What's your work expenses policy like?

[ShadowPuppets]

Idly musing. I went on a work trip the other day and have just been sorting the receipts. I had to eat dinner solo one evening and while it was at an affordable place (Pizza Express - because I am a wuss about finding a familiar place if I'm on my own 🙈) I did have a glass of wine with it and I'm wondering whether to a) suck it up and pay the whole thing myself, b) make it clear I'm only expecting repayment of the food, or c) just send it in and see what happens. Will probably do the latter, the least they can do is reject and I can ask about option b! I have friends who work in Finance who would have probably had substantially more than 1 glass of wine and their Accounts team wouldn't bat an eyelid 😂The glass of wine was sorely needed after a full day running client workshops. I wouldn't have thought twice about having dinner with a client and having one glass of wine, just feels a bit funny because I was on my own?

I also had to get a taxi to the station because I had a 20kg suitcase full of marketing materials that I didn't fancy dragging 1.5 miles at 6am, but again who knows how that'll be viewed!

Relatively new job so not sure how these things are viewed. Marketing/Comms if that's relevant. It made me wonder, what's everyone else's policies like? My perception would be that 3rd and public sector would be crazily stingy but maybe you work for an international bank who refuses to let you take a bus for anything less than 3 miles and make your own sandwiches for dinner in a Travelodge?

Ours is up to a set limit but can include alcohol as part of the meal. A glass of wine in the evening with your meal is perfectly acceptable.

Claim it all. You have had a reasonably priced meal. The only reason you were out in a restaurant was because you were working. I always claim every penny.

Thanks - yeah in past jobs I wouldn’t hesitate so I think it’s just new job plus they use the term ‘reasonable expenses’ and who knows what’s ‘reasonable’ until you know a place! Frankly after the day I’d had a bottle would have been ‘reasonable’ but I restrained myself 😂

I’d have liked a set limit in the policy TBH, would have made it a lot easier to rationalise!

Prevoius company paid it all, but a 'glamorous' industry, so lavish dinner and customer/supplier entertainment was normal.
Current (household name, massive company) gives us a daily allowance depending on destination country so we can spend it on whatever we want. Meals not paid. We are also expected to fly economy only, no exceptions for anybody. And take public transport as a rule - here we do have some reasonable standard, you can take a taxi if you land in Minsk at midnight.

Could you ask some colleagues what is acceptable?

Probably not very helpful but ours is £85 a day for a normal location, big cities (London, New York etc) have a higher limit because higher prices.

Go for it and expense the whole thing, they'll tell you if you're not allowed to expense alcohol, but no-one is going to think you're a piss-taker for charging one glass of wine.

£10 for breakfast, £15 for lunch, £45 for supper - so £70 a day, which I think is generous but my colleagues were having a moan about.

I think maybe we have different expectations. 😀

I have worked in two third sector type places in the last 15 years and reasonable expenses in both would include a glass of wine.
In one place we had a cap for each meal which made it easier.
A long time ago, when working away on my own I was chatting to my (business owner) boss about where I had been for dinner and was firmly told they expected to pay for better than I had had and I was to go somewhere nicer. A glass or two of wine was definitely expected on the claim.
I was finance based and often had a look at expenses for the expense team. Your taxi would never have got to me, especially if you noted you were carrying required materials.

Civil service, I think the max I can claim for subsistence is about £45 per day. £24 for dinner, 7 for lunch, rest for incidentals on very long days.
I travel a lot and often end up out of pocket because the amounts just aren't realistic these days.

Can also claim separately for parking, mileage, taxis.

We can claim for 1 alcoholic drink with a meal.

LA here. Receipts for everything, including car park tickets, then listed on internal form. All is gone over with a fine tooth comb and then countersigned by your immediate boss. It takes ages before you are paid back.

Public sector here, 1 glass of wine with meal is explicitly allowed. Claim it - it's hardly outrageous and they'll soon tell you if it's not allowed.

We had a daily subsistence allowance of £75 twenty years ago so I'm not surprised people are moaning at that amount now.

£10 breakfast, £15 lunch £30 dinner. £40 in London. A glass of wine with dinner fine, not so much breakfast.

We can expense meals up to a certain limit and drinks can be a part of that meal. We are expected to use public transport unless we are required to travel outwith normal working hours, so a taxi at 6am would be fine to expense. We need to travel economy unless we are part of the executive mgmt team or the flight is over 5 hours, if the flight is over 5 hours we travel business class.

Civil service. No alcohol allowed. Set limit for dinner, I think it's £27.

$100 a day for food and drink (breakfast excluded, that's always included with the hotel). Alcohol is allowed when on a receipt with food, a packet of peanuts counts.

Where I work a glass of wine or a beer with dinner is classed as acceptable but there are some who take the piss. Managers needless to say who know who to go to approve them or who not to🙄

My goodness claim it all OP! A modest meal and glass of wine is perfectly acceptable. As is the taxi fare. I've put far, far more than that on expenses before!

I remember having a colleague who didn't know whether to be impressed or annoyed with one of her direct reports who had taken themselves to Tesco for lunch and used their £10 lunch allowance to buy 2 reduced rotisserie chickens, a whole load of veg, fruit and sides and several cakes. Basically food to take home for a couple of days out of one meal allowance.

We have a T&E policy where it’s all laid out. I believe we’re meant to spend no more than £60 per meal, but I’ve never gone over that so I don’t know if I’d have it rejected if I did. I always get taxis if it’s easier or if I’m particularly tired - sometimes public transport is fine. I stay in big chain hotels near the conference/meeting venue or the town centre - often a Hilton or Radisson - mainly because I’m usually travelling in my own and I want somewhere I know will be clean, in a decent area and relatively safe, usually with keycard entry to the upstairs corridors. I’ve never had any queries raised about my expenses but I know colleagues have for eg raiding the minibar or watching films in their hotel room.

Basically in your shoes I’d claim the lot and worry about them objecting if it happens.

Ours is £6 breakfast, £6 lunch and £25 dinner. Wine and the taxi would be fine. To be honest my boss signs my expenses and they get charged to my jobs so unless I was claiming for something ridiculous it's only my job affected by what I claim.

Claim it all, you'll soon get told if it's not allowed.
I'd love to know where poster above this can get B/L/D for £6/6/25 !!

My two service employers have both had a policy of no more than 30% of cost of food on drinks. Meal 15, drinks up to 5 etc. Want a second glass of wine, better order dessert too 😉 No going mad but 40-50 for dinner per person is fine. 20ish for lunch.