working away from home

[kenny maccuish]

Hi guys my company is planning on sending me to work away at one of our branches which would involve overnight stays in a hotel or b&b.
As i have never done this before i was wondering what are the pay rates or expenses i should be expecting to ask for/get.

thanks

 

[James]

Whenever I have done trips like that, my expenses are for the following
All travel costs
All accommodation costs
cost of breakfast, lunch and dinner. (these have to be reasonable costs for the area)
no lunch at Harrads, followed by dinner at the Hilton.

I would not expect to be paid any extra for the time not working so wage should stay the same assuming you are traveling during your normal working hours.

if you are expected to travel up in your own time, this should be considered work and be paid at your normal hourly rate.

 

[Pete999]

Hi guys my company is planning on sending me to work away at one of our branches which would involve overnight stays in a hotel or b&b.
As i have never done this before i was wondering what are the pay rates or expenses i should be expecting to ask for/get.

thanks

Out of pocket expenses Kenny, had this argument many times when I Travelled, and I travelled a lot.
You should get your accommodation paid for, meals are different, you may get breakfast included in your accommodation costs, that depends on the deal your employers strike with the Hotel/whatever.
However evening meals may be hard to fathom, how would you cope at home? you wouldn't be eating out every night, so what I did was negotiate an allowance for evening meals, but beware if you are booked into digs with facilities for cooking making tea etc you may fall foul, of the "well you can buy stuff at Tesco to cook in your Digs the same as you would at home.
Just be sensible as to what you ask for, believe I know, I travelled more than most of you will ever do. In the end we got HOTEL/BREAKFAST paid for an amount for sundries and eating out, based on local prices, just don't be greedy.

 

[SparkyAndGeorge]

One firm I used to work for paid the accommodation costs, breakfast, lunch and dinner paid for and a £15 per night out of town allowance. Looking back this was quite generous compared to other firms.

 

[Robson689]

I get accomodation paid, £20 a day for food and roughly 1.5x pay when more than 2hrs from home.

 

[Leesparkykent]

Stay at a premier inn and get the meal deal which is breakfast and dinner for £20. Rooms are always an acceptable standard and car parks generally have CCTV.

 

[ruston]

Stay at a premier inn and get the meal deal which is breakfast and dinner for £20. Rooms are always an acceptable standard and car parks generally have CCTV.

Had a few nights in truck stops , rough and ready , but did the job.
Do they still exist?

 

[James]

pete999 is right, if you have been provided a place with cooking facilities it could be considered reasonable that you will cook your own meals the same as you would at home.
don't be greedy is the key to the whole thing.

however, the general rule of thumb is that you should not be out of pocket for working away.
if you are on a 3 month assignement away from home and you are provided with a place that has a fridge and cooker, I would not expect anything for food etc.

but anything short term, I would be pulling the REASONABLE EXPENSES phrase out of my hat and expecting to be fed and watered.
I am self employed now and generaly charge my customers £60 a night for food and lodgings if I am outside London. this gives me £45 for a travel lodge and £15 for dinner and a beer.
but back when I was employed I would expect the company to put me up somewhere and feed me. if they failed to provide for my reasonable costs of doing so, I would have been unwilling to do it again.
I think I have been both fair with my previous employers and possibley lucky that I have had no problems with a disagreement over what is reasonable.

 

[Deleted member 26818]

HMRC benchmark rates are £5 for breakfast, £10 for day meal and £15 for evening meal.
You’re also going to have to wash your clothes, so however much that costs.

 

[123KsB123]

I know it's under different circumstances but when the military sends me away on course and there is no base / camp nearby they pay for accommodation, I get given £25.00 for subsidence. That covers breakfast lunch and dinner. As already mentioned above your employer cant leave you out of pocket for being away. Depending on your employer as well can claim for travel there as work, fuel if you used your own vehicle etc.

 

[Sintra]

I travel a hell of a lot and get the following. A permanent flat in London all bills paid. When elsewhere a hotel paid for sometimes with breakfast included. All travel and travel time fully paid plus £30 per day tax free subsistence allowance.

 

[ipf]

Stay at a premier inn and get the meal deal which is breakfast and dinner for £20. Rooms are always an acceptable standard and car parks generally have CCTV.

We have an account with them. Not the cheapest but you generally get what you pay for. They certainly leave Travelodge way behind.
The room costs can vary, though, depending where they are.
eg. London during the Chelsea Flower Show......working at Milwall FC a few years back, at one Premier they wanted £140 per night, two weeks previously it was £75. Get a price and book early, if pos.

 

[David Prosser]

We get £125 a night for accommodation (to include breakfast). £35 for evening meal.
Most peoples standards at home are much higher than stopping out with SKY TV, broadband, netflicks etc, better than whats on offer generally on over night stays.

Saying that I usually go for a Premier Inn just because I know what I'm getting and can get a decent shower and comfy bed.

 

[buzzlightyear]

Saying that I usually go for a Premier Inn just because I know what I'm getting and can get a decent shower and flie bed.and a couple of hobos sleeping on the coach .

 

[kenny maccuish]

Thanks guys thats given me plenty to let my boss know what i would be expecting

 

[Octopus]

Op , what you need to confirm with your boss is not only the allowances, but who is going to be paying the bills? Company credit card? Your credit card? How often you will need to submit these expenses and when they will get paid?

You don’t want to be offering your employer extended credit terms ....

 

[7029 dave]

My outfit pay for bed nights, plus breakfast, £30 night meal allowance.