Agenda item

To consider further the minute of the meeting of 22^nd September under the heading “ Staff Travel Policy” which, at the request of  Councillor Rodway, was taken back  to the Committee for further consideration at the meeting of the Council on 1^st October

 

            (Mrs. H. Louden, Head of Financial Services, attended in connection with this item.)

 

            The Committee considered further the minute of the meeting of 19th September under the heading “Staff Travel Policy”.  Councillor Rodway, at whose request the minute had been taken back for further consideration, advised the Committee that he had met with the Head of Financial Services to discuss a number of changes which he felt should be included within the policy.  A copy of the revised policy, which incorporated the aforementioned changes which are underlined, is set out hereunder:

 

“DRAFT POLICY FOR STAFF ATTENDING EVENTS

 

      Belfast City Council employees will, from time to time, need to attend events such as training courses, conferences, study visits, etc., in order to discharge their duties. This could result in an employee being absent from normal working and may involve travel and other costs.

 

      We have developed this policy to support the council’s Standing Orders, Financial Regulations and Accounting Manual relating to employees attending events. It has been developed to ensure that approval and control processes are robust and that attendance at such events provides value for money for the rate payers of Belfast.

 

1.1       Scope

 

      This approval and control process is for all events which senior management have to approve and addresses the need to ensure consistency between types of events covered in this policy with the categories of events specified on the application form. This will include attendance at:-

 

·         Conferences as a speaker representing the Council or a delegate.

·         Study visits.

·         Personal/professional development events (excluding part-time study)

·         Service and operational visits

·         Research, study and best practice visits

·         Promotion of the City events and Trade Fairs

·         Best in Class award ceremonies

·         Meetings of professional bodies and groups where payments are paid by BCC even where it is refunded partly or in full by the body to the council.

·         Other bodies with which the council is undertaking work and is directly chargeable by the council to the customer.

 

      Exclusions from this process are:-

 

·         Business development days (away days) as they will be subject to a separate policy and application form.

·         Attendance at residential courses as part of a part?time study course which will be approved through the part time study application process.

·         Attendance at meetings of professional bodies and groups where the full attendance cost is paid directly by the body concerned or reimbursed directly to the attendee. Approval to attend such events must be requested as a business absence for employees who use the clockwise system.

·         Attendance at conferences/courses/study visits and meetingswhich have no cost to the council. Approval to attend such events must be requested as a business absence for employees who use the clockwise system.

·         Attendance at a corporate meeting or training course organised by another council department. (If there is a charge from an external source e.g. venue, speaker, etc then a purchase order must be raised through the SAP system in advance of the event).

 

2.0       Principles

 

2.1    Attendance at all events must be supported by a business case detailing the benefits to the employee, to the council and in providing services to the public.

 

2.2    A post evaluation form for every event must be completed.

 

2.3    Attendance at events will normally be by one person. If more than one person is attending this must also be justified in the business case. 

 

2.4    If an employee is attending an event as a speaker representing the council any fee earned must be repaid to the council. If payment is in the form of a gift the Gifts/Hospitality Policy must be complied with. Any potential conflict of interest must be registered.

 

2.5    Personal development/professional development events must be linked to the employee’s job and will normally be part of the employees Personal Development Plan (PDP) and/or a professional body’s requirement for Continuing Professional Development (CPD). An employee who is a member of professional body which has CPD requirements must ensure that these are incorporated into his/her PDP.

 

2.6    Attendance at award ceremonies must be restricted to three employees. In instances where more than one project is shortlisted in the same award scheme and more than three employees are required to attend the Director of Corporate Services will exercise discretion in deciding if sending additional employees is appropriate.

 

2.7    Any event which is also to be attended by a Councillor must have Committee and Councilapproval prior to the event.

 

3.0       Travel Arrangements

 

3.1    Travel to an event must conform with the current Travel Protocol which can be found at Appendix 1.

 

4.0       Capture of Multiple Invitations to Events

 

4.1    Multiple invitations to conferences, seminars, etc., are received within the council regularly.

 

4.2    A Protocol will be developed to set out how the council will deal with this issue.

 

5.0       Approval Process

 

5.1    All attendances at events, including those approved by Committee, must be approved in advance of the event by the Head of Service (or appropriate senior manager), or their nominee and the Chief Officer (or nominee).

 

5.2    All requests to attend events must be accompanied by a business case detailing the benefits to the employee, the council and in providing services to the public.

 

5.3    Where there are multiple requests to attend an event Heads of Service (or appropriate senior manager), or their nominee, and Chief Officers (or nominee) must satisfy themselves that a sound business case exists to approve the attendance of more than one person.

