To think that employers should pay all out of pocket expenses for business trips?

[cantaffordtogotowork]

AIBU to think that if you incur additional expenses for traveling overnight / significantly outside of normal business hours, your employer should pay these costs?

Specifically,

• Overnight child care - if you're working normal hours you'd just pay for after school care, but for business trips overnight care is hard to find and expensive if you're a single parent with limited support
• Pet care - if you're working normal hours you'd feed your own pets, walk your own dog etc. I have a very obliging friend who often does this for me (reciprocal arrangement), but if they're unavailable when I'm on a business trip it costs me £40 per night (approx 40% of my take home daily pay) purely because I'm on a business trip (London prices, unavoidably so)

Obviously meals, train fares etc are covered. I can even get a glass of wine FFS. I can't help but feel that the expenses system is designed with the assumption that it's a man traveling while his wife dutifully stays at home.

AIBU to think that you should be able to expense such costs that are incurred purely because you're going the extra mile for your employer?

I can't help but feel that the expenses system is designed with the assumption that it's a man traveling while his wife dutifully stays at home.

How on Earth have you reached this assumption? A woman can have no children or pets too you know

The OP is right. Many academics have pointed to the fact that the entire workplace is based on the unspoken assumption of a male breadwinner with no caring obligations. Not saying each individual employer does this deliberately- it is just the system as a whole. Yes, of course there will be exceptions, but as a rule, work is fairly incompatible with caring for others. And it's still the case that 95% of the time, women take primary responsibility for childcare, meaning that a man who has children will not be restricted in going for jobs involving travel whereas a woman will. Reimbursing caring expenses would be one way in which work would become more female-friendly.

It could be a lot worse, we are expected to pay our own petrol/travel expenses when on business. Public sector.

There's a strong case for childcare being met.

Pet care? Come off it.

Be happy you can claim anything at all. As an NHS worker I’d estimate I’m at least £20k out of pocket for all the courses, conferences etc that have been essential for me to attend for my training/yearly CPD. Childcare costs? I’d be happy if they covered the cost of the conference and maybe a night in a travelodge!

I remember being on a week long course in London once. Having paid £1500 for the course we were staying in a pretty grim hotel next to a Wetherspoons, where we ate dinner every night. We got chatting with some of the contractors that were being put up in the same hotel - they were astounded when we said we didn’t want to keep any of our receipts as we couldn’t claim any meals etc back, not even a £5 burger!

I work part-time, mornings only. If I have to work an afternoon then my employer pays for my childcare as I am being asked to work outside my contracted hours and incurring an additional expense as a result. This only happens twice a year on average, for example if I have to attend a conference or course, that is on a fixed date. Most times, I either don't attend the meeting or it's moved to a morning when I can be there.

When DP is away overnight for work his boss pays his accommodation, and there’s a fuel rebate depending on how far he’s travelled. That said, in his job staff have the option to decline overnights. Yours sound compulsory OP? That changes things I think, although I do think pet costs are a bit unreasonable. Childcare for a single parent isn’t though.

Madness

Pay my husband (my household gets extra income) to stay home & look after DC while I travel. Extra income for my family hoorah! Complication: does my husband get his usual hourly rate he charges his regular employer, a nursery equivalent wage, something inbetween? Who's gonna administer this crazy system?

Meanwhile colleague with no kids, their household gets no extra income due to having no dependents. How could that be fair? How could employers afford it?

I am paid out of general taxation. Who wants to pay more taxes to give me this expenses perk? Should single parents on benefits subsidise my household? Maybe public service workers shouldn't get this benefit; maybe just google employees get it (maybe only google could afford it).

@skiiltan - how did the employer justify leaving you out of pocket on FX - that is shite.

(are they an American firm :))

lljkk - I am sure the house of lords don't have the generous attitude you have when it comes to claiming :)

I am a single parent and overnight trips are something I take into account when deciding whether to take a job. I have a job that requires lots of regional travel and that makes it easy to be back to pick up the kids from childcare at 5.30. When I had a traditional, office based 9 to 5 job is was actually more difficult to get to them on time.

I wouldn't get a pet because of my single parent status. It wouldn't be fair.

That said, I think the HMRC rules do need reform. Because of the home to Base rule, I can't claim quite a lot of my travel because I live so far from the "office" which I rarely go to anyway. Personally, I think any additional costs should be met whilst travelling, including childcare. I never claim for lunch because I would have to eat it anyway.

