General Principles 2. Air Travel 2.1 All air travel should be booked as early as possible to secure the lowest fare. Staff members should make arrangements to book their own economy domestic travel with the Senior Secretary. A corporate contract with Gray Dawes is in place with regard to European and long haul travel and accommodation arrangements. Where Gray Dawes is used, they must be made aware, at the time of making the travel arrangements, of the degree of flexibility that may be incorporated into the travel arrangements. here Gray Dawes is not used, certain websites as listed in Financial Direction 5.2 may be used. Wherever possible, staff members should access these sites through the Jersey Airport website to ensure that commission accrues to the States of Jersey. 2.2 All staff members must book economy class for the flight. It may be appropriate to have a fully flexible ticket when business needs dictate, subject to obtaining prior approval from the Chief Executive. Staff wishing to upgrade their ticket may pay the additional cost without further permission. Staff members who hold Frequent Flyer or Executive Cards issued by certain airlines must declare to their Line Manager any benefits accrued to them from travel on States business. Benefits such as air miles or discounted/free flights must be used for future States travel or be forgone. Staff members must not seek to travel with a specific airline in order to receive rewards. 3. Any Other Travel 3.1 In all cases the most economic means of transport consistent with the nature of the journey and business needs should always be used. 3.2 Sea Travel 3.2.1 Sea travel should be booked direct with the ferry company and should be booked early to secure the lowest fare. If the staff member wishes to use his or her own car, the overall cost to Jersey Harbours will be a major factor in determining whether approval for use is granted. The cost of the car plus passenger ferry fares will be paid for staff members on business; the car owner will receive a refund on the cost of the petrol used in travelling between the port and the “destination” during their stay, but not a mileage allowance. 3.3 Taxis/Public Transport 3.3.1 Taxis may be taken if this is a more economical form of transport or better meets the business needs for the staff member(s) concerned and in the following circumstances: · travelling late at night or in other circumstances to ensure personal safety · only means of transport due to public transport strikes/disputes · speed, for example attending a course for a day, travel delays · location of course/conference · travelling with large amounts of baggage or equipment · if there are a number of officers travelling together. 3.3.2 The cost of taxis/public transport required for the journey from home to airport/ferry terminal and vice versa may be claimed. (If the officer uses their own car, then they may claim for the use of the public car park located at the terminal, except when this cost is far in excess of the cost of a taxi/public transport.) 3.3.3 Receipts must be provided for all taxi fares. Staff members must not claim for personal trips (for example social events in the evening). 3.4 Rail and Tube Travel 3.4.1 Rail and tube tickets should be purchased as and when required. Second Class rail travel should be taken in all cases, but staff may pay the extra cost to upgrade the ticket should they wish to do so. First Class travel may be used if travelling with a politician or other business colleague who is travelling first class. 3.5 Car Hire 3.5.1 All car hire should be booked early to obtain the best deal. The following factors will be taken into account in determining whether approval for use of a car hire is granted: · overall cost to Jersey Harbours (eg number of staff travelling together) · location of course/conference · whether a staff member wishes to take their own car 3.5.2 Hirers must take advantage of the Collision Damage Waiver and Theft Protection options on the Insurance Policy. 4. Hotel Accommodation 4.1 Hotels 4.1.1 Hotels should be booked early to obtain the best deal in accommodation appropriate to Jersey Harbours’ business needs. Conference hotels should be used, where offered, as part of the conference package. Accommodation must be booked online with the hotel wherever possible. Hotel websites will give details of prices and offers and staff should always ask for discounts, rebates etc. 4.1.2 Where it is not possible to book online, the staff member must telephone the hotel or group quoting the relevant code. 4.1.3 In all cases, if a staff member wishes to stay additional nights, wishes a relative/friend to stay in the hotel or wishes to stay in a more expensive hotel, then the incremental cost will be met in full by the staff member concerned. Hotel bills should be settled directly with the hotel and receipts obtained. 4.1.4 For staying with relatives or friends rather than in a hotel, an allowance of £50 per night will be given. 5. Subsistence Expenses 5.1 This type of expenditure is to provide for meals/light refreshments not included in the charge for accommodation and is only applicable to subsistence outside the Island. 5.2 Meals 5.2.1 Jersey Harbours’ policy covers the payment of up to three meals per day subject to the following guidelines: · Breakfast is claimable separately if not included in the accommodation rate. · A light snack or lunch. · A main meal - but when a full dinner is taken, it is expected that lunch will have been a light meal. · To be eligible for reimbursement, all expenditure will require receipts except where the total is less than £5. A detailed receipt must be obtained. A credit card authorisation slip showing only the total amount payable is insufficient for this purpose. 