 

5.4    A post event evaluation form must be completed for each event and signed off by the senior manager who approved the attendance at the event.

 

5.5    The Director of Corporate Services will approve all attendances for the Chief Executive and approve attendancesfor Chief Officers for events held within the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland

 

5.6    The Chief Executive will sign the approval form for attendances by Chief Officers for events held outside the United Kingdom and Ireland.

 

5.7    The Director of Corporate Services will sign the approval form for all events to be attended by the Chief Executive

 

5.8    Financial Services will be responsible for maintaining the data base for all requests for attending events, in monitoring compliance with the policy and in providing information to assist in corporate management.

 

6.0       Subsistence

 

6.1    Subsistence is payable on eligible expenditure incurred in the course of attending events on behalf of the council. Details on the arrangements for payments are covered in Appendix 2,

 

7.0       Publication

 

7.1    Information on events attended by staff will be published on an annual basis by 30 June of each year under the Council’s Publication Scheme. The first year of publication will relate to events attended during 2008/9 i.e. the first date for publication will be 30 June 2009.

 

7.2    A policy detailing the arrangements for the publication of information is attached at Appendix 3.

 

8.0       Reporting Arrangements

 

8.1    Each standing committee will receive a monthly report on travel activity for the department(s) they are responsible for. Financial information will not be provided in this report.

 

8.2    COMT will receive an analysis report on the information held in the database every three months and the information to be sent to standing committees every month.

 

8.3    A quarterly report will be provided to the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee via the Audit Panel. Standing committees will receive a similar report relating to their area of responsibility.

 

9.0       Guidelines

 

9.1    The application of this Policy and associated papersis supported by Guidelines.

 

10.00   Effective Date

 

10.1  The effective date of this policy is 1 January 2009.

 

APPENDIX 1

 

DRAFT TRAVEL PROTOCOL FOR EMPLOYEES

 

      Belfast City Council employees will, from time to time, need to travel to attend events in order to carry out council business. As a consequence they may have to travel away from council locations.

 

      This travel protocol has been developed to support the council’s Standing Orders, Financial Regulations and Accounting Manual regarding staff travel in relation to attending events. It has been developed to ensure that arrangements for travel are robust and consistent across the council and that the cost of travel provides value for money for Belfast rate payers.

 

1.0       Scope

 

·         This protocol applies to all employees of BelfastCity Council. The travel protocol for Members’ is covered by Regulations made by the government.

·         It applies to travel relating to events as specified in the Policy for Staff Attending Events.

·         It does NOT apply to travel which is part of normal day-to-day operational work e.g. from the place of work to carry out maintenance, inspections, etc.

·         It does NOT apply to travel from the employee’s home to their place of work.

 

2.0       Principles

 

2.1    Approval for travel to attend events will be through the revised application form. This approval process includes permission to travel on council business as detailed on the revised application form. Details on how to seek such approvals are in the Policy for Staff Attending Events and in the guidelines for completion of the revised application form.

 

2.2    Approval to attend an event with the associated travel must be completed in advance of the event.

 

2.3    In certain instances approval by Committee is needed. This must also be obtained in advance.

 

2.4    Employees must use the most economical method of travel considering the cost of travel, journey start and end times, subsistence costs, potential savings in officer time and the business needs.

 

2.5    Account must be taken of the particular needs which may arise from an employee’s medical condition. Management should obtain advice on this from the council’s Occupational Health Service.

 

2.6    When employees are travelling with Members to the same event the travel class, etc., for the employee and Member will be the same.

 

2.7    Employees must not gain any personal and private advantage from business travel. Any rewards for example points, vouchers, air miles, free travel, etc., should be used solely against future business travel wherever possible and not for private use.

 

2.8    Travel and accommodation should be booked and paid for directly by the council in most instances. The exception to this is when these costs are paid directly by an outside body.

 

2.9    The payment of overtime or time off in lieu must comply with the relevant Council’s policy and guideline on such matters. 

 

2.10  All travel should reflect the council’s Policy on Environmental Responsibility.

 

2.11  When travel arrangements do not meet this protocol the Director of Corporate Services must be consulted in advance of arrangements being made so that approval may be given.

 

3.0 The Council’s Travel Contract

 

3.1    The Council’s travel contract should be used to book travel and accommodation.  The cost effectiveness of other options may be considered if there is a clear business case for making savings. Booking with council’s contracted travel agent provides assistance and support that non-contract options do no provide and this should be considered as part of the overall cost. Consideration must be given to the total cost which includes the cost of an employee’s time in sourcing suitable carriers and hotels.

