Note: references to the UK include the Channel Islands Isle of Man and the Republic of Ireland. ‘Abroad’ refers to all other destinations.

EXPENSES

Principle

The objectives of the CISI expenses policy are;

1. to provide a safe and secure environment for the traveller
2. to ensure that traveller enjoys reasonable comfort
3. to ensure that the traveller is not financially disadvantaged
   

Of these objectives, the most important is providing safe and secure travel and accommodation. If there is a conflict between the more detailed financial guidance, such as not being able to find an appropriately safe and secure hotel within the budgeted guidelines, then the primary objective of ensuring the safety and security of the traveller, applies.

We will only allow employees who have been double vaccinated (plus any boosters) against Covid-19 to travel outside the UK on CISI business.

Hotels

In the UK, should an overnight stay be necessary, a 3 or 4 Star rated hotel should be booked (for bed & breakfast). If there are circumstances when staying at a higher grade hotel is necessary, this should first be discussed and agreed with your Director.

When travelling outside the UK, the same principles will apply, namely a reasonable hotel at a reasonable price that is commensurate with the Institute’s standards.  The actual hotel and the tariff should be agreed, in writing in advance, using the travel authorisation form, with the Director whose budget will bear the costs.

If, when travelling overseas and expecting to arrive at the hotel before 8am local time, a hotel room may be booked for the preceding overnight stay. The Institute is prepared to pay a modest “early arrival” fee which should be less than a full day’s costs if you arrive after 8am but before normal check-in time. Similarly, if you are catching a flight after 2pm and you need to be in the hotel, then Institute will pay an additional fee for “late check out”. Unless your flight is after 10pm, it should not be necessary to pay for an additional night’s stay.

Using private lodging

If an overnight stay is necessary and you choose to stay with friends or relatives, either in the UK or overseas, you will be eligible for £55 in vouchers per night (pro-rata in countries designated as mid or low gdp), which can be used to purchase a thank you gift, or alternatively you can take the host out for a dinner up to the value of £55 (or pro-rate in mid and low gdp countries).

You need to inform your Director of the name, address and your relationship to the person you stayed with in order to receive the vouchers.  Any tax and national insurance due on the vouchers will be paid by the Institute.   

Subsistence

Where CISI exams are sold at full price, eg UK and the employee is away overnight

CISI will reimburse employees for genuine reasonable expenses on the production of receipts, including:

• up to £11 for lunch
• up to £42 for dinner
• Where breakfast is not included with the hotel room, up to £16 for breakfast
  

Coffees / teas are reimbursed where purchased with a meal, and if purchased for a group eg meeting refreshments, in which case they should be purchased by the most senior CISI person at the meeting, and will be reimbursed via expenses on production of a receipt.  Casual, coffee for personal consumption are not reimbursable, their purchase would be covered by the daily subsistence allowance.

If an employee is working away from the office for a full day, eg manning a CISI stand at an exhibition, but an overnight stay is not required and they are not entertaining, CISI will reimburse the employee up to £15 for food and refreshments on the production of a receipt.

Where CISI exams are not sold at the full price

CISI will reimburse employees for genuine reasonable expenses on the production of receipts, including:

• up to £8 for lunch
• up to £27 for dinner
• Where breakfast is not included with the hotel room, up to £11 for breakfast
  

Coffees / teas are reimbursed where purchased with a meal, and if purchased for a group eg meeting refreshments, in which case they should be purchased by the most senior CISI person at the meeting, and will be reimbursed via expenses on production of a receipt.

In addition, incidental non-receipted expenses will be reimbursed up to £5 per night when staying away from home in the UK, and up to £10 per night when abroad.  This allowance is intended to cover personal incidental costs while away, which typically would include newspapers, coffees, etc and these can be claimed without receipts although the items should be detailed on the expense claims.  This allowance is not intended to fund ‘luxury’ items such as alcohol or tobacco nor strictly personal everyday items such as toiletries.  (Unchanged as these levels are in line with HMRC rules)

Daily allowance – when travelling outside of the UK

Alternatively, employee can claim a daily allowance, for each 24 hours they are in the country to cover subsistence, local transport and incidentals.  Receipts do not have to be produced but the total allowance paid for that day must not exceed the daily allowance. 

The cost of living varies across the global, and GDP is a useful, but blunt measure, especially as staff often visit capital cities where the costs are higher.

Where the average price of a hotel room and breakfast is over £135, eg Singapore, Europe, USA, and Hong Kong, a 24 hour daily allowance of £55 can be claimed.