5.2.2 The names of the persons who attended the meal are to be recorded on the bill and all officers are expected to adopt a prudent approach regarding alcoholic beverages and other expenses. 5.3 Other reasonable and justified expenses which may be included are: · Telephone calls - reasonable personal calls home and any calls relating to Jersey Harbours’ business will be permitted. Where possible, the officer concerned should endeavour to phone at a reasonable rate and not use room rates. A total of £10 per week is considered reasonable. · Entertaining - reasonable and necessary entertaining will be permitted; significant forecast expenditure should be approved in advance by the Chief Executive. · Light refreshments - expenditure must be reasonable and receipts will only be required for sums over £5. Light refreshments would not be expected if three meals a day were being claimed. · Expenses such as laundry, end of course dinners, etc are claimable if the staff member is away for more than 3 nights. 6. Courses, Conferences & Shows Outside the Island 6.1 All fees will be met in full. 6.2 Return Journeys During Courses The guidelines for return journeys at weekend during a course when attendance is not required are as follows: · Courses up to 12 weeks - 1 return for each complete 2 weeks · After 12 weeks - 1 return for each additional 4 weeks or part thereof. 6.3 Weekends not Spent in Jersey When a return journey is not taken, as per allocation above, up to £200 subsistence may be claimed to cover such items as accommodation, travel and meals taken if the delegate remains outside of the Island. 7. Administration 7.1 Bookings All travel arrangements must initially be approved by the Chief Executive on a Travel Request Authorisation form submitted through the Senior Secretary. (The HR Manager must be involved initially for training courses.) All foreseeable expenses, eg air fares, hotel accommodation and conference fees, should be identified and estimated on the form in advance. All travel bookings must be made against a valid purchase order or using a States of Jersey purchase card. 7.1.2 Ticket delivery must be arranged at the time of booking. 7.1.3 All UK domestic air and sea travel must be booked online with the relevant organisations (see section 6 of Financial Direction 5.2) wherever possible. Staff members should access these sites through the Jersey Harbours’ website to ensure that commission accrues to Department. 7.2 Cash Advances If a cash advance is requested and approved by the Head of Department, this will be paid by bank transfer into the officer’s bank account and will be in sterling. 7.3 Expenses Claims 7.3.1 All claims for travel expenses must be made on a Proforma Invoice which is located in L drive. All expenses must be listed and receipts attached within five days of return to the Island. 7.3.2 All claims are to be authorised by the Chief Executive or, in his absence, by the appropriate senior manager. The Chief Executive’s own claims will be certified by the Finance Director. 7.3.3 Claim forms must be complete in every aspect including the appropriate receipts and hotel bills. They must be signed by the claimant. Incomplete forms will be returned to the employee without payment. 7.3.4 Departmental Heads authorising travel expenses should identify the reason why the actual expenditure is larger than the requested/authorised estimate on the Travel Request Authorisation Form. If that is the case, this should be brought to the attention of the Finance Director. 7.3.5 Proforma Invoices are to be submitted to the Departmental Head within 5 days of returning to the Island. 7.4 Emergencies Costs incurred due to an emergency call to return to Jersey will be met in full. 7.5 Purchase Cards Officers may be issued with Purchase Cards which are used in preference to cash and must be used for bookings made online. Guidelines on the use of Purchase Cards are contained in Financial Direction 5.9. 7.6 Value Added Tax Jersey Harbours is able to reclaim VAT (and its equivalent tax in other European countries) paid by or on behalf of Jersey Harbours’ staff whilst on official business. It is imperative that the original receipt with VAT details is submitted with the travel claim, as otherwise claims will not be accepted. The Finance Department will make arrangements to recover the VAT; many hundreds of pounds are recovered by Jersey Harbours each year on these and other VAT refunds. 7.7 Insurance 7.7.1 Any employee undertaking a business journey outside Jersey will automatically be covered under the States of Jersey travel insurance policy. The States’ Insurance Brokers need only be advised in advance of those trips involving six or more staff members travelling on the same aircraft; this is to ensure that insurance aggregation limits are not breached. A summary of the insurance policy can be found on the States of Jersey Intranet. 7.7.2 In the event of a claim staff should, in the first instance, contact the Harbours’ Finance Department. Claim forms for completion by the claimant are available on the States of Jersey Intranet. It should be noted that under those sections of the policy relating to personal baggage and money/credit cards, there is a £25 excess for each and every claim. This amount will be met by the individual traveller or the department, as appropriate. 7.8 Flexi-time/Overtime Flexi adjustments for extra hours worked as part of an off-Island business trip will not be allowed nor can overtime be claimed. 7.9 MWJC Circular A Circular is to be found in Section H (Circulars, Wage Rates and Allowances) of the MWJC Handbook and relates to expenses incurred in connection with training courses and conferences outside the Island. This Circular should be used for clarification of the value of expenses for all employees, not just Manual Workers. Enforcement of the policy Implementation Changes to the policy | 
gov.je