Travel and expenses policy

Here at Co-op we know that you might need to travel or incur other expenses for business reasons. If you do, please spend Co-op’s money wisely and only when necessary.

This policy applies to all Co-op colleagues. Any contractors or contingency agency workers working for Co-op need to contact masterfile@coop.co.uk to be set up.

If you need to travel abroad for work (please note this doesn't include where colleagues request to work abroad on a temporary basis), you must read the appendix to this policy and complete the foreign travel risk assessment. You will find these at the bottom of this page.

Crucial bits

What must you consider before deciding to travel?

• Before you book, consider whether this is necessary; there might be more sustainable options available to you. Co-op is committed to reducing its impact on the environment and has a goal of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040: reducing our travel will help us to achieve this.

• Consider how you can use virtual technology first before booking any travel. Virtual meetings are more time efficient and can also help us all manage our work life balance. See if you could use an audio or video conference instead.

• If you don’t have video conferencing facilities, contact IT Services. Use free video conferencing services such as Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Skype and Facetime where appropriate and only when we have a license in place.

• Your safety and wellbeing are very important. Travelling takes time and inherently includes some risks – please consider these before booking. This includes making sure that you book your travel at safe times especially if you're travelling alone.

If you are travelling, what must you do?

• Make sure that any spend is covered in budget before you travel and seek pre-approval from your line manager and budget owner.

• Use our travel management partner Clarity to book all your business travel and do this online. Co-op will not reimburse expense claims for travel booked elsewhere through other providers or paid personally.

• Bookings should be made at least 14 days or as early as possible prior to travel; this will mean you have more options, as well as reduce the cost of your travel.

• You must claim all expenses within 6 weeks, all claims outside of this will be rejected unless this is due to sickness or extenuating circumstances, there will be times when it is outside of the 6 weeks, we understand this, however, these need to be by exception and reasoning within the comments.

• All expense claims must be submitted and approved in line with this policy, including the types of expenses that can be claimed and the caps on these expenses as detailed in this policy.

• For expenses approved under this policy, you need to keep itemised receipts for any spend until your expenses have been paid; doing this will avoid delays and make payment quicker.

• If we think you’ve deliberately claimed for something that you shouldn’t have done, we’ll investigate and will need to deal with the matter under the Disciplinary Policy.

If you are a line manager or budget holder, what must you do?

• You need to check that there is sufficient budget before pre-approving travel and expenses – contact colleagueexpenses@coop.co.uk if unsure.

• You should respond to requests from your team for pre-approval to travel and review expense claims in a timely manner to ensure that they are able to book as far as possible in advance.

• It’s your responsibility to check that any expense claims meet this policy before you approve them.

• If you approve expenses which aren't in line with this policy, we’ll investigate and will need to deal with the matter under the Disciplinary Policy.
  Other bits to note:

Supplier funded travel must be recorded via the Gifts and Hospitality process.

Policy Detail

Claiming expenses

You can claim your expenses through the online Expense Claim System. Expenses must be claimed within 6 weeks of the date of the expense. There will be times when it is outside of the 6 weeks, we understand this, however, these need to be by exception and reasoning within the comments. Please include a matching itemised VAT receipt with your claim.

You should claim expenses against your team’s cost centre – so just check that this is set up correctly in the system.

If it isn’t correct, please make sure it’s changed in MyHR by your line manager, so it filters through to the Expense Claim System.

If you’re claiming expenses for work on a project that’s got its own cost centre, use that cost centre when making your claim.

It’s important that you claim under the right expense code in the system – so we’ve included these throughout the policy to help.

Your manager will then need to review your claim and, if they’re happy that it is within policy, they will approve it for payment before a final check by the Expenses Team.

Please note that if you are a manager approving expenses, you must ensure that these are in line with this policy before you approve: you are not empowered to approve expenses which are outside of policy, and it is your responsibility to check all claims before approving. Compliance is monitored.

The policy is not a guide but a set of rules to be adhered to, to ensure we get the best value for what we spend and that all colleagues are treated consistently and fairly.

Travel bookings (Hotels, Rail and Flights)

Speak to your manager before booking anything to ensure that they have approved the travel and that the spend is budgeted.

All bookings made through Clarity will be charged to your cost centre.

Bookings should be made at least 14 days prior to travel; this will mean you have more options, as well as reduce the cost of your travel.

