Expenses Policy
The Trustees of The Shaftesbury Refugee Group would like to set out the following policy to ensure the Charity can demonstrate that it is meeting the Charity Commission Regulations governing Expenses and is acting in line with its Constitution.
Who the expenses policy applies to
Although Trustees cannot receive any money or property from the charity, there is a lawful exception in that the Charity may refund reasonable out of pocket expenses
Reasonable out of pocket expenses can also be paid to members acting at the Charity’s express request and with the agreement of a majority of the Trustees.
It is understood by the Charity that providing reasonable expenses can remove barriers for members that would wish to become a Trustee by election. This could extend to, for example, child care or the care of dependents and reasonable transport, broadband and telephone costs.
It is at the personal discretion of individual Trustees as to whether they wish to claim reasonable expenses.
Expenses cannot be paid to the beneficiaries of the Charity. Any awards to beneficiaries should be treated as a grant award.
The conditions under which expenses can be claimed
Reasonable expenses are defined by the Charity as those out of pocket expenses necessary to carry out an action in pursuit of the Charity Objectives and at the request of the Charity Trustees whilst at the same time using the minimum of the Charity’s funds to do so.
The expenses must be preceded by an agreement that the action is necessary.
Out of pocket expenses must be the only option to make a payment, in other words a cheque or BACS payment could not be raised in advance to make the payment.
For example, for a Trustee to attend a Trustee Meeting that is not on a bus route then a taxi journey would be considered a reasonable out of pocket expenses.
For example, for a Trustee to host a Trustee meeting at a Village Hall, because the Hall would need to be booked in advance and could be paid for by BACS or cheque then this isn’t likely to be an out of pocket expense. But the purchase of tea and biscuits at the Village shop would be an out of pocket expense.
There must be no assumption that payments made by Trustees are de facto reasonable out of pocket expenses. If a Trustee is in doubt about whether out of pocket expenses would be considered reasonable they can discuss the matter with the Secretary or Chair before incurring an expense.
From time to time the Charity will make a request of a Trustee that will incur out of pocket expenses. In this case the action will be described as, ‘to include reasonable expenses’.
For example if a Member were asked to attend a conference on behalf of the Charity to discuss the way that beneficiaries could benefit from an intervention then, although the second class train ticket would have been purchased in advance by the Charity, the costs of refreshment on the train would be considered out of pocket. In this case the minutes would show that the Member had been asked to attend the conference with reasonable expenses awarded.
Making a valid claim
Claims should be made by the Member no more than one month after the expenditure had been incurred.
The claims should be accompanied by receipts that
Give the date and time
Itemise the goods
Include the company's business name and VAT registration where applicable
The claim should be made on the appended form
There are no exceptions to these requirements.
Payment of claims
Claims will only be met where the Charity has the funds to do so. No Member can be considered a creditor in the event of the closure of the Charity.
Claims will be verified by the Treasurer who can consult with the Chair or Secretary where for example it is unclear whether the Member was acting on the express wishes of the Charity.
It is at the discretion of the Treasurer as to the payment of claims, especially where there is lack of clarity that the expenses were reasonable and necessarily out of pocket.
Claims will be paid at least one month after the claim has been submitted unless the claim was incomplete in some way.
Payment can only be made to a bank account in the name of the Member.