's a regular place of work then travel affairs are the colleague's responsibility. In practice obviously, this can often form part of the initial negotiation. But for example if you said you'd accept the position but want to remain in the Midlands, and they agreed to cover your cost of travel on the days you attend, it's liable to be taxed as it's effectively part of the salary package.