We use Clarity to help make booking travel easy for you, to give us access to preferential rates (don’t just think you can get it cheaper elsewhere) and most importantly to help us know where you’re traveling in case there are any problems and that Co-op can get in touch with you in case of an emergency.

Co-op will not reimburse expense claims for travel booked elsewhere through other providers or paid personally.

When booking trains, flights and hotels, make sure you use Clarity and give a reason for your travel in the drop-down menu. Booking by either phone or email will incur additional costs so this should be avoided.

If you don’t already have access to the online system, email: cooponline@claritybt.com or call the Clarity Online Help Team on 0333 014 6073.

If you’re arranging travel for 10 people or more for the same event, please book this through the Clarity Events Team.
conference@claritybt.com or groups@claritybt.com.
You can also call 0333 014 6074.

Hotels

The earlier you book the better your chance at getting your choice of an approved hotel. Also consider the day of the week for your hotel stay, as rates are often more expensive mid-week post pandemic.

If you have any safety concerns on arrival at your hotel or after your stay, please let Clarity know through the Clarity Customer Service Form.

Our current rate caps are for overnight stays:

The rates are regularly reviewed, however, safety is a priority, so exceptions to the above can be signed off by the line manager.

You are able to upgrade if you would like another hotel, and you can pay the difference, book and pay through clarity and then claim back the above amount where needed.

If you’re going to a business event, such as an essential conference, at a hotel where accommodation isn’t included, you can stay at the hotel if it’s the cheapest option overall, considering the cost of travel to and from the venue.

If you think this is the case, please speak to Clarity to see if they can price match the hotel and manage your booking for you – this will be the best way to protect you and avoid unnecessary administration.

Working late

In the unlikely event that you unexpectedly have to work very late, you can book a hotel if your normal travel home would be extremely difficult or unsafe. Bookings must be made through Clarity.

If you can’t access this, then can call Clarity 24 hours a day on 0333 014 6071.

Apartments

If there’s two of you staying, then an apartment might be cheaper than two hotel rooms – ask Clarity for more details.

Alternative Accommodation Allowance:

If you’re working away from home and choose to stay overnight with friends or family, you can claim £25 per night towards your host’s costs. This should be claimed under “Overnight stay with friends of family”. You can claim this in addition to your meal costs.

Trains, Trams, Tube and Buses

All train tickets over £10 must be booked through Clarity. All train tickets must be standard class. Clarity will book you an advanced ticket as standard, any exception to this will need to be approved in advance by your line manager. There may be small admin charges for any changes made after a booking has been made, but even taking this into account an advance ticket is usually more cost effective.

London Underground one-day travel cards should also be booked through Clarity’s online booking system.

All other train, tram, tube and bus tickets under £10 do not need to be booked through Clarity and can be purchased and reclaimed via expenses.

Flights

All flights need to be approved by the appropriate Work Level 2 Manager; the necessity of travel will be considered alongside Co-op’s net zero ambition.

If you need to fly internationally, journeys above seven hours may be booked in premium economy. Business class may be approved in exceptional circumstances by the appropriate Work Level 2 Manager.

Car travel

Please don’t drive for the company until the driver licence check has been completed.

You can only claim from the date that the licence check has been completed and not back date. Please ensure you have told your own insurance provider that you are driving for business, or this could invalidate your insurance.

Licence Check Registration form

If you haven’t then we won’t reimburse your mileage or fuel costs. For more information, see the driving policy

Mileage

Just so it’s clear, you can’t claim mileage for your journey from home to your normal place of work, or vice versa. Your normal place of work can be an office, store/branch or a defined region.

So, if you’re claiming mileage, you must deduct the mileage between your home and normal place of work before making a claim. Your place of work is stated in your contract. If you’re unsure what your normal place of work is, speak to your manager - managers should contact their People Business Partner, who’ll seek advice from Group Tax.

You can claim mileage costs for the following:

• If you drive a vehicle owned/hired by the Co-op or have a car cash allowance, you can claim mileage for the journeys you make for business, excluding your normal journey to work. You should claim this under the correct car type and engine capacity for the vehicle.

• If you drive your own vehicle for business, you can claim mileage, again excluding your normal journey to work. You should claim this under car type “own vehicle (no cash allowance)”.