Where the average price of a hotel room and breakfast is less than or equal to £135, eg Sri Lanka, India, Philippines, Indonesia, and Vietnam, a 24 hour daily allowance of £25 can be claimed.

Where the employee is not in the country for a 24 hour period, they should claim for meals taken and provide receipts. 

Hotel Minibars

The Institute is a charity and needs to be conscious of its public image. Therefore, the use of hotel minibars, especially for alcoholic consumption is not permitted. Exceptionally, reimbursement will be given for bottled water if the water supply is considered undrinkable.

Hotel Laundry

For trips over six days, it may be necessary to use the Hotel’s laundry facility which will be a valid expense. Staff should only send the minimum number of items to the laundry service which will allow them to have clean clothes for the remainder of their visit.  It should not normally be necessary for your suit to be pressed.

Entertaining

Entertaining should be pre-arranged with your Director and should be appropriate for the occasion and the status of the guest(s).  Care should be taken in choosing an appropriate venue to reflect the Institute’s values.  It would be unusual for a lunch to exceed £45 a head and dinner £65 (in UK).

All receipts must be attached to the expenses claim form which show the names and companies of persons being entertained, together with a brief explanation of the reason for the entertaining, eg briefing on Institute work, to discuss potential business, etc.

Please note that for these purposes entertaining includes taking UK based CISI staff to lunch.

The Institute has an agreement with the Inland Revenue that no tax liability will arise providing a customer or client is present.

Reclaiming Expenses

All expenses with receipts should be reclaimed using the Webexpenses system.  The reason for the claim should be clearly stated with for example the purpose of the meeting – lunch, business trip, together with brief details of the attendees.

Your claim will be authorised by your line manager / Director, and Finance will transfer the money in to your bank account.

Where a receipt is not available or has been lost, please add the reason.

Allowance for staff who attend formal events on CISI 's behalf

Subject to the agreement of your Director, an annual allowance of £300 will be paid to those staff who regularly travel and represent the Institute at formal events, ie ‘black tie’. This covers out of pocket expenses incurred, such as purchasing and wear and tear on formal dress and luggage.

To receive the allowance of £150, you need to have attended the equivalent of three or more events in the previous six months:

• A black tie event counts as one event
• A night away from home counts as half an event
• A night away from home for a black tie event counts as one and half events
  

If you have been reimbursed for the hire of a dinner suit or outfit, you will not qualify for the allowance for that event.

The allowance, which is subject to deductions for Tax and National Insurance, is paid twice a year.

Staff who do not regularly travel or represent the Institute at formal events, maybe eligible to receive an allowance at the time the allowance is paid if they have attended:
three events or equivalent within a 12 month period – an allowance of £150
six events or equivalent within a 12 month period – an allowance of £300

The benefit is paid to employees who are employed in the month the payment will be made and who are not in their notice period.

The allowance for employees in the international offices is:

India – 5,000 INR

Sri Lanka – 11,000 LKR

Dubai – 900 AED

TRAVEL

General

Staff are expected to use the most economical means of travel to and from business meetings, or events, and to find the best deals for fares and accommodation (if the trip involves an overnight stay). 

Trains

If a train journey is necessary, a standard class ticket should be purchased. If there is a valid reason to travel in a higher class this should be discussed and agreed, before booking, with your Director. A reason may be because the ticket includes free Wi-Fi or refreshments that otherwise would have incurred a cost. Staff are permitted to pay for the upgrade element themselves should they wish to take a higher class of travel that is outside policy.

The need to undertake business trips outside of London should first be discussed and agreed with your director prior to making any financial commitments. All travel and subsistence expenses must be supported with receipts - refer to claim procedures section below.

The Institute has a number of Oyster cards which may be used on London Transport. Using an Oyster card is much more cost and time effective.  These may be obtained from the CEO’s EA.  

Use of a private car

If the use of a private car is necessary and you are willing to use your own car for the journey, expenses will be reimbursed at the tax free rate of 45 pence a mile. A private car can also be used in preferred to a train, however if a train journey would have been practically possible, the lesser of either the equivalent standard class train fare, or the mileage allowance will be reimbursed. In all cases, prior approval for using your own car must be obtained.

Reimbursement may be claimed for return mileage (not exceeding 10,000 miles per annum) undertaken from CISI ’s London office to the business destination, or for the journey from home to destination whichever is the shorter.

Before using a private car for business purposes staff should ensure that their car insurance covers them for business use.

Please note that where applicable it has been agreed with Inland Revenue that the rates shown in this document will not give rise to a tax liability on the individual.