 

4.0       Travelling by Air

 

4.1    The most economical level of ticket must be booked, taking into consideration the requirement of principles 2.4 and 2.5 above.

 

4.2    Tickets booked must not allow for more than two changes. It may be more cost effective to re?purchase a second ticket rather than allow for time changes when booking. For example it may be cheaper to book with a budget airline and have to re-purchase a ticket than to book a flexible ticket through another airline.

 

4.3    The lowest available class of ticket must be booked.

 

4.4    Where an outward long-haul flight 5 hours flying time is needed and employees are expected to start working within a few hours of arrival a return business class (or equivalent) ticket may be booked provided committee approval has been given.

 

4.5    Business lounge access must be approved by committee. This may be purchased if available when there is a stopover of more than two hours and the class of travel booked does not include access to an airport business lounge. The council’s contracted travel agency can advise on this.

 

5.0       Travelling by Sea

 

5.1    Travel by sea and onward by road or rail as opposed to air travel is only an option where the total cost provides a low-cost alternative or where medical opinion requires it. The total cost including the cost of travel, hotel costs, subsistence costs, and mileage, must be taken into account when assessing this option.  Consideration must also be given to the potential savings in officer time and the business needs.

 

5.2    Where available boat reserved seating may be booked. Employees travelling overnight are entitled to book an overnight cabin which must be on a ‘single occupancy’ basis.

 

6.0       Travelling by Land

 

6.1    The most appropriate method of travelling by land must be used taking into consideration the overall cost, potential savings in employee time and the business case.

 

6.2    An employee’s own private car may be used if it provides a low cost option. Motor mileage will be claimed under the council’s arrangements for subsistence. An allowance is paid if an employee carries colleagues on business. This may be significantly cheaper than public transport or hire car charges.

 

6.3    A vehicle may be hired provided it is a value for money alternative. This may be appropriate if a number of employees are travelling together or where public transport is unavailable.

 

6.4    Rail travel must be at standard class unless the journey is greater than 2 hours. A first class ticket may be booked where employees are expected to start work on arrival or to work during the journey.

 

6.5    Where available rail reserved seating may be booked. Employees travelling overnight are entitled to book an overnight cabin which must be on a ‘single occupancy’ basis.

 

6.6    Travel by Heathrow Express must be at standard class and only undertaken where it is the most appropriate means of travel considering cost, potential savings in employee time and the business case.

 

6.7    Employees are permitted to use a taxi for short journeys within towns and cities for example from hotels to conference venues or airports. They may also use taxis for longer journeys where no suitable public transport service is available. These costs are claimed retrospectively through the council’s subsistence arrangements.

 

7.0       Overnight Stays

 

7.1    Employees may travel to an event the previous evening when an event starts early in the working day or the employee anticipates that travel time or risk of delay would result in their arriving late for the start of the event, and if this reduces the value of attending the event to the employee and the council.

 

7.2    Employees are responsible for settling all accounts for incidental costs before leaving the accommodation. The council will only meet the cost of the accommodation and any meals previously ordered from the accommodation supplier through the purchasing process.

 

8.0       Extending Stays Beyond an Event

 

8.1    Employees are permitted to extend their stay beyond an event, either before or after. For absences during the working week this must be approved in advance by their line manager and in line with normal leave procedures.

 

8.2    If the travel cost for the extended stay in greater that it would have been if the employee has returned at the end of the event then the employee will reimburse the council for the additional cost (or pay for the additional cost directly to the carrier). If the travel cost is less for the extended stay the employee will not benefit from the lower cost.

 

8.3    Any additional accommodation costs will be borne by the employee.

 

8.4    Any other additional costs, for example additional car parking charges, will be paid by the employee.

 

9.0       Travelling with Partners

 

9.1    A partner may accompany an employee provided they do not compromise the employee in carrying our council business.

 

9.2    The employee will be responsible for all additional costs associated with the partner’s attendance. Evidence must be provided to the relevant business support staff that these additional costs have been paid. Ideally this should be prior to the commencement of the travel.

 

9.3    The approval of a senior manager must be obtained in advance of an employee arranging to be accompanied by a partner.

 

10.0     Subsistence

 

10.1  Subsistence is payable in arrears on eligible expenditure incurred in the course of attending events on behalf of the council

 

10.2  In certain circumstances advance subsistence may be made available. 

 

10.3  Details for the arrangements for all subsistence, including what is eligible, are covered in the council’s Subsistence Guidelines.

