Reimbursing Travel Expenses
Reimbursing Travel Expenses
In our last article, Travel and Payroll, we talked about paying employees for travel time. In this article, we will cover travel expenses. The three most common expenses are gas, food, and lodging. Depending on the distance all three can get expensive. Gas prices are going up and a decent hotel can run $100 or more. That is a lot of money for an employee to put out for a work-related trip. It might even cost more money than they are making. So let’s look into the laws and benefits of reimbursing employee expenses.
The laws about reimbursement are easy to understand. That is because they don’t have any. If an employee uses their own vehicle to travel for business there is no law forcing you to reimburse them. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t reimburse them though. Failure to reimburse employees can mean a high turnover rate. Employees don’t like using their own money where they are meant to be getting paid.
A high turnover rate not only costs time and money but also reputation. Companies with a high turnover rate don’t look good to new potential employees. This becomes crucial when seeking employees with a certain skill set. Many companies could be searching for the same potential candidates. Don’t miss out because of a high turnover rate from lack of reimbursing employees.
Exception To The Rule
In most cases, reimbursement is not a part of the law. There is one exception. A company can choose to outline reimbursement in an employee handbook. If the employee agrees and signs off on it, you become legally obligated to reimburse them. Failure to do so can result in a lawsuit placed against the company.
Reimbursing work expenses is a big part of forming strong workplace relationships. They are vital to employee management. To learn more about handling employees To learn more about handling employees or need help with an employee handbook, contact Vision H.R. contact Vision H.R.
