Some examples?
Really you can't think of how to feed one person for £15.
Easily, but in readily available places in a city or large town that don't involve fish and chips or a takeaway etc.
As a minimum 10 quid for a main plus a soft drink or 2 and you are at the 15 quid mark, it's a very tight allowance. As I said if to keep under that I need to spend a heap of time finding somewhere it's self defeating. I spent the best part of 10 years travelling for work in the UK and a good chunk of the last 4 here in Oz. My general minimum for eating while on work is clean, tidy, served on a plate, healthy options available.
As a minimum 10 quid for a main plus a soft drink or 2 and you are at the 15 quid mark, it's a very tight allowance.
I'd say you're bang on budget then. I think we pay £25 though.
How about a nice healthy Thai salad for £7
http://mythairestaurant.co.uk/leeds-merrion-centre/
and generally searching for the 10 quid main meal will cost the company another 25 quid in my time. Most of the time ridiculously tight expenses policies are undone - I know for the worst offender we would add another 30 mins on to the day for getting messed around.
edit
Well done you found one....
Just my experience, if you expect someone to spend their time away from home look after them. It's not a jolly and spending 20-30 quid on a meal in somewhere nice and comfortable is very little to ask in return.
Just my experience, if you expect someone to spend their time away from home look after them. It's not a jolly and spending 20-30 quid on a meal in somewhere nice and comfortable is very little to ask in return.
Maybe but for tax purposes it's set at £15 if you want something a bit more special then that's a luxury so you're taxed.
Maybe but for tax purposes it's set at £15 if you want something a bit more special then that's a luxury so you're taxed.
Unrecipted only, with receipts it doesn't matter. Otherwise best call the tax man I owe big time 🙂
and for the OP 150-250/night depending on where it is, remember easter is mid April so prices will go up for accomodation etc. This is a figure you will be charging them so how you pay it to yourself is up to you.
Tbh when I had someone else picking up the bill I'd go for a decent meal and squeeze as much in as I could so no judgement here. These days I'm self employed so even though the taxman will pay for a bit of it most of it comes out of my pocket so I'm much more careful. A supermarket salad or a selection of nibbles. A cheap resterant, or not picking the steak if I do end up somewhere posher. I even take a Tupperware of leftovers some days, just like I would eat at home. Drink squash in the hotel and water when I go out, mostly because I'm trying to cut down on sugary drinks but it's quite a cost saving too. All very boring and I can see what cougar says that a nice meal is a little perk to make up for being away. Just pointing out you can spend a lot less but I freely admit I only really do it when it's my money I'm saving.
just like I would eat at home
Exactly that!! I guess I'm now poacher turned gamekeeper now being a bean-counter rather than living of the fat of an expense account..
Very few people who claim expenses seem to get the point that, regardless of whether or not you're away from home you would still have to provide yourself with an evening meal. Overnight allowances are set as a contribution to partially offset the inconvenience and not to pay for the entire cost someone's jolly night out
regardless of whether or not you're away from home you would still have to provide yourself with an evening meal.
Ridiculous statement.
now being a bean-counter
You can tell.
I try not to eat cheap, processed food when I am at home. I can prepare a meal at home for the 2 of us, with fresh, good quality ingredients for less than £10. Can't do that when eating out.
However, when I travel for work, you expect me to eat at a Harvester or Wetherspoons in order to keep within £15?
Luckily my employer is very easy going on our expenses, including alcohol. The hotel they normally use next to our head office isn't that expensive for the room but the restaurant is. 15 - 20 euro for a starter and 15 - 30 euro for the main.
Very few people who claim expenses seem to get the point that, regardless of whether or not you're away from home you would still have to provide yourself with an evening meal. Overnight allowances are set as a contribution to partially offset the inconvenience and not to pay for the entire cost someone's jolly night out
If the company sends me away from friends and family for the night they can certainly pay for me to have a decent meal. Unless they'd rather pay me for the full 24 hours of my day, of course. And yes, I'd say a glass of wine or a pint with my meal is perfectly reasonable.
We're £10 for breakfast, £25 for evening meal and £120 hotel rate cap (although there is some flexibility in that as they realise it's pointless you having to take a £10 taxi journey each way as the hotel in walking distance was £130). I think those amounts are fine personally, as I rarely stay away these days I guess I take the piss a bit and nudge the limits for the evening meal but I think that's fine given it's me staying in a hotel room for the company's sake rather than being at home where I'd prefer to be.
