The following reasons explain the need of a Travel Policy for employees and these various reason to make this important to have travel policy in place for a company.
Sample Travel policy gives standardised rules and regulations which are to be followed while on travel.
It saves time of employees as with business Travel Policy in place processes and procedures are clearly mentioned so an employee’s time is not wasted in making arrangements.
Corporate Travel Policy results in better analysis with the inputs received from employees review. Better analysis results in better decision making.
Travel policy helps in cost management.
Travel expense policy helps to keep an eye on the overall travel expense.
It determines do’s and don’ts of conduct/behaviour while travelling.
Travel Guidelines for employees to be followed while travelling.
Complete travel policy format
Details of company travel policy & procedure
Details of boarding and lodging as per HR travel policy
Details of the process to be followed for travel arrangements and related aspects as per travel policy template
Arrangements for local conveyance in the city ,travel to be done
Entitlements details as per different levels.
Different categories of cities and how entitlement differs in these cities.
Per Diem details
Travel insurance while on international travel
Safety & security of employees
Corporate travel policy best practice
Disclaimer:The content prepared has been created with greatest care. These policies have been prepared for sample. However, for accuracy and completeness.
HRhelpboard.comcannot guarantee. The user is therefore requested to professionally check or to have professionally checked the suitability of all content for its use
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Phase 1.
1. Purpose
2. Scope
3. General guidelines to be followed in policy
4. The Company approved travel agency.
Phase 2.
5. Travelling by air
a. Guidelines
b. Class to be chosen
c. Customized Air Ticket
d. Flight Insurance
e. Cancellation of travelling
f. Loss of airline ticket
g. Transportation from Home to airport
6. Road transportation
a. Car on rent
b. Taxi
c. Use of personal cars
d. Sharing of Ride
7. Rail transportation
Phase 3
8. Lodging
a. Entitlement for International travel
b. Classification of countries
c. Domestic travel entitlements
d. Per diem entitlements for international travel
e. Classification of cities as per domestic travel
f. Per diem entitlements for domestic travel
9. Meal expenses
10. Entertainment Expenses
11. Process for expense reporting
a. Guidelines
b. Expense payment
c. Miscellaneous expense
d. Medical emergency
e. Laundry charges
f. Spouse/ guests/ personal travel combined with business
1. Purpose: The Purpose of travel policy is to ensure that the travel expense of the company is controlled by establishing certain standards. Employees must control business travel expense by making the sound judgment with respect to use of company funds. Travel is an important aspect for carrying out the business, it is expected from employees that they will follow the "travel guidelines for employees “while travelling and would provide documentation in support of the same. It is also meant to reimburse the amount spent by an employee when on international or domestic travel.
2. Scope: The policy includes all the regular employees of the company. Non-adherence with policy while on business travel for company's business include stringent disciplinary action which may even lead to termination.
3. General guidelines to be followed in the policy
1. A travel request must be approved before proceeding on any international or domestic travel.
2. Any international or domestic travel request must be raised and followed as per the company travel policy and procedure.
3. If there is any change in the travel ( domestic or international) due to any reason and it is more costly then the approval that has already been taken, a fresh travel request need to be raised in this case.
4. The details on all exceptions with respect to the policy must be explained on the travel request form in case there is an exception and it needs to be approved by HOD and director.
5. All employees are expected to travel to the countries which are allowed as per the company's guidelines. No exception in this regard will be entertained.
6. Any employee who requires travelling for the business purpose must get the approval in advance by the department head/ director.
7. An email need to be sent to the finance department along with approval mail to get the travel advance.
8. Most economical mode of travel would be reimbursed.
9. All the tickets for any kind of travel international or domestic must be approved by the travel help desk.
10. Food expenses are allowed only as per the limit of entitlements.
11. No expense will be reimbursed for alcoholic beverages or cigarette etc.
12. In the case of business travel wherein food expenses are taken care of the client in such case only incidental expenses can be claimed.
13. In case an employee gets ill while on business travel the expenses occurred while taking the treatment will be reimbursed on actual bill and doctor’s prescription. However, if the illness is for more than 3 days special approval needs to be taken from director / HOD.
14. The expense report with travel request submitted to the finance department must consist of original boarding pass and travel -tickets, along with complete tour report maintained date wise. Any deviation from the tour programme shall be approved by the business head/director as applicable.