• You can claim mileage from home to a “temporary workplace”. For it to be temporary, you need to be working there for less than 24 months, or for less than 40% of your working time.

• You can claim for travel between workplaces, including travel between stores/branches, but remember if you’re making a claim for your total journey to and from work, you must first deduct the mileage between home and your normal place of work.

• If you have a home-based contract of employment and have no defined area/region, or your region is all of the UK, you can claim mileage for all business journeys. This does not apply for those colleagues who work from home most of the time if their contract of employment states a different location, such as Angel Square.

• If you’re regionally-based and live inside the region you work in, you can claim mileage for all business journeys. But if you live outside your defined region, you can claim mileage for journeys within your region but not for journeys to and from your home to the boundary of your region.

• You can't claim mileage or any expenses for cycling a bike to work.

The current mileage rates, for essential and work level related car users including those for electric vehicles, can be found here.

These rates should also be used if you are in receipt of a cash allowance instead of a car.

If you use your own car for work-related travel and are not in receipt of a cash allowance, the rates are different and can be found here.
All mileage claims must be submitted with appropriate VAT fuel receipts, dated within 30 days of the date of the journey being claimed for.

A receipt covers you for 30 days before and after the date of the receipt; please also attach relevant receipts to cover the amount you are claiming for.

Please provide £10 receipt for every 100 miles that is being claim.

If you have a fully electric vehicle, we understand that providing a receipt can be challenging.

If you do have a VAT receipt, please include it with your claim. Where it’s not possible for a receipt to be obtained, claims for fully electric vehicles can be submitted without a receipt.

If the Co-op changes your permanent normal place of work to one which is further away from your home, you may be able to claim for the additional travel expense, please contact HR.

Vehicle hire

If you need to hire a vehicle for business use you should agree this with your manager and book this through Clarity.

If you’re based in Manchester check first if there are any pool vehicles available through Manchester Pool Vehicles. If not then you’ll be advised to contact Clarity on 0333 014 6071.

Just so it’s clear, vehicle hire is available for short term business use only.

If you have a requirement for a longer term hire contact the Fleet team who will advise on the best options for you.

Clarity aren’t authorised to hire or extend hire of a vehicle for more than 28 days.

If you’ve got an Essential User or Work Level Related car (or cash allowance) then you can’t hire a car other than in exceptional circumstances and with authorisation from a manager Work Level 3 or above.

You should return vehicles in the same condition as they were delivered, and with a full fuel tank. You’ll be responsible for any fuel charges from the hire company.

If you’re using a pool or hire car, then you can claim the cost of the fuel rather than mileage - under expense type “Car Hire/Pool Car Fuel”. Parking fees, tolls and fines.

You can claim for reasonable parking fees and tolls you incur while travelling on business (under “Parking – On/Off street” / “Tolls/Ferry with/without VAT”) – but you can’t claim for parking at your normal work location.

Parking fees will be reimbursed up to a maximum of £20 per day (for all areas other than within the M25 London the maximum is £35) so make sure you record the dates you parked on the expenses system.

If the parking is overnight, please ensure 2 lines are used on the claim system for audit purposes, if overnight remember it is £20 per day so you can claim up to £40.

Please ensure that where you park is a safe place, if this means is slightly more expensive then this can be claimed.

If you’re flying then use long-stay airport parking wherever possible and book this in advance through Clarity.

You can’t claim expenses for the cost of any parking/traffic offence fines or car wash/valet .

If you get a parking or traffic fine which we must pay, you’ll need to reimburse the Co-op for the cost of these fines, as well as any applicable admin fees.

Taxis

You should use public transport wherever possible, but you can travel by taxi if:

• You’re carrying excessive or heavy luggage and using public transport would be physically difficult;

• Your personal security or safety is a concern - for early morning or late night travel.

• You have a disability that restricts your ability to travel on public transport.

Pre-booked taxis will be cheaper so book taxis in advance, where possible, rather than using a taxi rank.

You can claim these under “Taxi with/without VAT”. You’ll need to itemise each taxi journey, put the start point of your journey and destination and provide a receipt for each journey. The maximum you can claim for a taxi is £50 each way.

Food and drink or entertaining

You can claim expenses for buying food whilst you’re staying overnight on business as follows – unless they’re provided by your host or as part of a hotel booking.

