Work Expenses Put Strain On Employees’ Finances Says All Star

Tuesday, October 4, 2016 - 14:37
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New research from Allstar Business Solutions, a leading provider of fuel card solutions, has identified that over one in five (23%) employees have suffered personal financial difficulties as a result of personally paying for work related expenses and waiting for them to be reimbursed.  Whilst some employers provide a fuel card (for fuel and associated driving related expenses) or a corporate credit card, many require staff to personally ‘pay’ for work related expenses and ‘reclaim’ the costs through provision of receipts.

When asked about work related expenses Allstar also found that:

  • When driving for work 27% pay for fuel on a personal debit/credit card or with personal cash and reclaim the cost later
  • When paying for other work related expenses 67% pay using a personal debit/credit card or using personal cash and reclaim the cost later
  • 50% spend at least £50 a week on work related expenses; 22% spend more than £100 a week
  • 43% reclaim work related expenses once a month; 21% make a weekly claim
  • 16% of employees repay expenses on a weekly basis; 19% fortnightly and 49% once a month

Paul Baker, Vice President – Customer Management at Allstar, said:

“Asking employees to personally cover the cost of expenses and then repaying them may work for small, infrequent purchases or those who only need very occasional reimbursement of costs, but regular purchases can soon mount up. Employees who regularly incur work related expenses, for example those who drive for work, could easily incur costs of hundreds of pounds a month, so it’s unsurprising that more than one in five respondents to our survey reported having suffered personal financial difficulties as a direct result.

“Not only is it hard on employees that they are being put in a position where their personal finances suffer, it could be having a knock on effect on their morale and productivity too. By providing a payment solution such as a fuel card, employers can not only avoid putting their employees’ personal finances under pressure, but save money through corporate discounts, have more control over when, where and how much employees can spend and reduce overall expense administration time through HMRC compliant invoicing.”

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