15. In case an employee wants to combine business stay with personal vacations, it must be duly approved by the director/HOD. It should be noted that no reimbursement would happen for any personal expense.
4. The Company approved travel agency
All travel arrangements must be made through the travel agency which is approved by the organisation. Any arrangements if made by some other travel agency need to have approval from director/HOD. In case the travelling services are not provided by the organisation approved agency, in that case, any local agency can be contacted as per the Corporate travel policy .
5. Travelling by Air:
A. Employees are expected to take the lowest airfare while travelling. By considering the lowest airfare common sense need to be applied as the expense must not exceed the amount mentioned in Travel Policy. The undermentioned guidelines to be followed while travelling by air for the company's business purpose.
1. There should not be more than 1 stoppage in case of domestic travel and the stoppage must not exceed more than 2 times in the case of international travel.
2. It must not increase the travelling time for more than 2 hours in case of domestic travel and more than 4 hours when it comes to international travel.
3. It is advised to book only through the company approved travel agency as it provides savings in both domestic and international travel. Also, the benefit both for the company and employee lies with the fact that it will book a ticket with the lowest logical fare available with the air carrier.
4. As per the Company travel policy any exception need to have approval from the director and above.
5. Any kind of additional fee which is occurring due to any reason like seat up gradation etc. will not be reimbursed.
B. Class to be Chosen
1. While on air travel, organisation employees are expected to fly in the economy class which comes under the category of economical fare. Business class is allowed only for director level and above.
2. All policy exception must be noted on the travel request form and must be approved in advance by the director and above level.
3. Baggage fee will be reimbursed.
4. In case any rebooking is done, it must be reimbursed in case of emergency only.
C. Customized Air tickets
Following the Travel expense policy customization of the air ticket is not allowed. It can't be upgraded or downgraded and any expense occurred in case of up gradation will not be reimbursed by the company. On similar ground downgrading of air ticket is also not allowed. However, the air carrier itself downgrades the ticket for any reason the refund must be made to the organisation. For the employees who travel often the points accrued due to frequent flying by the employee can be used for personal purpose.
D. Flight Insurance
The business travel policy makes it clear that while purchasing the ticket from the company authorised agency, the employee is covered under the business travel accident insurance. In case an employee purchases some other insurance coverage it will not be reimbursed by the company.
E. Cancellation of Travelling:
In case of any cancellation done to the already planned business trip, the employee must inform the travel help desk who in turn will check from the agency as soon as possible. The ticket can be refunded if it is possible; the same need to be checked by the travel agency with the air carrier.
F. Loss of airline ticket:
If the paper air ticket has been issued but it is lost due to any unforeseen reasons in such case the travel agency must be contacted immediately so that they can check from the air carrier as well. Best practices in corporate air travel must be followed.
G. Transportation from home to airport
The most economical means of transportation must be chosen while commuting from home to the airport and vice versa.
6. Road Transportation
A. Car on Rent: Like air travel, most effective and economical means must be chosen in case of ground transportation also. The various means of ground transportation means the use of alternative transportation before deciding on car rental. Like travel agency, the organisation also has a tie-up with the most usable car rental company.
B. The car on rent must be taken from the company booked vendor. In case vendor car is not available, the most economical vendor should be chosen.
C. Any reservation to have a car on rent must be chosen from the travel agency approved by the organisation.
D. The employee must ensure that proper and economical rate is charged at the time of rental.
E. The Car can be rented when there are no other means of transportation available, It is either more costly or impractical.
F. The employee is required to refill a car before returning it to the rental company.
B.Taxi
1. In case of travelling to an international location as per the International travel policy for employees, the expense for taxi must not be more than the cost of a car rental.
2. Use of taxi shall be done only in case no other means of transport is available. Generally, the use of a taxi is not encouraged as other services which are more economical are available. In most of the cases, public transport must be used.
C.Use of personal cars :
The employee can use the personal cars for business travel in case it is more economical than other means of transportation. The amount spent by the employee can be reimbursed on actual. However, before the start of travel, approval needs to be taken from HOD and immediate reporting manager.
D.Sharing of Ride
If 2 employees are travelling to the same location, they are advised to share the ride.
7. Rail Transportation
Rail transportation can be available by the employee in case travel distance is less than 12 hours.
