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Volunteer Expenses Policy – 2021

Index
1. Purpose and scope
2. General principles
3. Meals
4. Travel
5. Befriending refreshments
6. Other expenses
7. Expense claim process

 

1. Purpose and scope
The purpose of this document is to set out organisational policy on reimbursement of expenses to Volunteers and to provide clarity on processes to be followed in relation to those. It applies to all Volunteers and Trustees involved with the organisation. The Policy sets out the expense that can be reclaimed and the process for doing so.

2. General principles
Nightingale Hammerson recognises and appreciates the valuable contribution made to its work by those who volunteer their time. It is our view that, as a volunteer, you should not be out of pocket financially as a result of giving your time and that, therefore, reasonable out-of-pocket expenses incurred in the course of work for us should be reimbursed.

3. Meals
If you are volunteering for 4 hours or more in one day, you are entitled to claim up to £3.50 against the cost of a meal whilst on the premises, either in the subsidised staff dining room, the Garden café, or brought onto the premises and stored and eaten in the Brubeck facility. Please remember that the only food that may be brought onto the premises and not taken directly to Brubeck is fresh fruit.
If you are using the dining room or café you should collect a Volunteer Lunch Voucher from reception and pass it to the catering staff in exchange for your meal (note that you will be asked to sign it once the amount has been filled in). You will need to pay any excess amount over the £3.50 allowance.
If you are bringing your own food in then you need to keep the receipts and complete the Volunteer Expense form.

4. Travel
We will reimburse you for reasonable travel costs from your home to ours. We ask that you use the most economic method of travel that is also practical to you.
If you travel by public transport then we will reimburse the actual cost on production of receipts. If you travel regularly on Transport for London then please use either an Oyster card (your Oyster statement shows individual journeys and should be marked up and used as a receipt) or contactless bank card (your bank / card statement with irrelevant transactions blacked out is the receipt), in order to take advantage of the cheaper rates.
If you drive to the Home, you can claim mileage at the prevailing HMRC rate, currently 45 pence per mile for a car, 24p per mile for a motorbike and 20p per mile for a bicycle. The Inner London Congestion Charge is not claimable other than in exceptional circumstances by prior arrangement.

5. Befriending refreshments
If you are volunteering as part of our Befriending programme, you may be taking a resident to the Café for tea/coffee or a cold drink. We will meet the cost of this; all you need to do is to sign the sheet at the counter and make sure you put your name, the name of the resident and ‘volunteer befriending’ in the information box.

6. Other Expenses
In exceptional circumstances you may incur other costs in the course of your work for us. Before doing so, you need to obtain approval from the relevant budget holder. Please ask the Volunteer Development Manager or another member of management if you are unsure who this is.

7. Claims process
a. You should make your claim using the standard Volunteer expenses claim form for either expenses or mileage.
b. Please make claims monthly if possible and remember to attach your receipts (other than for mileage).
c. You should give your claim to the Volunteer Development Manager who will sign it, complete the correct budget code and pass it on for payment.
d. We will pay your expenses via BACS (so do make sure we have your bank details) within a month of submission, although we will aim to do so sooner.