Peak & Northern Footpaths Society (est.1894)

Expenses

1.
In accordance with Charity Commission guidelines the Society will reimburse any expenses incurred by volunteers carrying out Society business. We encourage all volunteers to claim all expenses incurred. This allows us to demonstrate the amount of charity work we do.
2.
Some volunteers claim the money and donate it to the Society with gift aid. Whilst we greatly appreciate this, it is down to individual choice and we do not expect it.
3.
As a charity the Society must keep proper accounts. You should make all claims using the Expenses Claim Form, a copy of which is may be downloaded (see below} or from Taylor House. Where possible, please attach receipts to the claim form. If you are unable to provide a receipt, please give your reasons by email to the Treasurer.
4.
Travelling expenses may be claimed. Give brief details of the journey and its purpose on the form. For bus or train travel, please attach receipts or tickets. For journeys by private car, mileage is payable at the HMRC business mileage rate, currently 45p per mile. For journeys by motorcycle mileage is payable at 20p per mile and by bicycle, 10p per mile. Where there is adequate and convenient public transport, mileage claims should not exceed the cost of public transport.
5.
The cost of a rail card may be claimed when the savings to the Society exceed the cost of the card. The volunteer will inform the Treasurer they have purchased a rail card and present a copy. This they will use to purchase rail tickets when on Society business. The Treasurer will keep a record of the total costs of tickets purchased when they are submitted with their expense claims. When the cost of the savings made, compared with the non-rail card costs, currently a third, are made then the full cost of the rail card will be reimbursed.
6.
In exceptional circumstances the cost of an overnight stay may be claimed. Such circumstances include Courts and Inquiries Officers attending an Inquiry which starts so early that it is not practical to travel on the day. Or an inspector inspecting a distant parish where the cost of travel exceeds the cost of an overnight stay. If an Inspector you must obtain agreement from the Inspectors Coordinator. For other volunteers agreement from the Chair, Treasurer or Secretary before booking accommodation. This agreement must be recorded in the appropriate box on the expense claim form.
7.
Stationery, copying and printing: please give details and provide receipts if possible.
8.
Printing on your own computer may be claimed at 5p per side.
9.
Postage may be claimed. Please keep a record of each letter sent. You only need to submit the total you have spent on postage.
10.
Telephone calls. Please use email if possible but, if claiming for telephone calls, indicate briefly the purpose of each call and its duration, and estimate the total cost.
11.
Exceptionally you may wish to purchase items or services with the intention of reclaiming the cost from the Society. Such purchases, up to a value of £20 may be purchased without reference to Trustees and must be reclaimed in the usual way. For items over £20 but less than £100 you must if an Inspector obtain agreement from the Inspectors Coordinator. For other volunteers agreement from either the Chair, Treasurer or Secretary, preferably in writing or by email, before doing so. Items over £100 must have prior written approval of two of either the Chair, Treasurer or Secretary or other Trustees, neither of whom shall be the claimant.
12.
Keep your detailed records for at least two years in case of any enquiry.
13.
All expense claims submitted will be checked by the Treasurer and must be approved by two trustees, neither of whom shall be the claimant.
14.
An authorised signatory must not sign a cheque or approve a BACS payment payable to themselves.
15.
The society does not pay members or their connected persons for professional or other services as conflicts of interest may arise. This does not apply:
15.1
to the reimbursement of expenses properly incurred in accordance with the society’s expenses policy;
 
or
15.2
where the trustees (excluding a trustee with a personal interest in the decision who may take no part in the deliberations) have met before any commitment to pay has arisen and have decided that there are exceptional circumstances which justify the making of the payment. “Exceptional circumstances” refers to circumstances where the services would not otherwise be available to the society or the society self-evidently secures a distinct, tangible benefit from paying the member (or any connected person) for providing the services.
16.
The constitution and section 185 of the Charities Act 2011 mean that a trustee cannot have received any benefit (other than expenses) from providing services to the society unless the Charity Commission approves. S 185 includes an intricate definition of “connected person” which the trustees will follow in applying the above paragraph to a member. In effect, the phrase refers to a close relative or a business or company in which the member (or his or her spouse or civil partner) has a direct or indirect and non-trivial financial interest.

Claiming expenses

Use the official Expense Claim Form to claim your expenses via the links below. Blank forms are also available from Taylor House. Post your completed form to the address given on the form.

You can download the form as a PDF or a XLS file.

  • The PDF file is simply a blank form which you would complete by hand. Most modern computers can open PDF files. Older computers might need additional software. The most popular software is Adobe Reader, which you can download from Adobe's web site. Download PDF
  • The XLS file is a spreadsheet which you can type the claim details into. The spreadsheet remembers your name and address and performs all the necessary calculations. Instructions are included in the spreadsheet. To use the spreadsheet you'll need Microsoft Excel or compatible software installed on your computer. Download XLS
Page title:Expenses
Address:https://pnfs.org.uk/about-us/financial-policy.htm
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