The maximum amounts you can claim are below:
- Breakfast - Maximum allowance: £7
- Expense claim type: Breakfast

Breakfast can be claimed for if a colleague is staying away overnight and the Clarity package does not include Breakfast. However, if working outside of contractual hours breakfast can be claimed for, colleagues need to be conscious if this is necessary or not as frontline colleagues work various shifts early and late and can’t claim for breakfast. Please bare this in mind.

Lunch

Co-op doesn't reimburse the cost of lunches.

Evening meal / Room Service

Maximum allowance: £25 (not including any alcoholic drinks – soft drinks only). Dietary requirements need to be discussed with Clarity at the time of booking such as Halal, Gluten free or Vegan.

It is the responsibility of the colleague to ensure there is food available (if the hotel can't accommodate, then this is an exception)

Evening meals can be claimed for, colleagues need to be conscious if this is necessary or not as frontline colleagues work various shifts early and late and can’t claim for evening meals, so contractually working till 5pm then staying till 6pm doesn’t warrant an evening meal. Please bare this in mind.

You can’t claim for an evening meal if the Clarity booking includes an evening meal, or you are just working late.

Expense claim type: Evening meal – cold take-away food / for visit to temporary workplace.

If you choose room service instead of visiting a restaurant, charges for room service can be reimbursed up to the same value of £25 not including alcoholic drinks.

In addition to the evening meal allowance, you can claim for the cost of service charges, up to the value of 12.5%. Remember that you must provide itemised receipts for all expenses and only claim for the food you have purchased. This includes the 12.5% service charge.

Colleague meetings and events

You can’t claim expenses for gifts, raffle tickets, food, snacks or drink at colleague meetings.

Training courses

The budget for learning and development has been centralised. Please do not book any training or external venues for training without first speaking to the Talent Acquisition and Development Team mailto:atlearning&development@coop.co.uk

Entertaining (external)

You can claim for providing meals/refreshments for external guests where these costs are reasonable and there’s a business reason for doing it (no alcohol to be claimed for).

If you’re providing entertainment for external guests, you’ll need to make sure it’s appropriate under the Anti-Bribery Policy and record it in your local Gifts and Hospitality Register.

You can claim this under “Entertainment: Customer/Staff mixed”. You’ll need to give the names, job titles and companies of the people there and the reason for the entertainment. Please note that purchases for raffle tickets, lottery or any type of gambling can’t be claimed back through expenses, this is a personal expense.

Conferences and events

If you need to arrange a conference or event, contact the Events Team.

Congestion/Emission charge

If you must enter a congestion charge zone when travelling on business, you can reclaim the cost through expenses (“Tolls/Ferry with/without VAT”). You’ll need to give details of your journey on the system and provide a receipt. You can’t claim for congestion charges if you travel into the zone as part of your normal journey into work.

You won’t be able to claim for any fines or penalty payments you get for failing to pay or register for congestion charge.

Roadside recovery services

You can’t claim for membership fees of roadside recovery services (e.g. AA or RAC) as this is supplied with your car.

Guaranteed ride home

If you travel to work under an approved car sharing scheme and your travel arrangements break down so you can’t get home, you can claim for the cost of travelling home under “Guaranteed Ride Home”.

You must regularly travel to work with another Co-op colleague, who doesn’t live at the same address as you, and the circumstances must have been unexpected – e.g. the car breaks down at work, or the person you share with is called away during the working day.

Postage

If you need to post an item use Swisspost or the postage process in the location you are working from. If you are working remotely and need to post an item through the Post Office, use the cheapest method and claim under “Postage” with a receipt.

Professional memberships, subscriptions and qualifications

If you are Work Level 4 and above, you cannot claim for the cost of any professional membership and subscriptions. You may be able to claim tax relief on the cost if you must pay the fees to do your role – read the HMRC Advice for more information.

For colleagues outside of Work Levels 1-4, you should agree any claims for the costs of professional memberships and subscriptions – such as CIPD, CIPS and CIMA - with your manager and claim under “Subscriptions Trade/Business with/without VAT”.

Only one claim can be made in each financial year and all professional membership or subscription costs must be directly relevant to your role.

If you want to study towards a professional qualification, the cost of this can’t be claimed through the expenses system - see the Study Development Policy for information about how to apply for financial support for a course of study.

Colleague recognition

There’s more information about recognising your colleagues on Thank You for Being Co-op.