Very few people who claim expenses seem to get the point that, regardless of whether or not you're away from home you would still have to provide yourself with an evening meal. Overnight allowances are set as a contribution to partially offset the inconvenience and not to pay for the entire cost someone's jolly night out
Good troll!
If a company was only going to 'partially offset' the inconvenience of me being away from home, then they arn't going to have me working for them for very long. Or anyone else I imagine.
Why stop at the food bit? Surely they need a roof over their heads every other night of the week - they should be contributing towards the cost of the hotel too 🙂
Thankfully my employer ins't such an arse. We don't have guidelines other than be sensible.
IME experience employees with expenses eat in decent restaurants, contractors pick something up from the supermarket. So it depends on who's paying as what's acceptable.
My employer sets hotel limits based on what feasible for a decent hotel/breakfast at the project location then £30 for evening meal. I used to get the same deal 15 years ago so not kept track with inflation - IT consultancy isn't what it used to be....
[I]I agree mikewsmith, and I'm not expecting huge amounts, we are a charity.
However the powers that be rarely travel as I and a colleague do, and the FD when last traveling was happy to treat it as a jaunt - hubby came along and they paid for nice meals together.
New CEO in a couple of months, so one of my gripes will be aired... [/I]
Been there.
I worked in Internal Audit for years, often +4 nights per week away (plus weekends if in Asia/US) and having a restrictive policy was a total PITA. Yes, fine for folk who get one trip a year but when it's your job to be away different rules should (and mostly did) apply.
Always got bean counters complaining, but just suggesting that we meet to discuss and giving them options outside of THEIR working hours normally got the point over.
I remember one of my Dutch colleagues reaction was to then only travel in work time, so no more Sunday starts for flights, or before 8am starts etc. And telling the finance department to book his hotels (you quickly find out that the cheapest hotels often require a big taxi fare).
I am on the hmrc ratesI'm allowed £65 for hotel/b&b, plus breakfast.
It can work - I was in Aberdeen Hilton last night for £61 with breakfast, however the evening meal was sh*te served in a chain pub.
That would go down like a lead balloon in my office, and probably result in everyone refusing to travel.
I regularly travel to Glasgow, Nantes, Bristol and a few other places.
£65 gets you very little in those places at short notice.
We do have company guidelines, but they are generally only referred to if someone is taking the p*ss.
I usually try to stay under £100 per night for hotel/breakfast (sometimes difficult dependant on location/time of year) and £30 for an evening meal.
I'm pretty sensible with it though. Last time I went to Glasgow I got a bus/coach from the airport into the city centre for £7, rather than spending £20+ on a taxi.
Last time I went to Delft we bought breakfast from the supermarket as I thought 29 euros for hotel breakfast was outrageous.
I've done the whole 'stay in a B&B and get something from the chip shop for dinner' routine in the past, and won't be going back there.
My employer will not pay any food or drink expenses for travel within the UK.
Don't go, then. I wouldn't.
All very boring and I can see what cougar says that a nice meal is a little perk to make up for being away.
Not so much a "perk," more like compensation really.
Very few people who claim expenses seem to get the point that, regardless of whether or not you're away from home you would still have to provide yourself with an evening meal. Overnight allowances are set as a contribution to partially offset the inconvenience and not to pay for the entire cost someone's jolly night out
1) Cooking at home and eating out are clearly disparate costs. I had spaghetti bolognaise last night - total cost of ingredients, oh, £2 maybe? Add another quid if I wanted a beer or glass of wine with it. What's that going to set me back in a city centre restaurant?
2) Once the initial novelty has worn off it's not a jolly, it's a pain in the wotsits. You're ostensibly on work's time without pay for half the day, sat in a hotel / restaurant / pub on your own with your thumb up your arse for hours on end. Paying for a half decent meal is the least they can do, really.
1) Cooking at home and eating out are clearly disparate costs. I had spaghetti bolognaise last night - total cost of ingredients, oh, £2 maybe? Add another quid if I wanted a beer or glass of wine with it. What's that going to set me back in a city centre restaurant?
£7 for the food maybe £4 for a beer.
Well done you found another one Drac. Most hotels I stayed in back in the UK were not that flash but had nothing on the menu under £20, as much as I want to spend my evenings finding places that sell £7 mains I generally can't be arsed as I've already worked a decent day and I'm away from home.