Taxis

Taxis should only be used when there is no other practical means of transport or if you are required to carry literature or presentation equipment and usually only for short journeys.  The company has an account with Dial-a-Cab and this facility can be used with the prior agreement of your Director, or you can use Uber which is a cheaper and often better option.   

In exceptional circumstances, if staff are required to work after 9.00 pm, you may, with the prior agreement of a Director book a taxi home/to train station.  If you live outside central London, then a local taxi from may be booked, if the fare is less than Dial-a-Cab’s quote for the journey.

Details of all journeys booked with Dial-a-Cab will appear on a monthly invoice and you will be required to state the reason why you used a taxi. Directors will countersign all invoices.

For any taxi journeys, other than via Dial-a-cab, a receipt will be required for the expense claim.  

It would not be normal to exceed the upper limit of £3.30 a mile unless there are exceptional circumstances.

Airport Taxi

Most airports in the Gulf and major financial centres, run a well organised, marshalled taxi rank. Sometimes it is necessary to specify your destination to a supervisor who ensures you travel in an approved and licensed taxi.  Always ensure that the meter is running and avoid negotiating a fare with the driver. This is the standard form of transport from the airport.

In some airports most notably, Colombo and Mumbai, the taxi provision is more haphazard and there is no central licensing arrangement.  In this case, you may be picked up by the hotel’s standard car service.

Many airports are connected with train services and it is often cheaper and faster to use them. 

Air travel

Any non-domestic travel over £250 must be approved in advance by the CEO.

Any domestic travel where the airfare is £250 or below can be approved by the line manager.

All long-haul flights have to be booked through Cultural Tours, with whom we have a corporate account (contact details below). Short-haul flights can continue to be booked via the Internet or direct with relevant airlines.

The following guidelines must be adhered to when making reservations:-

Economy Class:

Must be booked for all domestic flights and for flights to the Republic of Ireland

Should be booked for short-haul flights to most of Europe.

Premium Economy:

May be booked for flights between 4 and 8 hours long, but further upgrade is possible depending on:

-           Which country you are travelling to/from

-           The actual length of the flight

-           Whether you are travelling through the night

-           Whether you are travelling alone or accompanying someone

-           Whether you need extra baggage allowance

Business Class:

May be booked for all long-haul flights over 8 hours

Notes

Non-domestic includes the Republic of Ireland (domestic includes Northern Ireland and the Channel Islands)

Short-haul applies to a flying time of less than 4 hours

Long-haul applies to a flying time of 8 hours plus

An Authorisation for Travel (which is available on the Intranet under Personnel/Forms) should be completed and sent to the CEO for approval prior to confirmation of your booking.  

Contact Details:

Cultural Tours Limited

17 Hanover Square, London W1S 1BN

Direct Line: 44 20 3870 1324

Web: www.culturaltours.co.uk

Our contact: Tony Wu or Ray Zhu

Email: tony@culturaltours.co.uk or Ray@culturaltours.co.uk

Adding annual leave to a business trip and/or employee’s Partner/family accompanying them

It is perfectly acceptable for an individual who has been asked by their line manager to travel on CISI business, especially on a routine basis, to take leave whilst travelling and for them to either leave earlier for the destination or depart later. 

The principles that will apply in these situations are;

• There is a legitimate business need for that individual to travel to that destination at that time.
• The request to travel has originated from the individual’s line manager or has been signed off by the line manager. This is already standard policy.
• The individual has openly and explicitly declared to their line manager, in writing, that they are taking holiday, and/or bringing their family/partner, at least a week prior to departure.
• Any personal expenditure is for their own account.
• Any additional flight cost as a result of changing or extending the ticket is covered by the individual.  
• In some cases, particularly if extending the duration of a stay means that a visit then covers a Saturday night, the flight cost may reduce, in which case, the saving may be shared on an equal basis with the individual in the form of accommodation but will never be paid in cash.
• Partners/family may stay with an individual at their hotel whilst they are working, provided that any additional expenditure is paid for by the member of staff, most easily by not claiming back that portion of the expenditure incurred by the non-staff member.
• There already exists a scheme where individuals may stay at a relative or friend’s house and receive a cash benefit. This principle applies globally.
• The individual takes the risk that the business travel may be curtailed or cancelled at short notice and that they are responsible for any subsequent costs to arising from changes to the leave arrangements.
• If an individual is on holiday and is asked or it is agreed that a portion can legitimately be used for business, then the Institute will be pleased to pay subsistence and accommodation as required, but not flights.
  

Insurance

Whilst travelling on behalf of the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment on a business trip, UK staff are insured (including medical cover) under the company’s general insurance policy.  Further details are available from the Chief Operating Officer.