To charge my employer for these childcare costs?

[DixieD]

I started a PT job about 6 months ago. It was always clear I was looking for PT as I had young kids. I work half seven to four to get home in the evenings to let the childminder go. This has been the arrangement since the beginning and everyone is happy with it.
DH works long hours, while I get home for 5 he is rarely home before 8. This is the nature of his job, it can't be helped. There have been a couple of occasions due to Board meetings that I have had to work later and DH has stepped in those evenings. Otherwise if I need to work later I've brought the laptop home and worked after the kids go to bed.
Anyway my boss needs me to go to the Milan office for a day. He wants me there for a full day so I need to go for two nights. I am happy to go. However there is no way DH can finish early both nights, so childminder will be minding the kids for extra hours one evening. Obviously I will have to pay her for this.
My question is would IBU to charge this as an expense of travelling? It is the fact I am abroad for two nights that I am incurring it. I think I've a case. DH thinks it cheeky. What do you think? AIBU?

Watch out for tax implications.

Milan is only a short european flight. Fly back after you finish in the office.

In theory you could be there and back in a day without any need for overnight at all.

Can you bump up the claims for other expenses? Ie eat sandwich in hotel room and charge for the full dining room dinner? And suggest this to boss (or not)? As long as it's not costing the firm any more, I'd scrimp madly to make the funds from elsewhere.

Depends, in my contract any childcare above my usual working hours would be covered.

How formal is your employment? Is it cash for a friend or properly organised with tax, ni, a contract etc? Because in the former case I can sort of see you mentioning it, in the latter I'd be looking at contract and job description. Then deciding if I was going to make it an issue.

I don't think it's unreasonable to raise the problem with your boss, but I think you should be going for the 'how much extra am I going to be paid for being away from home' route. As Omletta has said, extra pay should cover your extra costs, and if your DH is available another time, you will just get extra pay.

No I won't be getting paid extra for the hours away. Hotel, flights etc paid for but no travelling allowance or anything.

YABU - it's very cheeky.

I wouldn't authorise that expense for a memeber of my team. I authorise absolutely every expense they incur while they're away but definitely not expenses at home.

It would open the very largest of worm cans; where would it stop?

Oh and the company wouldn't be able to offset it against tax either, and there would be both employer and employee tax liability incurred if they did pay it.

Yes its cheeky. Your child care is your responsibility. Discuss it with your employer by all means, but I would be surprised if they agreed.

Corygal - thats really bad advice as it amounts to fraud and could lose someone their job.

How formal is your employment? Fixed hours? A certain muber per week? Travel plus overtime should be paid. This all sounds very odd.

Corygal - what would you propose to do about the lack of receipts for the expenses OP fiddled if she went down that route?

I live in Dublin so there is only a few regular flights to Milan. I cant do a full day flying in and out same day. the early morning flight would not have me in the office until about half 11 so would have to night before. The only one I could get after the days work gets me in to Dublin at 9 which still means I have to get childminder to work.

I think the not being paid for the extra hours away is the sigificant issue here, as you are on part-time (3 day week) pay.

Speak to your employer and gauge reaction. Fwiw when I travel DH has to get home earlier but I have also had to pay extra for childcare for overtime and I haven't asked for money back.

My employment is very formal. I am salaried so I don't get overtime. I get reimbursement of travel expenses. Reimbursement of agreed out of pockets is tax deductible, and would not have BIK implications.

Linerunner - what's different about working part-time re:getting paid to travel? No-one I know gets paid to travel and we travel loads. As long as OP gets paid for the time she's working, I don't see why she should get extra consideration for travelling.

On the other hand, if the nature of her role fundamentally changes so that she's suddenly expected to travel lots when she wasn't previously, she should be speaking with her boss about a salary/role review. If she's only travelling occasionally, I don't see the issue.

I would certainly ask - you don't have to be formal about it, just ask in passing if she/he thinks its acceptable - personally I wouldn't hesitate to pay out if a member of my team was out of pocket.

I am often in a similar situation and have told my manager that I would be able to put DC in the after school club but would claim the additional childcare costs on expenses. Or they ask someone else to go to the meeting.

I completely disagree with the your children - your childcare costs argument. OP has agreed working hours and pays for childcare to cover them. If extra costs are incurred by her doing unpaid overtime, I don't think it's unreasonable to ask the company to pay them.

I think if you phrase the question in an appropriate way and don't take offense if you're turned down would there be any harm in asking?

I get paid to travel, plus any time I work over my normal hours.

Do you have to go? I wouldn't be keen to do it if I was out of pocket.

Maybe phrase it that you need to be paid for your extra time rather than childcare?

I'm surprised at the number of people saying that it's cheeky. I could claim childcare for this - but I use a nursery and they wouldn't be able to cover evening care anyway - if my husband couldn't cover, I would really stuggle with changes in my scheduled hours and might not be able to go at all.

Hmm tough one.

If you don't phrase it right it will look cheeky.

YANBU to be concerned at unforeseen extra childcare costs. I would phrase it along the lines of

"can we just have a chat about the Milan trip? When I took on the role I thought there was a possibility I may have to spend a day in Milan. The trip we're talking about will mean not just a day trip,but 2 nights away, which is outside of my agreed working hours. As this trip will involve working x hours over my normal contract, I assume they'll be paid in my normal salary? Just want to check before I arrange my childcare for the duration of the trip, thanks!"

You might want to post on Employment Issues, but I'm pretty sure flowery has said in the past that this would NOT be tax deductible ie it would be a benefit in kind - it's not up to your employer to make the BIK decision.

Of course you're still better off getting it than not even if it is taxed.

YANBU

If you have set hours and you are required to work beyond them, a good employer will provide both additional childcare costs (you'll need receipts) and TOIL.

This is standard practice where i work.

Reimbursement of agreed out of pockets is tax deductible, and would not have BIK implications.

Out of pocket expenses, yes. But I'm almost certain claiming for childcare would be BIK and so taxable.