How to process expenses

It is important to have guidelines and rules on expenses to ensure that employees are clear on what they can claim for and to avoid misunderstandings. An Expenses Policy should be consistent with your Financial Regulations and outlines the expectations relating to making, approving and recording expense claims.

Request

•Employees should submit their expenses claim via a form to the Clerk or RFO by a specified time limit and in accordnace with the financial regulations.

•Expense claims must be signed and dated, and receipts must be attached.

•If an expense falls outside the scope of the council's policy, it will be necessary to have prior approval before the expense is incurred.

Consider

•Consider whether the expenses were legitimately incurred and fit within the parameters outlined in the Expenses Policy.

•Consider whether you have sufficient information about the expense, and if not, seek clarification.

Authorise

• If the claim is made in accordance with the Expenses Policy authorise it and pass it for payment.

• If the claim needs to be approved by a committee, ensure the staff member knows when to expect payment.

• If the claim does not comply with the rules outlined in the Expenses Policy, notify the employee of why the claim will not paid. If appropriate request further details to enable the claim to be approved.

Record

•Ensure accurate records are kept of any expenses submitted and paid.

Entitlement

Staff incurring legitimate expenses on council business should be reimbursed where an agreed policy is followed.

Home-based staff may be able to claim a tax-free allowance for the cost of utilities.

Concerns

If you have concerns that an employee is abusing the expenses procedure, for example by submitting false claims, an investigation should be carried out to determine whether the Disciplinary Policy should be invoked. A breach of the Expenses Policy could constitute gross misconduct and should be addressed at the earliest opportunity.

This document was commissioned by the National Association of Local Councils (NALC) in 2019 for the purpose of its member councils and county associations.

Every effort has been made to ensure that the contents of this document are correct at time of publication. NALC cannot accept responsibility for errors, omissions and changes to information subsequent to publication.

This document has been written by the HR Services Partnership – a company that provides HR advice and guidance to local (town and parish) councils. For more information about their services, contact them on 01403 240 205.

© NALC 2019