Expenses

Overview

The Travel and Expenses Policy (PDF, 283KB) contains full details of what expenses you can claim for.

Before claiming for travel expenses

Before you arrange your journey, think about whether an ‘in person’ visit is necessary. We encourage you use virtual meetings, for example Microsoft Teams, wherever possible to reduce your impact on the environment and minimise costs to the council.

If the meeting cannot be held online, think about travelling to the venue by walking, bike, bus or train.

All accommodation and journeys by public transport must be booked in advance using the Travel Portal.

Bus fares

Bus fares can be claimed on expenses if:

they do not relate to a journey to your usual work base
are not booked via the Travel Portal

Car parking, congestion and low emission zones, and tolls

Car parking can only be claimed if it:

relates to a business journey
is not at your usual work base and a larger amount than when compared to your normal parking arrangements - a VAT receipt is required for car parking over £25
relates to a hotel stay – this should be listed separately from the hotel rate when making your claim

Where there is a choice, cheaper car parks should be used even if they are slightly further from your destination.

If you are travelling through congestion or Low Emission (ULEZ) charge zones and tolls, you can claim these charges on expenses. Receipts should be attached, although it is accepted that not all tolls provide these.

If you live within the congestion/ULEZ charge zone cannot claim for amounts they would normally pay.

Car parking permits

Some employees are eligible for free parking passes and may claim expenses while waiting for permits to be issued. You should include as much detail as possible in the justification box to explain how this relates to council business.

Client contact visit expenses

Items purchased for a client contact visit, including food and drink, can be reimbursed through expenses or paid for using a purchase card (P-Card). You should provide information about the items purchased and business purpose of the expense.

Food and drink must meet the criteria for food and drink expenses.

Food and drink

You can claim the expenses for food and drink if:

the location where food and drink were required is further than 5 miles from your normal work base
your justification meets the expense limits and required criteria

The expense limits and required criteria to claim on food and drink are:

breakfast – you can claim up to £5. Duty start time must have been before 7.30am or following an overnight stay
lunch – you can claim up to £10, but you must be away from your normal work base for the entire period between 12am and 2.30pm
dinner – you can claim up to £20, but your duties must continue past 8pm or precede an overnight stay

Drinks can only be expensed as part of a meal. HMRC define a meal as including food and non-alcoholic drink.

You must include your duty start and finish times in the claim justification.

Where costs are paid for using a purchase card (P-Card), the above information must be uploaded to support the transaction.

Hospitality

You should not normally use council funds to offer hospitality to third parties. In exceptional circumstances, such as an official visit from another authority, you may need to provide hospitality. For example, buying a modest lunch to manage the council's reputation.

In these circumstances you must make sure:

the Gifts and Hospitality policy (PDF, 454KB) is applied to all claims
evidence of approval from the relevant budget holder is attached
the names of everyone receiving hospitality and the organisations represented are included
the claim must not exceed £40 per person

For matters relating to foreign travel, the Foreign Travel, Gifts and Hospitality policy (PDF, 110KB) applies in place of this policy.

Hotels and overnight accommodation

Except in exceptional or emergency situations, overnight accommodation must be booked using the Travel Portal.

If you were not able to use the Travel Portal, your claim must include the reason why you were not able to follow the standard process.

The amount you can reclaim per night is £130 for London and major cities and £80 for elsewhere in the UK. If you are unable to find accommodation within these limits, you must find the next lowest cost available and provide justification for exceeding the limit.

Materials for children’s activities or special events

Items purchased for an event or activity, including food and drink, can be reimbursed through expenses or paid for using a purchase card (P-Card). Employees should provide sufficient information about the items purchased and business purpose of the expense.

If you claim for food and drink for yourself as part of an event or activity, you should include information about:

the business purpose
which costs were for the service user and which were for yourself

For example, £4 for a sandwich and drink for me and £6 meal for the service user.

Food and drink should only be claimed if the criteria are met – see section on food and drink.

Medical costs

If you have a medical cost for something you require for work, for example a flu vaccination, you can claim this on expenses. Please provide sufficient information as to why this is being claimed and attach manager approval.

Mileage

You can claim for mileage for a bicycle, private vehicle or lease car. For all mileage, home to work mileage cannot be claimed and should be deducted first.

Mileage can only be claimed if:

you are required to travel to a different location for work
the journey is further than your home to work mileage

Mileage rates:

use of own bicycle 20p per mile
private car or van (including electric and hybrid) - 45p per mile for first 10,000 miles. After 10,000 miles this reduces to 25p until the end of the financial year
private motorcycle - 24p per mile
additional business passenger - 5p per mile, per passenger
lease cars - various rates set by HMRC

If Essex County Council (ECC) colleagues are travelling together, the driver can claim the passenger mileage rate of an additional 5p per mile, per passenger. This can be done by adding an additional claim line on the mileage tab. Enter the journey details and choose the expense type ‘passenger claim’.

Mileage and expenses for special assistants

If you receive assistance from others funded by the Access to Work scheme:

mileage and expenses cannot be claimed for assistants through expenses
assistants can be reimbursed if the employee they support sets them up as a regular payee on the Electronic Payment Request Tool

Overseas travel

All overseas travel must be booked using the Travel Portal.

If you wish to claim for incidental expenses incurred whilst travelling overseas, you must comply with the Foreign Travel, Gifts and Hospitality policy (PDF, 110KB).

Oyster card top up

Oyster top up and contactless payments on Transport for London Services can be claimed through expenses.

If a separate Oyster card is kept for business travel only, this can be linked to Essex County Council using a purchase card (P-Card) for auto top up if you have one.

Professional membership subscriptions and fees

Professional membership subscriptions and fees are claimable by all employees, excluding staff employed by schools with fully delegated budgets where the governing body will determine the policy.

Managers can approve professional membership fees where they believe it is appropriate. The issuing body must be on HMRC’s list of approved bodies.

Employees will usually be reimbursed for one approved subscription. You may decide to pay for more than one subscription, but the budget holder will usually only permit you to be reimbursed for the cost of the most relevant.

The name of the professional body must be included in the claim, along with proof of payment.  Invoices and renewal letters will not be accepted as proof of payment.

In exceptional cases, your role may require you to be a member of a professional body that is not on HMRC’s list. If the budget holder approves to reimburse the professional membership fees, the details will be included on your P11D as a taxable benefit and be subject to tax and national insurance contributions. 

Training courses, learning materials and exams fees

To claim for fees related to external training courses, learning materials and exams that are relevant to your role, you must include:

manager approval in line with our Travel and Expenses Policy (PDF, 283KB)
proof of expense, such as a VAT receipt, confirmation of payment letters and bank statements. Course acceptance letters and invoices are not proof of payment and are therefore not sufficient evidence that cost has been incurred
the name of the training provider and course details, these should be included in the justification box
an authorised Learning Agreement (PDF, 161KB) for training costs of £1,000 or more

Rail, Tube, Ferry and Air Fares

Except in exceptional or emergency situations, public travel must be booked using the Travel Portal.