 

11.0     Insurance

 

11.1  Where an employee’s own vehicle is to be used it is the employee’s responsibility to make sure that there is a proper level of insurance. The council will not meet any additional costs for insurance. Whilst the employee will wish to consult their own insurer general advice may be sought from the council’s Insurance Unit.

 

11.2  Whilst there is no need for employees to advise the Insurance Unit in advance of individual trips, anyone who has an existing medical condition and who intends to travel on council business should advise the Insurance Unit. This information will be treated confidentially. Any employee intending to engage in dangerous sports as part of the official visit must inform the Insurance Unit in advance of the visit.

 

11.3  Details of the insurance cover provided to council employees travelling on council business is attached at Appendix A. This will be updated annually to employees on renewal of the insurance policy.

 

12.0     Miscellaneous

 

12.1  The cost of car parking at airports or stations can be recouped from the council under the subsistence arrangements. Employees must minimise costs by using the most cost effective option available. It may be more cost effective to leave the car at home/work and take a taxi to the airport or station.

 

12.2  Employees are personally responsible for ensuring that their passport and any visa requirements are up to date to enable them to travel.

 

12.3  An employee who is refused permission to travel by a carrier, for whatever reason including invalid or missing documentation, will repay all costs arising to the council.

 

12.4  Employees travelling outside the United Kingdom are responsible for exchanging sterling to the required foreign currency. The council will meet the cost of one exchange transaction from sterling to another currency and one exchange back to sterling for the same visit. The value of the amount exchanged will not exceed the total amount of subsistence to which the employee would be eligible for the visit. Where the official business involves time in more than one foreign country (other than onward travel time) the council will meet the exchange costs for each currency on the same basis. Where an employee used an ATM to obtain foreign currency then the cost of using the ATM may be claimed as part of subsistence.

 

12.5  The council will not meet the cost of repairing a mechanical breakdown and/or vehicle recovery for an employee’s own vehicle.

 

12.6  Any compensation offered by a carrier to an employee, for example, for delayed travel or over?booking, must be declared to their department on return. Where the compensation involves a monetary payment or future concession on travel these must be paid over to the Council in full as they arise solely from the employee’s official work. The employee will be eligible to recoup subsistence costs for the period of any delay in the normal manner.

 

13.0     Effective Date

 

13.1  This protocol will be effective from 1 January 2009.

 

APPENDIX A

 

TRAVEL INSURANCE

 

      All Council employees and councillors are covered under the Council’s Group Travel Insurance Policy in respect of official Council business and conferences.

 

      The policy covers matters such as:

 

·         Loss of baggage and personal items.

·         Medical costs for treatment outside the UK.

·         Cancellation costs if the person cannot travel due to illness, death of close relatives or other unforeseen circumstances.

·         Personal liability insurance.

·         Personal accident cover

 

      The insurance applies in respect of trips outside of the Northern Ireland for visits worldwide.

 

      Emergency Contact Information

 

      Assistance is available in the event of a medical or other emergency whilst visiting another country from AIG Lifeline Plus. The telephone number is given on the insurer’s emergency travel assistance card which is available from the Insurance Unit. It is strongly recommended that a card or copy of it is issued to each person travelling on Council business.

 

      The policy number is 00158 11055and this must be inserted on the card to validate it.

 

      The travel insurance policy does not provide cover for:-

 

·         Personal valuables such as jewellery and watches and personal money which should be insured by the member of staff under household insurance.

·         Hazardous sports activities such as skiing, mountaineering, parachuting etc.

·         Vehicle insurance for vehicles hired or borrowed.

 

      Claims

 

      In the event of a loss it is important that certain information is obtained by the person travelling to enable a claim to be made at a later stage. If baggage has been lost a report should be obtained from the carrier stating that the baggage has been lost or delayed. If flights have been delayed necessitating overnight accommodation please retain any receipts for emergency expenses and obtain a report from the carrier that the flight has been delayed.

 

      For further information please contact – David Smith (Insurance Officer)

 

Financial Services Section

Adelaide Exchange

24 Adelaide Street

Belfast

BT2 8GD

DDI 028 9027 0517 or Ext 6111

smithd@belfastcity.gov.uk

 

APPENDIX 2

 

DRAFT SUBSISTENCE ARRANGEMENTS

 

      Belfast City Council employees will, from time to time, need to travel to attend events in order to carry out council business. As a consequence they may travel and incur expenses which are recoverable under our subsistence rules.

