What is Employee Reimbursement Policy?

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An Employee Reimbursement Policy describes the provisions regarding the obligatory practice of any organization: to repay the employees the amount spent by the latter on behalf of the company to complete any office-related tasks. It must be made clear that the expenses that are refunded to the employees are not a part of the regular wage that the organization pays to its employees.

Payments made to pay for the meals with a client to seal a deal, the costs made for the employee’s travel for business purposes, the employee’s medical expense, etc. are some examples of some refundable payments. This policy helps the organization to make sure that the employees do not misuse this rule of refunding the employees. The policy ensures that the employees have a limit above which there is no reimbursement provided. Besides, this system decreases the chances of fraud that an employee can commit in the name of work-related expenses.

This policy defines all the reimbursable and non-reimbursable expenses for this policy. The employer can make sure that the employees do not spend more than the set limit. It helps the organization to minimize costs and have control over the employees’ spending. With the help of our policy template, ensures that the employee spending activity is kept under a check and the employee expenses refund policy of the company is not being misused.

In this policy, you will get:

• The purpose of implementing this policy.
• The applicability of this policy.
• The meaning of work-related expenses.
• The meaning of qualified expenses.
• The meaning of unqualified expenses.
• The guidelines regarding the policy.
• The provisions regarding the method of refund.

Employee Reimbursement Policy Sample

‘Name of the Company’ expects its employees to be responsible and professional when incurring the expenses and applying for the reimbursement of the same. The organization is accountable for the reimbursement for the justifiable costs.

Purpose

This policy describes the reimbursement of the work-related expenses incurred by the employee from his pocket.

Scope

This policy applies to all the employees who have received permission to incur work-related expenses.

Work-Related Expenses

Work-related expenses are those costs that the employee incurs while performing their work duties. An expense is considered as a work-related expense; the cost must satisfy the following criteria:

• The expenses are paid by the employee and not reimbursed to him.
• The expenses have recorded proof like a receipt or a bill.
• The expenses were directly related to earning income.

Qualified Expenses

The following expenses are considered to be work-related and are eligible for reimbursement:
Work Equipment – Purchase of gadgets and equipment like laptops, briefcases, stationery, etc. to increase work efficiency.
Meals with Clients – Expenses incurred on the lunch or dinner with the clients to seal in the business deals. These meetings must be SCHEDULED in advance and authorized by the HR department.
Double House-Keeping – If the employee has a second household for the reasons for work, the following expenses are reimbursable:

• Rent.
• Necessary furniture (Bed, TV, a set of chairs, a table, kitchenware, and a sofa).
• Basic bills (Electricity, cooking gas, water, house tax, etc.).

Telephone and Internet expenses – When the employee uses a separate company-allotted phone for work purposes and pays the costs for the same.
Legal Documentation – Any expenses paid by the employee to complete legal work for the company.
Medical Care Fees -Medical expenses when the employee falls sick or suffers physical damages due to an unsafe workplace.
ALL THE EXPENSES MUST BE APPROVED BY THE HR BEFORE INCURRING.

Unqualified Expenses

Any expenses not mentioned under the Qualified Expenses shall be considered as Unqualified Expenses.
The employee shall take prior permission from the organization to pay work-related expenses.
The following is a list of possible expenses that are unqualified to be reimbursed. The definition is not limited to the list.
Personal Travelling Expenses – The expenses incurred by the employee to travel for personal reasons.
Extended Expenses – The expenses incurred by the employee when they extend their business travel for reasons other than work.
Personal Products – Any products like toiletries, grooming products, or cosmetics purchased by the employee for personal use and has no relation to work whatsoever.
Traveling to and from work – Not all the expenses of the commute to and from work incurred by the employees are reimbursed. For more information on the same, the employees are advised to refer to the Local Conveyance Policy of the Company.
Family Expenses – Any expense incurred for or by the spouse, children, parents, or relatives of the employee on the trip or during company lunch/dinners.

Guidelines

The employee must possess the receipts of the expenses he intends to be reimbursed. The employee must submit such receipts with the application for reimbursement. The receipts shall be accompanied by a summary of the expenses that include:

• Name of the parties involved and present during the time of incurring such expense.
• The description and essence of the expense.
• The intent of the expense.

The application and the receipts and summary shall be submitted to the ‘Position of the Person’ for approval. The applications with all the above-mentioned attachments shall be submitted within ‘Number’ days from the day of incurring such expenses. In case of lunch/dinners with the clients;

• The employee shall inform the ‘Position of the Person’ about such meetings ‘Number’ days before the actual meeting.
• The employee Must not spend more than the amount mentioned by the ‘Position of the Person’.
• This amount varies depending on the scale of business with the clients.

In case of traveling expenses, the employees are advised to refer to the traveling expense policy of the company to get detailed information.

Reimbursement of Expenses

The ‘Position of the Person’ shall review the reimbursement application and decide on the approval of the same within ‘Number’ days from receiving such an application. The ‘Position of the Person’ must communicate the approval of the reimbursement application to the concerned employee in written form. The employee will receive reimbursement with the next payroll.

In some cases, the ‘Position of the Person’ will SPECIFY in a written note, if reimbursement will be paid in cash or by cheque separately from the payroll. If the application for reimbursement is rejected, the ‘Position of the Person’ MUST specify the reasons for such disapproval.

If the employee spends an amount that exceeds the limits specified by the ‘Position of the Person’, the excess amount will NOT be reimbursed and is to be borne by the employee.