Clarify expenses policies to minimise financial wastage

Management and staff expenses have long since been regularly recurring discussion points on the agendas at many human resources meetings. Dependent upon the specific nature of businesses, the monthly expenses tally of some might be minimal and not extend much further than the realms of a team member purchasing some office stationary out of their own pocket and claiming back the appropriate amount. Senior management and sales representatives of other businesses may rack up substantial monthly expenses if they are required to travel domestically or overseas in order to fulfil their roles, consequently incurring expenses claims for mileage and petrol, air and rail travel, hotels and meals and refreshments whilst working away from home.

When seeking to take control of staff expenses in order to avoid financial wastage, many business owners enlist outsourced professional guidance from employment law and human resources specialists. Experts in the human resources field can review company policies to establish how clear the current staff guidelines are in terms of reasonable expenses claims. If small businesses do not have company policies in place, outsourced service providers can compile them in accordance with employment law on behalf of business owners, including relevant sections about expenses.

It is often the case across a wide spectrum of businesses that one expenses cap does not fit all in terms of role specific expectations and workability. Therefore, human resources services can scrutinise individual staff contracts for an overview of contractual expenses commitments that businesses may or may not have already made to team members.

At NorthgateArinso, we advise businesses about contractual obligations to staff relating to expenses that they are bound to honour by employment law without the possibility of automatic reversal. On the other side of the coin, we also guide businesses through amendments to their company policies and contracts that might currently be considered unreasonable to staff.