Booking business travel and accommodation

If you need to travel more than 120 miles in a single day, and the location is not accessible by public transport, you may be able to book a short-term hire car.

Vehicle Lease and Service Ltd (VLS) are the council's supplier for short-term hire vehicles. It is mandatory to use VLS when hiring vehicles for both short-term and long-term hires.

Hire a car or van

A minimum of 24-hours notice is required by VLS following receipt of a complete and accurate booking request. To hire a car or van:

1. Read daily rates for hiring a vehicle (PDF, 66KB) and make a note of the vehicle category, hire charge and additional costs.
2. Complete the driver booking form (DOCX. 20KB). You will need this information and completed form for the next step.
3. ​Login to My Oracle.
4. Select ‘Procurement’, then ‘Purchase Requisitions’
5. Scroll down to the ‘Request Forms’ section and click on ‘Short Term Vehicle Hire’.
6. Fill in the ‘Item Description’. This is the category of the hire vehicle.
7. Fill in the total amount of the car. This includes the hire fee, collection and delivery charge if applicable. 
8. Attach your completed driver booking form, by clicking the plus sign on the attachment section. VLS may be unable to proceed with your booking request or delays may occur if your completed driver booking form has not been attached to your requisition. 
9. Once you have clicked on the plus sign, an attachment box will appear. Under the ‘Type’ heading, select ‘File’. Under the ‘Category’ heading, select ‘To Supplier’.
10. Click ‘Add to Cart’, view your shopping trolley and click on the ‘Review button’.
11. Check all the information is correct.
12. Change the ‘Deliver-to Location Type’ to ‘One Time’.
13. Change the ‘Deliver-to Location’ to the address referenced in your driver booking form.

Fuel

Vehicles are hired with an amount of fuel, you should refuel your vehicle to the same level before returning otherwise the council will pay a penalty.

To have this money reimbursed to you, you should claim for it via My Oracle, attaching the VAT fuel receipts to match the claim amount.

The business purpose for the journey, the number of business miles travelled, the expense date and the expense location should all be included within the claim details and should match the fuel receipts. 

Alternatively, a Purchase Card can be used to pay for refuelling hire vehicles.

Cardholders must note in the business purpose on Barclays Spend Management that the fuel payment relates to a hire vehicle, as this is the only vehicle type where fuel purchases may be made using a Purchase Card.

Long-term commercial vehicle leasing

To lease a long-term commercial vehicle, contact vehicle.leasing@essex.gov.uk. Provide them with your requirements and they will work with you to get the most suitable vehicle.

Once the Vehicle Leasing team have provided you with the details of your lease, make sure you select 'Long Term Vehicle Leasing form' on My Oracle.