@StealthPolarBear no, you're right! Hadn't thought about that 😲. I'd be in a right pickle then!! My mum wouldn't be able to come to me as she has horses! I love how PP are saying 'don't take jobs if you know you can't do the away days' but it's really not that simple! Not many people go into teaching thinking 'oh, there will be lots of overnight trips so maybe I can't do this job just in case, some time in the future, I get married, have kids, get a dog then get divorced three years later and get asked to do a residential'!!

DH travels a LOT for work. Mostly back and forward to the other end of the UK by plane in the same day, often overnight, sometimes for stretches of up to a week overseas.

I don't think it's reasonable to expect an employer to foot the bill for everything. They pay his flights, accommodation, food and drink to a reasonable level (no booze), taxi or car parking at airport etc. However, he took the job knowing what it was like and that sort of expense reimbursement is standard. Had he had sole charge of a child, or a pet, or expensive plants which needed watered every day, or any other requirement which meant he had to be home by 6pm each night, he wouldn't have taken the job in the first place!

It's not your employer's responsibility to look after your kids or your cat. That's YOUR job and your expense. Sometimes, if you have kids or pets or any other caring responsibility that means certain jobs are out of the question. Totally unfair to expect your employer to pick up the tab.

Varies by employer doesn't it, but as others have said childcare etc would be a benefit in kind

In my last job I got travel, parking, accommodation, all meals, alcohol, coffees, wifi, stationary and a 'personal incidental expenses' budget which could cover anything from magazines to a new shirt if you'd spilled coffee on yours.

Current job its travel, accommodation, evening meal if over night only but no breakfast, lunch or any 'extra's except wifi and stationary.

Yabu. Its your choice to have pets and children. Meals, travel etc yes but something personal to you..no.

*having expenses reimbursed only on the basis of an official exchange rate

In this sort of circumstance it would be a good idea to ask for either a company credit card, or for the company to book as much as they can in advance in terms of travel and accommodation so your personal outlay is minimal. Lots of companies do this - only downside is that you might be limited to eating in the hotel.

In my new job it was clear in the job description that there would be extensive travel and overnights. It was also mentioned at interview and I was asked it I had any issues with being able to do what the job needed me to do.
My employer pays travel, food and accommodation but there are limits and you are expected to book somewhere which is good value or be able to justify any extra cost. No alcohol is paid for. Childcare is no longer an issue for me as DCs are older but I wouldn't have expected them to pay for it if it was. Asking for pet care is taking the piss

On a number of occasions i’ve had family travel hundreds of miles to watch the kids when i’m Away on business.
I’ve never asked the company to reimburse.
I figure it was my choice to have the kids. Ultimately they are not forcing me to travel. They have asked and I have said yes.
I know a colleague did once ask for kennels to reimburses and got told no!

To everyone saying don’t take the job if you can’t travel, I accepted a job with no travel. It’s now creeping in though. So far I have dug my heels in and refused to go anywhere but I don’t know how long that will last. I’ll probably leave if it gets to the point I’m told I have to though.

Its a fundamental issue with society.

It is indeed as regards childcare - but not as regards pets!

"I’ll probably leave if it gets to the point I’m told I have to though."

Can they force you to travel if it wasn't in the original terms of the job? I wouldn't think so.

"Your salary will be based on your responsibilities and should allow for the fact that you may have duties involving travel."

That's just not true. I've done low level jobs that require travel. As a secretary I didn't travel as often as my bosses who were away almost every week, but travelled maybe once every three months. I knew travel was involved when I took the job though. It's not just big managers who travel.

"As an NHS worker I’d estimate I’m at least £20k out of pocket for all the courses, conferences etc that have been essential for me to attend for my training/yearly CPD. Childcare costs? I’d be happy if they covered the cost of the conference and maybe a night in a travelodge! "

Is this even legal? You're representing your employer at these conferences, but they don't cover travel and accommodation costs?
I've never heard of this. The most I've heard of is non-profits with a bit of a culture of not claiming.

No, of course not. I suspect that your contract makes this clear.

Accommodation, of course, travel and eating because you'd likely eat for less if cooking at home.

Perhaps unfairly, claims are more likely to be covered and less scrutinised as you progress up through an organisation.

Yabu, that would be a benefit in kind of which you are liable to pay tax for.

YANBU.

For those saying that you shouldn't have taken on a job with travel, what you're really saying is that women shouldn't work in certain sectors because you might have kids, pets etc one day, DP might leave (and 95% of the time, the woman is lumbered with FT childcare), or you might otherwise have to be responsible for a living thing other than yourself. There are entire career paths where some level of travel is required, unavoidably so.

Women shouldn't follow certain career paths because they might end up with caring responsibilities is what it boils down to. How's that for feminism?