Business trip - what expenses should be paid by employer?

[Maveta]

My boss wants me to go on a week long trip abroad with her to do some prep for a new office she is looking to open. She will pay flights, hotel, taxis etc. and I imagine we will eat together most nights so she will pay. I am wondering how lunch would work? If I am off on my own I would grab a sandwich or something similar to what i would eat at home (though actually I make and take my own lunch to work most days) so i´d expect to pay that but am worried we will eat out all the time at places that, over the course of the week, could leave me quite out of pocket.

I will also be going over to open the new office taking dh and ds with me (a few months´stay) and we are negotiating pay now. I´m finding it hard to know what is fair to expect her to pay and what I should expect to shoulder myself. She will pay our flights and our accomodation. Am I right she should pay a car (this will be needed for my job)? as we will personally also have to pay for dh to have a car to get around with ds. Travel insurance/health insurance - she would pay mine, should she pay dh and ds´ too?

I don´t want to be grabby but we aren´t well off and can´t afford to end up out of pocket as a result of this!

Is there a rule of thumb with any of this?

Your post is worded rather oddly - your boss is not paying any of this, it is a company expense!
There should be a policy. many organisations will have a subsistence allowance for travel away from home. I can't comment in detail as I don't have the same kind of expenses to claim - but I'm sure others will be able to help.

you know that is actually the problem, she sees it all as HER paying it. Her businesses are not organisations, they are small (though successful) and there are no policies, no HR person to ask etc etc.

But she very clearly does see it as coming out of her pocket. directly. and it makes negotiating complicated.

My work never pay for anything more than they can help, so I'm guessing that what they do is standard

When overseas, they pay for all meals and drinks. Get receipts for everything as HMRC do require them. If you don't have a company credit card, then you could ask for a cash advance to buy currency to cover buying meals.

Re living overseas - many employers will pay for family health insurance, and will def pay for a car if you will need one for the job. But be grabby - your boss won't pay for anything more than they think they can get away with, so ask for more than you want to give yourself negotiating room. Work out how much it will cost you to be over there (is food/electricity/gas more expensive ? Will you need different clothes ? Is it long enough that you will rent your place out /relinquish your tenancy - what cost will you incur in fees/storage costs) and make sure that is all covered

If you are on business expenses, the cost of transportation (flights), car hire or taxis, hotel, phone calls, and all food should be included. If you are there for a long time, then you should be able to wangle laundry as well.

If you tag a long a family trip, then any extras are up to you to fund. You can't expect the company to fund meals for your family, for example, but if they bunk in your hotel room, then that is usually fine.

When I spent weeks on business expenses, I usually had one modest meal (one step above fast food) and one posh per day. If I was alone, I wouldn't have any qualms about eating in the hotel restaurant, despite its expense.

In the company that I used to work for, they were fairly liberal if you were within reasonable expenses. For example, I once had to work both weeks either side of the August bank holiday. I would have perfectly within rights to travel home on the Friday and return the Tuesday morning and would have cost the company around £1000. Instead, DH came out (before kids), and we had a night in the hotel each side on the company and hung onto my hire car. DH paid for his flight and all meals. The company got a good deal.

thanks for the opinions, seems like we all think along the same lines which reassures me I'm not asking anything unreasonable. thanks

When I worked abroad for a three month secondment the company paid for the rental of an appartment ( they tried to stick me in some youth hostel type bedroom and I refused to stay there as had been promised a decent living space) and a car and petrol costs.

Instead of paying for individual meals they gave me a daily living allowance, at the time it was £30.00 a day but this was back in 2001. So it might make more sense to negotiate a personal allowance so you aren't tied to eating with her every single evening and having to save all your receipts. You certainly shouldn't be out of pocket but by the same token I don't think you would expect your DH and DCs travel insurance and associated costs to be covered.

Just thought of something else, if you are going over there for a few months then it would make a lot of sense both for the business and for you if you stayed in an appartment rather than a hotel room.

Cheaper for them and ability to make your meals do laundry etc for yourselves.

Don't know if this is a possibility for you, where are you going ( nosey smiley) ? Hope its somewhere nice.

As far as I am concerned, when you work abroad - whether it's a short term business trip or relocation - you should not be out of pocket in any way.

So... for example, the company I work for will not pay for things like coffees and teas when travelling on the assumption that if you were at work you'd pay for your own/take the disgusting swill a cup from the machine and that would apply when travelling. However, as I wouldn't normally eat out every day, they would pay for that. However, they technically won't pay for alcohol because it's not "subsitence" (in reality, a glass of wine with dinner is never questioned but a large bar bill would be rejected).

Ditto, if you require one car for family use in England but will require 2 in wherever you are going, your employer should pay for the second but it would not be unreasonable for them to refuse to pay for the first.

All transport and moving costs for the entire family should be paid by the company. Depending on how long you are going for, this could also include visits home - it varies from company to company but I'd expect a minimum of one trip per year for the whole family.

Accomodation in the short term is normally a negotiable point - some companies will pay some will only pay for a limited time, but they should be providing you with some kind of recourse so that you don't have to pay for an expensive hotel while you look for somewhere to live once you move.