The rail travel fare is reimbursed as per the entitlement. However, like air class, Rail transportation must be done in the most economical way.
|
Level |
Class |
|
|
4-7 |
Tier 3 ac |
|
|
8-11 |
The hotel list as booked by the company is available with the travel desk. |
Accommodation by company |
|
|
1. |
Own stay |
|
1. |
12, 00 |
Accommodation by company |
|
|
1. |
Own Stay |
|
1. |
1. |
Accommodation by company |
|
|
1.
|
Own Stay |
1. The company policy states that expenditure occurred on meals ( breakfast, lunch or dinner) will be reimbursed while the employee is on business travel. This is defined under "Company travel policy and procedure".
2. Every 24 hours from the scheduled departure will be counted as a day.
|
20% of per diem will be payable |
|
|
Lunch |
20% of per diem will be payable |
|
Dinner |
20% of per diem will be payable |
3. In case food bills are claimed for any client or on entertainment per diem allowance will be reduced.
4. Meal expenses are reimbursable whenever the company business travel demand stays for overnight.
5. When the business travel is for 1 day, Meal expenses are reimbursable under the following conditions:
Breakfast:If the employee is required to leave home 3 hours early than the normal time.
Dinner: If an employee cant return home within 3 hours or more after normal working hours.
The company by solving the “Purpose of travel policy “
However, it should be noted that only those reimbursement are allowed which is contributing towards the business purpose.
D. Medical Emergency
In case of any medical emergency while travelling for business purpose the organisation insurance carrier will provide referral and support service. The details on the same can be obtained from the travel desk.
E. Laundary charges
The company will reimburse necessary laundary charges if stay in the location is for business purpose and is more than 7 days.
F. Spouse/Guest/personal travel combined with business:
Any kind of travel expenses occurring for guest or family member will not be reimbursable.
Spouse/ guests can share the accommodation till the time there is no additional cost to the company.
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Objective: The objective of the Company travel policy is to lay down guidelines which are to be followed by an employee on domestic or international travel for official work and also to ensure that the travel of employees is effectively managed.
Purpose: The purpose of travel policy is to make guidelines for travel related to business and to provide protection against any kind of misrepresentation and to ensure all reimbursement for the expense done on travel
Eligibility: This policy applies to all the regular employees of the company and management trainees
|
A Grade |
Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Hyderabad, Indore, Pune, Kolkata, Bangalore. |
|
B Grade |
Guwahati and Capitals of all other States/Union Territories other than those under Class A cities above |
|
C Grade
|
All other Cities/Towns |
|
A Grade |
Americas Region, France, Italy, North &West Europe, Australia and North Asia |
|
B Grade |
Central & South Europe, Middle East & Africa, East Asia, south East Asia |
|
C Grade |
South Asia ( Excluding India) |
As per the procedure followed in company travel policy, all business travel must be approved by immediate reporting manager and HOD as per the domestic travel policy. Also as per the HR travel policy any international travel made by employee must also be informed to Human Resource Department and an approval is must to be taken from immediate reporting manager, HOD and HR. All expenses in case of domestic and international travel are made as per the eligibility of expense made under travel expense policy.
All Travel request must be raised by an employee on HRMS tool. Request must be made 30 days prior to the start of travel. This travel guidelines for employees is mandatory to be followed.
All guest house /Hotel facility will be made available by travel desk as per the entitlements mentioned in the Company Travel Policy.
As per travel policy Hotel /Company guest house arrangement will be done by travel desk once travel request has been raised and approved on HRMS tool depending upon the eligibility criterion. In case on urgent travel when bookings have not been made by travel desk an employee can book a hotel as per eligibility criterion and can later on claim the amount on actuals.
Airport pick and drop can be made by radio taxi/local conveyance depending upon the availability and the same can be reimbursed on submission of actual as per company travel policy & procedure.
The number of days will be counted from the time of departure till the time of arrival as per business travel policy.
Any extension of stay due to personal reason will not be counted as official travel and no reimbursement for personal stay will be made.
All Claims must be raised on HRMS tool. Filling of Travel expense report is must even in case all expenses were made by company directly as per travel policy format.
As per Travel Policy All travel request must be duly approved by the approving authority. An automatic notification will reach employee and travel desk after approval. Once approved travel desk can make necessary arrangement after coordinating with employee.
