Civil service questions

[halloweenn]

Any other civil servants who could shed light on travel policy please? My department paid for my train tickets and hotels over span of 3 days. I was hit by train delays of over an hour on each journey. I ended up reaching the hotels and home between 9-10pm each night.

-Can I claim the train delay repay compensation?

-Do I claim the hours spent travelling outside of working hours as flexi credits, or does it fall under overtime?

-no public transport running so took taxi from the train station to the hotel. Can this be reimbursed? (Though as a lone woman travelling in a new area, with luggage, low battery, late at night, I’m happy to pay the Uber fee out of my own pocket)

In my department, the amount of day subsistence you receive is dependent on how long you’re out of the house, so in the scenario you describe - where you’re delayed so long you need extra food/drink and don’t get home until late at night - you’d be eligible to claim maximum day rate. So again, if you also claimed the delay repay on top of maximum day subsistence and travel time, you’d be seen as trying to benefit twice.

Would love to see evidence of policies having to pay the compensation back, that makes no sense, it also doesn't make sense to me that you'd have to not claim the flexi. The compensation rate and lost flexi have no correlation, the ticket amount could be pitiful against the hourly wage.

I've only worked across 2 departments but neither covered it in their policies (except to say travel time from non pinned locations is covered in work time, but no discussion of compensation which is an entirely separate consumer policy).

I agree. I suspect some of this is what people think the policies should say.

I don't know what to tell you - I've worked in CS across MOJ and DWP agencies for the last decade or so. I do a lot of travelling in both roles. In both roles, I've been advised of and seen the policy on travel refunds.

Redfern (I can't remember the name of the train side of the business - north something?) have their own methods to claim refunds and compensation and it is not permitted for us as employees to make those claims. I'm hardly going to screenshot a CS policy if it's not already available on Open Gov. I like my security clearance, thanks!

Stating you have security clearance is more of an abuse of it than copying and pasting a section of a HR policy that will not be official sensitive.

@SoddingWeddings also I don't think you understand how the compensation process works, or which scheme we are talking about perhaps, it's nothing to do with your corporate system, you apply to the train operator as an individual, with proof of ticket, not purchase, and you give your bank details. Redfern wont come into it.

How could Redfern have a method to claim delay repay? They’re not sending a staff member on each journey they book for a user, nor are they getting an update on how each individual journey has gone. Are you talking about refunds for unused train tickets? That’s an entirely different thing. You also seem confused about what information is and isn’t sensitive enough to be shared online.

The point is, by crediting you with flexi/TOIL for the entire journey time including the delay (minus usual travel time from home to base) AND paying either overall day subsistence at the appropriate rate for the length of time you were away from home, or individualised meal and drink expenses based on how much extra you ate or drank because of the delay (depending on your local subsistence policies), the department has already compensated you for the inconvenience the delay caused you. Claiming the rail company’s delay compensation on top of that would be trying to profit from the situation.

I work for a large civil service department and we use Redfern as our booking agent. You can absolutely claim compensation for a ticket booked by Redfern, as I've done it. You take a screenshot of your digital ticket or a photo of a paper ticket and apply using an online form.
But our policy is that you can't then claim the Flexi back - it's one or the other. So I weigh but the amount of refund (can be significant on a peak or open ticket) compared to my net hourly pay. I also make a note on my Flexi sheet that I haven't claimed the hours because I had the refund instead.
At one point the rule was that the refund had to go back to the department but they must have realised that no-one could be arsed to do this for their employers benefit.
I'd check the HR guidance for your department.

@MiddleSaged an employer is not "compensating you", you are working.

The financial compensation is for the discomfort as well as the inconvenience, train station floor anyone? They are two entirely separate things.

As I say I won't believe it until I see the policy, and if it was in my department I would be challenging the basis as it is illogical.

But our policy is that you can't then claim the Flexi back - it's one or the other.

How are they monitoring that?

Nowhere have I mentioned anything about a disciplinary. I just stated that claiming the compensation and not mentioning would not be a good look, in my view.

As has already been stated, there is no standard CS travel policy, there will be different ones depending on the CS branch so what might be acceptable under one policy may not be acceptable under another.

At one point the rule was that the refund had to go back to the department but they must have realised that no-one could be arsed to do this for their employers benefit

it isn't for "the employer's benefit". We're talking about the taxpayer here, so it's for the benefit of you, me and anyone else who pays taxes that go to pay for all the public services that incur travel costs,

Are you absolutely sure you understand what delay repay is? That money would never have belonged to the taxpayer, it’s not a refund of money the Department has already spent, it’s ‘new’ money in compensation for the passenger’s inconvenience. What bank account details would you be giving the train company if you were planning to give it to your Department?

You can disbelieve it all you like, it's still true. I also won't be posting evidence of my department's policies! Illogical or not, it's what's there and the consequences are the consequences should we wish to risk it.

I have claimed delay repay in the past, notified my manager in an email of the amount and then used the money towards my next business trip and confirmed it with a copy of the ticket / receipt. The problem is that it is extra work for no individual benefit (& you have already been inconvenienced by the delay) so lots of colleagues don’t bother claiming. The way I look at it is that it is public (taxpayers) money and we have a duty to deliver vfm.

I gave up claiming flexi or overtime years ago, so don’t claim that when travelling.

I would get a taxi to the hotel and would likely use public transport for your trip home as you know the area and I wouldn’t expect a taxi home from work at 9 or 10 if I worked late.

Just checked our policy and it says that the refund must be claimed as travel vouchers with Redferns address details so it doesn't come back to you as the inconvenienced one (in our dept anyway). Seems a massive faff with needing to upload tickets etc. Why would you bother!

What refund? Are you talking about an actual refund from a rail company for an unused ticket?

Yeah I think some people are getting refund and compensation mixed up. They’re separate as per national rail.

Compensation for delay repay is not a refund, especially if you’re the one being inconvenienced and waiting around in dark, cold conditions for hours.