Where a team is wishing to share congratulations, good wishes, condolences or want to recognise any other events in their personal lives/moment of support for a colleague, a collection by the team or leader for the individual is a much more meaningful and personal touch. We would not expect this to be expensed.

There are many ways to recognise colleagues already available on the recognition hub, Thank you for being Co-op.

Stores can still use the wider recognition and thankyou tools available to them For all other business and functional areas, where possible use the catalogues already set up on Coupa, if something needs to be bought outside of the catalogue the cost should be expensed in the usual way. Where possible, items should be purchased from our own stores.

Recognition of a group:

There are many ways to recognise colleagues for fantastic group work.

In exceptional circumstances you might want to do something more when there has been: - Significant piece of work taking additional time and effort
- Over and above the day job
- Work that is particularly complex /impacting on the individuals
- Big cross-functional effort
- Significant outcome for our Co-op

Any recognition should again be in line with our co-op ethos – be inclusive to all, be at a time when most people can attend, and should not include alcohol. A great option can be pizzas and drinks in Foodology.

Any recognition event needs to be pre-approved by the budget holder, or their line manager if it is being organised by the budget holder, to ensure that it is within the overall budget constraints and in line with the guidelines.

Flowers

If you’re ordering flowers for a Co-op colleague due to absence or bereavement, please use the Co-op's preferred florist, Designer Flowers by Rodgers.

Once you've raised your Purchase Order in Coupa, email your PO Number along with details of the chosen floral arrangement to sales@flowers-uk.co.uk.

You can view the Designer Flowers by Rodgers range here. If you have any queries call 0161 881 8822.

Just so it’s clear, flowers to mark personal occasions – such as birthdays, retirement or a new baby – must not be funded charged to Co-op: colleagues are free to arrange private collections if they wish.

Stationery, IT and other equipment

You should order stationery, computer and AV equipment through the Co-op’s approved suppliers using Coupa or Heat: you can’t claim for these through expenses.

Please do not take any coop equipment elsewhere for repairs. It won’t be covered through insurance and you will not be able to claim it back. Any bags or covers for your equipment can not be claimed for.

If you choose to use your personal device for work, you can’t claim expenses for any repairs needed and you are responsible for paying any charges relating to data use– see the Personal Device Policy for more information.

Other things to think about

Travel planning and assistance

Ensure that you have all documents printed off prior to travel or that they are accessible.

To help us minimise risk to the Co-op, no more than three colleagues in Work Levels 1 and 2 should travel together, wherever possible.

It might go without saying, but always take care of any Co-op property and your own belongings when travelling. Only take essential personal items and don’t leave cash or valuables unattended or put them in checked baggage if you’re flying.

If you need emergency assistance for things lost tickets/passports or other travel related issues, outside Clarity’s office hours (8.30-17.30 Monday to Friday) there's a 24 hour support line on 01908 002 533. Ensure you have this number with you in case you need it.

The Co-op provides insurance cover through Aviva Insurance Ltd for all colleagues travelling on Co-op business .

You can contact Aviva 24 hours, 365 days a year on: - Emergency Medical Assistance and Claims on +44 (0)1243 621 066
- Emergency Non-Medical Assistance Claims on +44 (0) 1243 621 416

Cover is subject to the terms and conditions and exclusions contained within the Aviva Insurance Ltd Group Personal Accident & Business Travel Policy.

For more information please contact insuranceservices@coop.co.uk

Remember that you won’t be covered if you travel against the advice of your medical practitioner.

Reporting issues to Clarity

Colleagues must report to Clarity when they feel safety or cleanliness has been compromised or if the hotel provided is not suitable. This ensures that no other colleagues will be placed in that hotel, and that your booking can be moved to somewhere more suitable.

Please complete this form for the customer services team at Clarity and they will investigate and take the appropriate actions. If you have any questions about this policy, speak to your manager.

If you are a manager and you need advice, please contact ER Services.

If you need help with the expenses system, email colleagueexpenses@coop.co.uk or call 0330 606 9408 (Option 3).

If you need to get access to the Clarity online system, email: cooponline@claritybt.com or call the Clarity Online Help Team on 0333 014 6073.

If you’re unable to book travel arrangements online, call Clarity on 0333 014 6071, or email your request to: tcgbookings@claritybt.com