Working out of town for a few days

Forums › Off topic › Working out of town for a few days - average payment

sdavisnz

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#271678 22-May-2020 08:14

As per topic, I just want to gauge an average payment amount for out of town work.

I am an employee, doing out of town work for 4 days.

What would you expect for an out of town allowance per day.

Would it include meals?

Thanks
Steve.

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kobiak

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#2489081 22-May-2020 08:19

really depends on industry and company, work type, etc.

I've done it couple times and got accomodation paid and collected meals receipts for later payback, others would get an allowance anything in between $50-300 per day again depending if accommodation is paid/not/etc + travel expense

So YES, I would expect.

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trig42

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#2489082 22-May-2020 08:19

Our doesn't have a set amount.

For those employees in our business working out of town, accomodation and transport is paid for, as well as meals (up to a reasonable amount).

In my case, I've never had a claim turned down for three meals a day, as well as a beer or wine with dinner.

mentalinc

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#2489087 22-May-2020 08:45

There should be an internal policy that sets out the rules and limits if any.

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sdavisnz

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#2489097 22-May-2020 09:32

mentalinc:
There should be an internal policy that sets out the rules and limits if any.

There is, but that's not the question I asked was it.

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Lias

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#2489099 22-May-2020 09:40

I've worked for 3 companies where I had to travel for work on occasion.

Large Enterprise A:

Everything booked/arranged via a dedicated travel manager within the org
All flights/accommodation/rentals/etc prepaid without you needing to do anything
$69/night flat rate allowance for meals, no receipts required, could eat instant noodles and pocket it if desired.

Large Enterprise B:

Everything booked/arranged via executive assistants types, or if you traveled regularly got your own account to the corporate travel agency
All flights/accommodation/rentals/etc prepaid without you needing to do anything
Meals/alcohol reimbursed for actual expenditure within set limits/rules (e.g. Max 2 drinks with dinner, no caviar, etc)

Smaller SME C:

Everything booked/arranged via reception/administrator staff
All flights/accommodation/rentals/etc prepaid without you needing to do anything
Initially was 'reimbursement on receipts within reason (no formal policy)' but moved to $70/night flat rate allowance for meals, no receipts required.

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antonknee

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#2489144 22-May-2020 10:01

My experience:

Employer A:
- Book through travel team with accommodation, travel paid in advance
- Claim for meals and expenses with receipts, limit of $10 breakfast/$15 lunch/$20 dinner and implication that unreasonable claims would be denied. Wouldn't budge on the dollar figures. Wouldn't cover any other expediture.

Employer B:
- Book through travel team with flights paid in advance, everything else is booked at corporate rates but you must pay and claim back (very odd, but at least it got me some free Airpoints from the credit card)
- Flat $150 per day for all other expenses, no receipts, could eat noodles as above and pocket the rest.

Employer C:
- Book through travel team, all paid in advance usually
- Claim exact expenses with receipts or claim the standard rate of $100/day - your choice, no restrictions on what can be claimed. No issue claiming some groceries and 3 meals a day and alcohol etc which has sometimes put me above $100/day.

None of these employers made additional payments for being away from home etc, however employer C does do this is the travel period covers a weekend or is longer than a week.

Hard to say what's reasonable, but my gut feel is that B and C are more generous than most with their allowance and A are quite stingy.

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BlinkyBill

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#2489206 22-May-2020 10:19

I pay for actual business expenses incurred. Chargebacks to clients have to be as per the client’s arrangements with us, which we agree in writing up front. Sometimes clients are pretty cheap, but we show solidarity with client staff who travel by doing the same as them.

I also pay for things like movies, bike hire for the keen cyclists, etc. If the travel involves a weekend stay I’ll pay for some sightseeing trip or whatever the person/team would like to do (within reason). These would be items I can’t claim as a business expense or charge to the client. I do ask that my staff check with me if they wonder about the reasonableness factor $100 is fine, $10,000 maybe a bit excessive.

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scuwp

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#2489264 22-May-2020 10:35

sdavisnz:
mentalinc:

There should be an internal policy that sets out the rules and limits if any.

There is, but that's not the question I asked was it.

Geez, people are only trying to respond, calm the farm.

The answer is relevant. You have I would guess an employment contract, and normally in that contract is stated allowances you are entitled to, OR your contract requires you to comply with company policies which may change from time to time. That is your starting point. If you are trying to assess whether the current allowances are fair and reasonable (so you can argue for a review) then a bit more explanation would help people understand your question.

For my work we have policy maximums for expenses you would not normally incur if you were at your normal place of work. We travel from time to time so have work credit cards. So the travel is at no personal cost, but zero sum at the end of the day (i.e. you can't make extra money). Some examples are:

$25 breakfast/lunch, $50 dinner, no alcohol allowed. Accommodation expectations are max $180 or $250 for the main cities per night. We have work provided phones so internet access or phone calls are already allowed for. If using personal vehicles we used the current IRD rate which I think is 0.73c per Km.

My last workplace paid for all accommodation and travel costs (work or rental car) and a cash allowance of $73 per day (from memory, it was in the low 70's) for everything else, so if you were frugal you could make a bit of extra cash :-)

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mudguard

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#2489285 22-May-2020 10:41

I travel exclusively for work. Basically it's $300 per day for room and food. Alcohol is allowed, room usually $200 but sometimes much less, dinner $50, lunch and breakfast the rest. I don't get in the hand, it's all on a work credit card.

Car is reimbursed at 38c per km for fuel and wear and tear (I get a vehicle salary).

Flights, carparking and rental cars all just go on the credit card too.

Edit. And I have to attach an itemised receipt to every transaction too.