Travel Expenses + Hybrid Working
Whilst hybrid and remote working may have been suddenly thrust upon many startups by the pandemic, it seems that a flexible, blended working model is now likely to continue to be the norm for many startups. So, if you plan on continuing to provide your startup’s employees with the opportunity to adhere to a hybrid working model whereby they have the potential to work from both home and the office, you’ll need to ensure that any policies and procedures which may impact that are in order - such as your travel expenses policy for example.
And this of course won’t just affect your existing team, but any potential new hires too! After all, it’s not like the good old days pre-Covid. Whilst some people might still be happy to move to London for some roles, others certainly won’t and therefore other elements of the remuneration package you offer may become even more important.
When it comes to travel expenses, here are a few of the key things that you’ll need to consider
1 Implication of recruiting from a wider talent pool
If you offer hybrid working and yet you choose to only consider candidates in London when you are recruiting, you are limiting yourself somewhat. After all, a lot of talent has migrated out of London and the flow of new grads into London is less, so if you only consider recruiting within London, you will be working with a much smaller talent pool. And in some areas where the job market is particularly buoyant such as with digital or tech roles, you could be really losing out by limiting your candidate market.
The flexibility of having a hybrid working model and the lack of geographic restrictions will be a big plus to many potential candidates and will therefore provide you with a much wider pool of talent to recruit from.
However, irrespective of where your potential employees are based, for those occasions when you would expect them to be in the office, you’ll need to consider who should pay. Would you be content to reimburse them for all travel and associated costs for trips to the office? Or would you expect them to pay? Are you really benefiting from hiring this candidate if there are going to be additional financial costs in the long run? Yes, there are clear advantages to recruiting from a wider talent pool, however there are potential drawbacks too. Take the time to consider it all.
2 The extent of any travel that’s involved
Whilst your employees may be availing of cheaper rents and living costs if they’re choosing to live outside the capital, that doesn’t necessarily mean that they should incur all costs themselves when they take a trip to London for work. It can be pretty expensive - particularly at peak times and therefore any financial benefits they may have gained from living elsewhere will go quite quickly as a result of a couple of trips to London. If you simply assume they should foot the bill anyway, you’ll certainly not be coming across as a reasonable employer.
You should take some time to consider how often you would require your employee to be in London - and not just the frequency, but the time of day you’d expect them to be there too. Then do the maths - work out what the cost would be for you - and for them. Check out the practical things too. Do they have a railcard? What’s the most economical way, day and time for them to travel? All these factors should help shape your expenses policy and ensure it serves both you and your employees effectively and efficiently.
3 Track and monitor the costs
Remember too that it’s not enough to simply have a fair expenses policy in place and leave it at that. You’ll need to monitor how it’s being used. Keep on top of any expenditure and see if there are any areas that are perhaps open to abuse or where savings could be made. And like all aspects of business operations - it has the potential to impact your bottom line, therefore tracking what it is costing you is a must.
It’s also a good idea to ensure your team is mindful of this too. Make them aware that you don’t have a bottomless pit of money! Remind them of the need to be financially efficient, to make savings where possible and the rationale for this too. Encourage them to make suggestions too and let you know if they spot any inefficiencies or areas where savings could be made. You might even want to incentivise them as a team to do this!
4 Factor in the non-work events
If you stipulate that your employees work in the London office on particular days - perhaps for an operational reason or a client meeting, for example, you’ll need to be clear if they’ll be reimbursed for any travel or associated expenses they incur. You will need to outline on their contracts that if they are travelling between their home and the office that this is “ordinary commuting” and be open and transparent on any expenses incurred as a result.
However you’ll also need to consider what happens when it’s not a work reason per se, but instead is a more social affair - perhaps an after-work social or get-together.
Team building and having a healthy happy working culture is hugely important, and even more so if your team is typically working in all different locations. You’ll therefore need to consider if any costs associated with opportunities to catch up with colleagues like this, fall under your standard expenses policy, or if it’s something that you’d expect your employees to cover themselves. If it’s the latter, you’ll also need to be aware that this in turn might even impact an employee’s willingness to attend an after-work-social! A team building event with some of your team missing would be far from ideal! Be clear and transparent in your expenses policy on who should pay and when, so there are no nasty surprises!
5 Having your expenses policy and processes in order
If you haven’t already got your expenses policy in place, you’ll need to do so. Apart from working out what you’ll cover and how much you’ll cover, you’ll also need to look at the processes. Establish how and when your employee should make a claim. Should this be done monthly? Should it be done on a designated date? Is there a cut-off point each month?
Consider what info you will need. Do you always need hard copies of tickets and receipts? Where should they be kept or who should they be sent to? Is it all to be handled centrally? And if an employee makes a claim, how quickly will they be reimbursed? Being clear from the off, on what can and cannot be claimed, and how it can be claimed, will help prevent any issues that could potentially arise. Consult with your accountant, seek government advice or contact HMRC or organisations such as ACAS if you’d like a little more insight and guidance.
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Offering personalised, consultative service, at TableCrowd Talent we’re a specialist recruitment agency with our finger on the pulse of the startup and scaleup scene. We are committed to matching graduates, professionals and C-level executives to exciting startup and scaleup jobs across London, the UK and Europe.
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