That menu has a 10oz sirloin steak, with a side and sauce for £16.
Decent quality UK sirloin costs about £20 a kilo. A restaurant normally works on 3 to 4 times uplift on ingredient cost, so that probably means imported frozen Argentinian beef or worse.
No thanks.
6 quid for breakfast. 25 quid for an evening meal.
Not sure how far thats going to go in norway at the end of the month!!!
[url= https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/385/32222106451_899801ceb9_b.jp g" target="_blank">https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/385/32222106451_899801ceb9_b.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/R6mHDv ]2017-01-16_07-04-00[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/mikewsmith/ ]Mike Smith[/url], on Flickr
cheapest places were worse and more expensive than my local, short of going to McD's etc or the local kebab shop things generally cost more especially in the middle of school holidays in a tourist place. Thankfully I get about £70/day for all that.
Don't go, then. I wouldn't.
Not an option if a requirement to travel is in your contract.
Drac, that restaurant sounds fine, except that the mileage to eat there will be £279, and take 5 hours each way...
Thanks everyone, I've given my client a price for 13 days attendance, it has a reasonable per diem and some float for nice food. Not too nice, mind 😉
[i]Drac, that restaurant sounds fine,[/I]
Two courses, a beer and a coffee is still more than £15.
My current set up is based on being "reasonable".
So, not eating at Michelin starred restaurants, but not buying from the reduced aisle in Tesco. Couple of beers with a meal is fine, bottle of wine on my own wouldn't be. Hotels are good, but not uber top end. Neither The Ritz nor a Travelodge.
Two courses, a beer and a coffee is still more than £15.
Yes it is well done you.
Neither The Ritz nor a Travelodge.
I don't really mind a Travelodge for 1 or 2 nights.
IME basic but clean and comfortable beds. You also get a bottle opener which is nice.
I would rather spend less on a room and more on food and drink.
For longer trips, self catering FTW. Eat out if you want, or cook exactly what you want. Saves a fortune.
Up on the west coast of Scotland for a week, 6 of us rented one of those huge 6 bedroom country houses, ate and lived like Kings and saved a small fortune compared to a hotel.
is it ok to expense bike hire if i'm missing my regular thursday night mtb ride?
work wouldn't let me book my bike on the plane!
It'd be fine by me, except that I suspect that you don't work for me...
I put a few months Gold gym membership onto expenses when working in the US. Oh and hiring a Tuxedo for a trip to Atlantic City, getting there in a stretched limo. In the good old days that was....
Allowances ? Those sound like expenses policy rather than allowance.
We get expenses covered and a % uplift on salary to cover the working away aspect.
Normally premier inn, breakfast is included in the room price, and any reasonable meal in the evening, about £20 seems fair.
I could put expence in for lunch but I usually rob a few yogurts and bananas from the breakfast bar, less hassle 🙂
There was one time me and 3 workmates were staying at an independent hotel for a few weeks, we got told to cool it after the first week as the restaurant just charges our meals to the company card..
Apparently 5 pints and fillet steak every night was taking the mick!
When working away, it's usually a 10-12 hour day "on the tools". Go to nearest pub / restaurant (Hungry horse when up at Pinewood) . Usually meal and a pudding and a pint then back to digs ( only thing I insist on these days is en suite). Too bloody tired to worry about the finer things in life 😆
Should get extra on your prorata day rate on top of expenses too. Otherwise way to for the ball ache of working away? Don't let them screw you on this.
On top of the ball ache working away usually involves longer hours working leaving earlier and arriving home later on day of travel etc
Try to keep it around £100 for the hotel and we're allowed a bottle of wine with dinner, Never been questioned about spending on dinner.It actually specifies that I can have a glass of wine with lunch in my contract!! Quickly followed with a bit about getting help if I find that I am drinking more than I should.....
Having a limit on the hotel is not practical. It should not be out needlessly expensive but prices vary a lot. I'm in Hanover a lot. One week 75 euro including breakfast per night another week 275. Same hotel. They all get booked during fairs.
Blimey there are some real tight arse companies out there.
Imagine having to read a menu and dismiss half of it and go without pudding 😯
If I'm away on a shoot then a hotel room for £100-£120 depending on location and don't take the piss I.e a middling bottle of wine not something from the bottom of the list 8)