Expenses Policy

We would expect all procurement to be in accordance with normal procurement practice. Payments to staff are either classified as personal expenses or as resources, materials and equipment for the school/pupil benefit and should be justifiable in all respects.

All personal expenses must be claimed via payroll, and cannot be paid locally, in order to comply with HMRC legislation regarding expenses and benefits. Refer to Expenses Claim Form EB2 and Staff Expenses guidelines on EGfL. Staff must obtain proper receipts/proof of expenditure, especially when VAT can be reclaimed.

Ealing council has a dispensation, to avoid the need to enter details of some expenses and benefits on forms P11D, but it is dependent on the payment being vetted and paid through payroll to ensure compliance.

If it were found that we were processing these payments at school through the official or unofficial funds then it is likely that dispensation would be revoked. All payments to staff would then have to be paid through payroll and reported on a P11D return to HMRC.

Resources, materials and equipment can be paid through the school up to £75.00 by cheque, subject to correct authorisation being obtained beforehand. For reimbursement of resources, materials and equipment for school/pupil benefit under £75 a receipt for the purchase is mandatory. The individual will be asked to confirm by declaration that the costs incurred are on behalf of North Ealing Primary School. The declaration must be signed and dated by the persons pursing the reimbursement as confirmation of purchase.

Completion of the expenses form for Personal Expenses & Reimbursements over £75.00

All information should be entered onto the second page of the form, which is where the detail of the expenses incurred should be entered. The information entered on the second page will feed through to the first page to summarise the information supplied.

On the second page you will need to complete:

• Date

• Detail of the expense

• The expense code

• Whether the expense was subject to VAT

• The value of the expense including VAT

Please ensure that the totals on the second page match to those on the first page. If the totals differ, you may have not completed the second page correctly

Once complete, please submit to the Finance Office. The claim must be submitted with any supporting documentation including VAT receipts/invoices. Failure to complete the detail sheet will result in the claim not being processed for authorisation and the form being returned to you. Expenses will be paid in the month following the expenses being incurred provided that the claim is submitted for approval to the Head Teacher and then onto the LA before the payroll closure date.

Expenses should be claimed on a monthly basis wherever practical and no longer than on a quarterly basis. Expenses submitted more than six months late will not be processed unless accompanied by clear justification and authorisation from the employee’s line manager.

The expense claim process is not a substitute for the procurement process.

There should be no situation where an employee needs to purchase items such as IT and stationery without going through the proper process. Where an employee uses their personal mobile phone for business use the cost of the call can be claimed via the expense process, a copy of the bill indicating the relevant calls must be provided.

The types of expenses that can be claimed via this process include:

• Travel and subsistence – Although, where an employee regularly purchases a travel card for travelling to and from work and then uses that same travel card for business use, this should not be claimed as an expense.

• All receipts should be accompanied with the claim. If using an Oyster Card, a print out of the statement should be attached. The statement can be obtained from www.oystercard.com where the information is e-mailed straight to the user.

• Reimbursement of bona fide business expenses

• Optician fees and glasses allowance for VDU users (RNIB recommended that eye tests are every two years)

• Cleaning/repair of council logo branded uniforms

• Long service awards

• Books – Where books have been purchased to assist with college or university coursework. This is deemed as a taxable benefit and will be reported to H M Revenue and Customs at year-end. If the books purchased will be used by others to assist in their roles the books should be entered under the “equipment” heading of the form and would therefore not attract any taxable benefit. If the books are deemed as equipment, a supporting statement from your manager must accompany the claim form.

• Subscriptions – If you pay a subscription to a professional body and receive reimbursement for this, this then becomes a taxable benefit and will be reported to H M Revenue and Customs as such.

• Non-Logo Clothing – Items purchased for work that do not have the Ealing logo shown, will be treated as a taxable expenses and will be reported to H M Revenue and Customs as such.

The types of expenses that are not acceptable business expenses and will not be paid include:

• Refreshments for general office use

• Greetings cards, gifts and flowers for employees or contractors

• Staff entertainment

• Gratuities / tips

Committee with oversight for this policy
Full Governing Body
Policy to be approved by the
Headteacher
Policy last reviewed by the Full Governing Body
July 2025
Policy last ratified and adopted by the Full Governing Body
July 2025
Policy / Document due for review
July 2026