All travel expense must be settled within 15 days of return from the tour. In case of delay from employee end/travel desk an escalation email will be sent to immediate reporting manager and HOD as per Travel expense policy.
Travel advance, if any, to be paid to employee will be credited to employee account.
Any Travel expense not been used by employee on travel, such amount shall be returned to accounts department with a confirmation mail.
All reimbursement bills must be supported by original bills / receipts etc.
In case an employee is accompanying seniors from level above their own level on domestic travel arrangement in such case bookings will be done as per eligibility criterion only.
Employee cannot avail higher class facility then their own entitlements.
Any arrangement made over and above the eligibility criterion the same will be deducted from employee salary.
In case 2 or more employees travelling to the same destination up to level 2 & 3, twin sharing arrangement will be made. However separate arrangement will be made for level 1
Team entertainment expense will not be counted as part of travel expense claim.
In case employee is suppose to take client for dinner/Lunch, amount will be reimbursed on actual. However email approval to be taken from immediate reporting manager before any such event.
Cancellation of travel shall be duly informed to travel desk at least 2 days before the travelling date and must have a valid reason.
In case flight/ train missed by employee without any valid reason, the amount will be recovered from employee salary.
Leave can be allowed to an employee on tour on a case-to-case basis by the HOD. No other charges will be admissible for such period of leave.
If any company assets are lost while on tour the same should be informed to the concerned authority immediately. In case no action taken company reserves the right to recover the amount of lost assets from employee salary.
Food claim exclude Alcohol and tobacco.
In case an employee is using own vehicle /company leased car vehicle to an outstation city in such case reimbursement can be made at the rate of Rs. 9/KM . This clause is not applicable from office to home or vice versa.
For local travel in outstation city an employee can avail local transport/Taxi depending upon eligibility and availability of transport. This amount can be reimbursed on submission of actual.
Travel expense report in case found fake, serious disciplinary action will be taken against the employee. Such an act can lead to termination also.
|
|
International Travel Policy
|
All Air travel should be by economy class.
All arrangement for international travel shall be made by travel desk/admin. Department
International travel for an employee must be approved by immediate reporting manager, HOD, HR and director.
It is as per the corporate travel policy while on international travel it is the employee’s responsibility to control travel and meal expense.
In case arrangement for employee is made in company guest house in the country of travelling expenses for meals, refreshment and other expenses will be given as 20% of entitlement as mentioned in the corporate travel policy.
All payments while on international travel can be made by credit card, the amount can be reimbursed on submission of actual. The points however earned by use of credit card can be used by an employee on personal use.
All claims which are made by foreign exchange / foreign currency can be settled with accounts department on submission of actual, upon return from travel. However all foreign exchange must be drawn from an authorised agent. It is as per business travel policy.
Most economical preferably local transport must be availed for ground transportation.
In case employee is making own stay in such case an allowance is paid for $125 in lieu of hotel expense.
|
Level |
Country Classification |
Entitlements in Euros |
|
Level 4 |
A B C |
215 200 170 |
|
Level 3&2 |
A B C |
200 170 150 |
|
Level 1
|
A B C |
170 150 130 |
|
Per Diem |
Eligibility |
Accommodation |
|
Per Diem for employe |
In case stay of the employee exceeds 20 days then employee will be eligible for 15% of entitlements. |
Provided by the company |
Insurance coverage: Insurance coverage is provided by the company to its international traveler. The insurance cover is provided by the company
The non reimbursable expenses which are not covered under the Corporate Travel Policy are as follows:
Employees are encouraged to use public transportation wherever possible or the most economical means of transport. In case of emergency if an employee has to use some other means of transport in such case approval is required from immediate reporting manager & HOD.
Also if an employee has to work on holiday or weekend as per the need of hour while travelling to some international location, he/she will be paid 800 Rs. Per day.
The process to be followed by an employee while going on domestic/ international travel as per travel policy template is explained below. Generally the process to take pre approval is mandatory both in case of domestic as well as international travel however if any changes they are highlighted separately.
The company reserves the right to revise, modify any or all clauses of this policy depending upon demand of business.
Corporate HR department will be sole authority to interpret the content of this policy.
Consultancy
Sunware Technologies
Premium Recruitment Agency
Amiyon Solutions Pvt Ltd