 

      These subsistence guidelines have been developed to support the council’s Standing Orders, Financial Regulations and Accounting Manual. They have been drafted to ensure that claims and payments for subsistence are consistent across the council.

 

2.0       Scope

 

·         These arrangements apply to all employees of Belfast City Council. The subsistence arrangements for Members’ are covered by Regulations made by the government.

·         They apply to food, beverages and incidental expenses which an employee incurs because of attending events as specified in the Policy for Staff Attending Events.

·         It will also include reimbursement for travel and accommodation incurred directly by the employee. Payment of travel and accommodation will normally be booked and paid for by the council in advance.

 

2.0       Principles

 

2.1    A full completed application form must be approved prior to attending the event. The Central Transaction Unit (CTU) must be in receipt of the form to enable subsistence to be paid.

 

2.2    Subsistence will be paid in arrears for events attended within the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. Advance subsistence will only be paid in exceptional circumstances.

 

2.3    Advance subsistence may be requested for events attended outside the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.

 

2.4    Subsistence should be claimed within two weeks of an event. Claims submitted more than three months after an event may not be paid.

 

2.5    Advance subsistence should be reconciled within two weeks of an event. Any money unspent should be refunded to the council no later than two weeks after the event.

 

2.6    All claims for reimbursement must be accompanied by valid receipts and claimed on the council’s claim form.

 

2.7    Claims without receipts should rarely happen. Expenditure incurred where no receipt is available should be claimed using the ‘Lost or Unobtainable Receipt Voucher’.

 

2.8    Subsistence should not be claimed for any meals booked by the council, for example breakfast, nor should they be claimed if meal(s) are provided by the organisers of the event. If an employee is taking guests for a meal they need to complete a Small Scale Hospitality Form .

 

2.9    All claims for subsistence (advanced and retrospective reimbursement) must be made on the appropriate council form and signed by the appropriate officer.  (Currently E7/T2 which is being redrafted to simplify the claim and to improve processing.)

 

2.10  The maximum level of subsistence which can be claimed is detailed in Appendix I. The rates are reviewed annually and issued to all departments by circular.

 

2.11  Claims for expenses outside these guidelines must be referred to the Director of Corporate Services so that approval may be given.

 

2.12  The Director of Corporate Services will sign the subsistence claim forms for the Chief Executive and Directors.

 

2.13  The Chief Executive will sign the subsistence claim form for the Director of Corporate Services.

 

3.0       Eligible Expenditure

 

            The following additional expenditure is eligible for reimbursement

 

·         Fares paid for taxis, bus, tram, underground, metro, etc.

·         ATM charges if supported by confirmation of the charge e.g. copy of bank statement, credit card statement, etc.

·         Publications for departmental use for example maps, guides, books.

·         Photographic equipment for departmental use for example memory cards, films, developing costs.

·         Laundry and dry cleaning for trips lasting five days or more

·         One personal phone call home per day of a reasonable length.

·         All work related phone calls.

·         The cost of stationery, fax, email, photocopying, internet usage, etc., which is work related.

·         Parking at airports.

·         Any other incidental cost which is directly related to the nature of the visit and the appropriate to the employee’s job.

 

APPENDIX 3

 

POLICY ON PUBLICATION OF INFORMATION RELATING TO

EMPLOYEE TRAVEL

 

      To demonstrate the council’s commitment to accountability and openness, and following consultation with the trade unions, we intend to publish annually information on payments made to, and on behalf of, employees in connection with expenditure incurred on travel on official business which is outside of day-to-day operational duties. 

 

      The information will be published within three months of the end of the preceding financial year.  Before publication, employees will have the opportunity to verify the accuracy of the information being published with their department.

 

      The published information will show each event and activity an employee attended and  will include details of the:

 

·         Employee’s job title

·         Employee’s council department

·         Employee’s staff number

·         Date(s) of the event or activity

·         City/town and country in which the event or activity took place

·         Description of the event or activity (for example conference name)

·         Category of the event or activity (categories to be defined by the organisation)

·         The duration of the event attended

·         Amount paid on travel

·         Amount paid on mileage

·         Amount paid on accommodation

·         Amount paid on subsistence

·         Amount paid on fees (for example  conference fees)

·         Total of any miscellaneous costs

·         Total cost in respect of an employee’s participation in that particular event or activity

 

      This policy will be applied from 1 April 2008 and be reviewed annually by the Records Management Unit and, if appropriate, be amended by the Chief Officers’ Management Team to reflect best practice.”

 

            The Committee approved the revised Staff Travel Policy and agreed that it be implemented with effect from 1st January, 2009.