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Travel and Subsistence Rules on Treasury staff travelling late in the evening.
22 September 2005
Request: A copy of the Guidance on Treasury Travel & Subsistence rules covering the provision of transport for staff working late in the evening.
Disclosure:
Information released is a link to the Civil Service Management Code that is on Cabinet Office website. The Code covers all aspects of the terms and conditions of service of civil servants in the United Kingdom. In Chapters 8.1 & 8.2, the Code gives Government Departments and Agencies delegated authority to manage their own Travel & Subsistence policy subject to certain general conditions. Paragraph 8.2.6c specifically gives authority to departments to permit staff travelling out of regular office hours to be paid from government funds partly or wholly.
The guide to Travel & Subsistence applied by the Treasury covers in detail rules on staff travelling late in the evening. Relevant extracts of the Treasury guide for its own staff are copied below.
"Taxis
19. Use of a taxi at the department's expense is not an entitlement and official journeys should therefore generally be made on public transport. But sometimes savings on official time and the need for officials to travel late at night may justify the department paying for the use of a taxi. Appendix 4 sets out detailed guidance on the use of taxi's."
"Appendix 4
GUIDANCE ON THE USE OF TAXIS
These guidance notes describe the arrangements for the use of taxis at the department's expense for official journeys, and in certain circumstances for journeys between the office and home. They also set out the procedures for dealing with authorisation and payment, and the tax implications which arise in certain cases. Copies of the forms for providing feedback on service (see below) can be obtained from the Clerk of Stationery.
2. Use of a taxi at the department's expense is not an entitlement and official journeys should therefore generally be made on public transport. But sometimes savings in official time and the need for officials to travel late at night may justify the department paying for the use of a taxi.
3 This note deals with the following types of journey:
a official journeys;
b home to office journeys;
c office to home journeys;
d journeys when public transport is disrupted.
4 Any taxi journeys not clearly and explicitly covered by this guidance should be paid for privately, unless agreed with AFP <names redacted> before expenditure is incurred.
5 In a number of places, in particular in connection with journeys between the office and home, this guidance uses the principle that the department will pay for staff use of taxis only if there is no reasonable and cost-effective alternative. In general, it will be reasonable for staff to use taxis if:
a as a direct result of the officer's hours of work the safety of the officer undertaking a journey by public transport is in doubt, (a criterion which should be applied equally for either sex, and should not result in either sex using taxis more frequently than the other); or
b as a direct result of the officer's hours of work the length of time the journey would take vastly exceeds the officer's usual journey time; or
c the officer is travelling with heavy luggage prior to and/or after an official journey.
Official journeys
6 The general principle is that staff should use the most cost-effective means of transport, taking account not only of the direct cost, but also subsistence costs and any savings in official time.
7 Staff should bear in mind that during the working day the underground is still the quickest way of getting around most of London, and out to Heathrow, and buses are often as quick as taxis. One of the Treasury's GCS cars may be available for use instead of a taxi - please check (ext 4515 or 5158).
8 Documents should generally not be delivered by use of a taxi, except when they are bulky, or need to be accompanied for security reasons. A bike courier service is in place for document delivery. See Appendix 4C for details. Otherwise AS Help Desk (ext 4321) can advise on other suitable means of delivery.
9 Where an officer is travelling with heavy luggage, reimbursement will be restricted to the taxi fare to and from the nearest reasonable point of joining up with public transport."
"Office to home journeys
13 Normally it is for an officer to make his or her own arrangements to travel home after work. However, where it is necessary for an officer to work late, the use of a taxi at the department's expense may be allowed where there is no reasonable, cost effective alternative that would enable him or her to get home safely or in a reasonable time.
14 In general, staff may travel home by taxi at the department's expense if - and only if - they have necessarily worked after 9.00 pm. In this context, "home" means the place where the officer would normally have spent the night (but see para 16). Journeys should be taken as soon as work has been completed for the day.
15 In very exceptional circumstances line managers may if they judge it appropriate authorise staff to take a taxi home at the department's expense before 9.00pm. In such circumstances:
a each journey must be separately and specifically authorised by a Range D or above or by the Private Secretary in charge of a private office;
b the reasons for the decision should be recorded by the authorising officer in a minute to the Team Head, and copied with the authorisation form to the Budget Liaison Officer and to AFP;
16 If a late journey from the office falls within paragraphs 14 and 15, line managers may authorise staff to travel by taxi at the department's expense to the house of a parent, spouse, partner or child at which they are staying the night if that is where they would normally have spent the night. In addition, staff may be authorised to travel to another destination to spend the night, provided that any excess cost over and above the normal cost of travelling home is reimbursed: the user should obtain an estimate of the normal cost from their Budget Liaison Officer and make payment to the local cashier.
17 These guidelines apply equally at weekends. If a taxi is used to travel home at weekends, payment for travel time may not be claimed.
18 Use of a taxi for welfare journeys, for example because of sickness or bereavement, may be appropriate on the authority of the Welfare Section (if Welfare Section authorisation cannot be obtained prior to the journey the appropriate line manager should authorise it, having consulted and agreed that is appropriate with a recognised first-aider)."
"Part journeys
20 In some situations, staff could use public transport for part of the journey, rather than take a taxi all the way. This will generally be cheaper and staff should consider this instead of using a taxi at the department's expense for the whole journey.
Car parking spaces
21 AS will listen sympathetically to requests for occasional car parking spaces from shift workers, staff required to stay late or who are considered essential.
Tax
22. Taxi journeys paid for by the department that are not necessary for the performance of the officer's duties, including most journeys between home and the office, are normally liable for tax, but there are certain tightly defined exceptions. More detailed guidance on the tax position will be included in due course. In the meantime, in case of doubt you should consult AFP.
Authorisation
23. Departmental expenditure on the use of a taxi should normally be authorised at Range D or above, in line with normal Travel and Subsistence practice, using the form at Annex Three.
24. The authorising officer should judge whether the journey falls within these guidelines, taking into account the particular circumstances involved. Staff using taxis at official expense, and line managers who authorise this, should bear in mind that as part of routine spot checks by line management or as part of audit inquiries they may be required to defend their decision to have the department pay for the use a taxi.
25. In the case of Ministerial private offices:
a. the Private Secretary in charge of each office, or a Range D or higher grade, may authorise his or her own use of taxis and that of his or her staff;
b. in offices which regularly work late, the authorising officer in paragraph 25(a) may give standing authorisation that staff on late duty in their office can order a taxi, provided the guidelines are satisfied, without further specific authorisation;
c. the Chancellor's office should be consulted in case of difficulties.
Taxi contract
26. The department has a contract with Premier Despatch Ltd who offer savings on normal rates; and the presumption is that they will be used for all official taxi journeys in and around the London area paid for by the department. Details of how to book a taxi (and to comment on the service if that is necessary) are set out in Appendix 4B.
27. If in exceptional circumstances Premier Despatch cannot be used then reimbursement of the fare should be claimed in the normal way using a FIN400. Such claims will not be reimbursed without a receipt.
Shift workers
28. Staff who are designated shift workers are expected to make their own arrangements for journeys into and away from the office and are not eligible to use taxis at the departments expense for home to office or office to home journeys except where they have been required to work an additional unrostered shift (see paragraph 11).
29. Shift workers are defined as individuals whose conditioned hours are worked in the form of shifts, and who are members of a shift roster and whose attendance pattern during the shift cycle covers all the shifts in the roster leading to the appropriate level of shift disturbance allowance."
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