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10.1. GENERAL
Travelling and Subsistence allowances are payable to members of staff to reimburse expenditure necessarily incurred on the provision of meals and accommodation, and travelling, during the periods of absence from the University on approved official business.
Journeys should be made by public transport and reimbursement will be at the appropriate public transport rate. If the journey is to be made by air or rail, tickets should be obtained in advance from the University's approved travel agent via the appropriate School or Department Office.
Members of staff may receive approval to use their own cars on certain journeys and the Board of Governors have approved the principle of a scale of payments to enable reimbursement to be made.
Where no expenditure is incurred no allowance is payable.
10.2 APPLICATIONS, APPROVALS AND CLAIMS PROCEDURES:
a. Journeys within the Local Area
Local journeys can be defined as journeys to destinations within a 30 miles radius of the University.
Approval must be sought from the Head of Department/Director of School prior to any journey being undertaken.
Claims for reimbursement are to be made on the Travelling and Subsistence Claim Form, stocks of which are held in the Departmental Offices.
The Members of Staff must note carefully the time and date the journey commenced and the time and date the journey ended.
Reimbursement will be in accordance with the rates contained in the meals allowance scale as set out in 10.4, and the appropriate travel allowance as set out in 10.6.
b. Journeys outside the Local Area
These journeys can be defined as journeys to destinations that lie outside of a 30 mile radius from the University.
Members of staff wishing to undertake journeys of this nature must complete an Application Form in duplicate, and obtain the approval of the Head of Department/Director of School. Tickets should be requested in advance. Stocks of these forms are held in the Departmental Offices.
When an application receives approval a Travelling and Subsistence Claim Form will be forwarded to the member of staff.
The member of staff must complete the Claim Form and note carefully the time and date of the commencement and completion of the journey.
Reimbursement will be in accordance with the rates contained in the appropriate subsistence scale as set out in paragraph 10.5 and the appropriate travel allowance as set out in paragraph 10.6.
10.3 COURSES AND CONFERENCES ETC.
On occasion members of staff attend courses or conferences etc. where accommodation and meals, or some meals are provided and are included in the course or conference fee. Subsistence allowances will be paid in accordance with the scale set out in paragraph marked 10.5 for the outward and for the return journey and expenditure necessarily incurred on meals not provided in the fees will be reimbursed in accordance with the meals allowance rates set out in paragraph marked 10.4.
When seeking approval from the Head of Service/Director of School to undertake a journey of this nature the applicant must state on the Application Form those meals that are provided as part of the course/conference fee.
When an application receives approval a Travelling and Subsistence Claim Form will be forwarded to the member of staff.
The member of staff must complete the Claim Form noting carefully the times the outward journey was commenced and was completed and the times the return journey was commenced and was completed, together with the additional meals required throughout the course or conference.
It may be that where meals are required on a train, the cost of meals may exceed the Period of Absence allowance. In these circumstances members of staff may opt to have the actual expenditure on meals reimbursed on production of the appropriate receipts.
Course and Conference fees will be paid direct, if the staff member concerned provides the Finance Department with all the relevant details, and approval form at least four weeks in advance of the final date for payment. Please note that it is not the responsibility of the Finance Department to book or register staff on courses/conferences, but only to pay the conference fees. The following procedure should be followed:-
Obtain permission from Head of Department/Director of School and raise approval form;
Request booking form from conference organiser;
Complete booking form, photocopy it, and send to Finance with
payment details. Send original direct to the conference organiser, to ensure that a place is booked.
10.4 MEALS ALLOWANCES FOR JOURNEYS WITHIN LOCAL AREA
The following allowances are payable
Breakfast allowance may be claimed if the journey commences before
6.30 a.m., or if the absence is for more than 24 hours.
Tea allowance may be claimed for absence beyond the normal University day. If the absence from the University continues beyond 8.30 p.m., dinner allowance may be claimed, but not both tea and dinner unless the absence is for more than 24 hours.
10.5 SUBSISTENCE ALLOWANCES FOR JOURNEYS OUTSIDE THE
LOCAL AREA
a. Public Transport
Journeys made by public transport will be reimbursed at the appropriate public transport rate. For journeys to be made via British Rail the School/Service Secretary should be requested to obtain a Rail Ticket from the approved Business Travel Agent. All travel by British Rail will be by 2nd Class. Travel by 1st Class British Rail requires written approval by a member of the Directorate. The Director of School or Head of Service has discretion to approve travel by air where the overall cost is comparable to travel by rail. Arrangements should be made through the School Office.
Members of Staff and Employees may receive approval to use their own cars on certain journeys.
In cases where public transport is not available, or is agreed to be inappropriate in the circumstances, a taxi may be taken by prior arrangement with the Director of School or Head of Service. Every effort should be made to determine the appropriate fare before commencing the taxi journey and committing to the expense. Receipts must always be obtained and produced in order to claim reimbursement.
b. Private Transport
Reimbursement will be made in accordance with the scale which is set out below:-
These rates will be reviewed on 1st April each year and will have regard to the general level of motor costs.
Travelling expenses will not be paid for journeys within central Sunderland (this is deemed to include all University sites with the exception of Washington and Hylton Riverside West).
10.7 NOTES
a. Review of Scales
The subsistence and travelling scales are subject to revision from time to time. You will receive notification of any subsequent revisions.
b. Extended Visits
Where a visit exceeds 5 periods of 24 hours the application of the subsistence scales will be suspended and reimbursement will be made on the basis of actual expenditure incurred, upon production of appropriate receipts and/or other relevant documents, provided the scale allowance is not exceeded.
c. Variation of rates
Approval may be offered to members of staff to undertake journeys and visits at a level of reimbursement below the scales referred to in this document, at the discretion of the University.
d. Most direct route
All claims for travel in the local area, and outside the local area, must be based on the most direct route, It is accepted that motorway travel may increase the distance, but reduce the time spent travelling. As a general rule, the mileages shown in the "AA" handbook should be used.
e. Alcoholic Drinks and Newspapers
The cost of alcoholic drinks and newspapers will not be refunded.
f. Personal Hospitality
Members of staff voluntarily providing accommodation and hospitality, for visitors to the University , in their own homes, may claim at 50% of the scale rate for bed, breakfast and dinner. Claims for such payment should be made on the normal expenses claim form, complete with the Head of Department's authorisation.
10.8 CLAIMS FOR REIMBURSEMENT
All claims for reimbursement must be submitted to the School or Department Office, who will be responsible for ensuring that they have been completed in accordance with the terms of approval.
The correct claim will be forwarded to the Finance Office for payment to be made.
SECTION 10
TRAVEL AND SUBSISTENCE ALLOWANCES
Breakfast £3.29
Lunch £4.53
Tea £1.79
Dinner £5.62
(The above rates apply from 1st April, 1994 and will be reviewed annually).
{Rates reviewed and changed October 1995 - new rates to be included asap}
Subsistence
Period of Absence:
Over 4 hours and up to 8 hours 5.50
Over 8 hours and up to 12 hours 11
Over 12 hours and up to 16 hours 16.50
Over 16 hours and up to 24 hours 22
Over 24 hours, including Overnight Accommodation
London 84.70
Elsewhere 79.20
(The above rates apply from 1st April, 1994 and
will be reviewed annually)
{Rates reviewed and changed October 1995}
UP to Over
1500 miles 1500 miles
Within 30 mile radius
(or first 60 miles of 57p 36p
return journey)
outside 30 mile radius 13p 13p
Where private cars are used to undertake journeys, it is the responsibility of each member of staff to ensure that their insurance policy includes a clause covering the member of staff (and passengers) against all Third Party Claims.
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