Approved by the Board of Directors October 9 th 2013

Transcription

1 Page: Page 1 of 5 1. Policy Directive From MCSS To Be Followed By Reena Personnel All employees of Reena will follow the Broader Public Sector Expenses Directive and the Travel, Meal, and Hospitality Expense Directive of the Ministry of Community and Social Services (MCSS). The Management Board of Cabinet has issued these directives under the authority of the Broader Public Sector Accountability Act, Where applicable, terms of the Reena / OPSEU Collective agreement should be followed. These directives have been established to achieve a balance between economy and efficiency of operations and to ensure a healthy and safe work environment. 2. Purpose To comply with the requirements of MCSS to establish expense policies where expenses are reimbursed through public funds. To provide for accountability and transparency. To ensure taxpayer dollars are used prudently and responsibly. To ensure that the obligations of the agency are carried out in a cost effective manner. To ensure that expenses for travel, meals, and hospitality support government objectives. 3. Scope This policy applies to all employees, consultants, contractors, Board of Director members, and volunteers. 4. Definitions Hospitality: For the purposes of this policy, hospitality means the provision of food, beverage, accommodation, transportation, and other amenities paid out of public funds to people who are Not working for : a) Reena b) Any designated Broader Public Sector agencies (those covered by the Ministry Directive) c) Any of the Ontario government ministries, agencies and public entities covered by the OPS Travel, Meal, and Hospitality Expenses Directive. For clarification: Hospitality is provided only when the event involves people from outside government. Functions involving only people who work for the government / BPS are not considered hospitality functions and cannot be reimbursed. Reena s website will indicate that rules for incurring and reimbursing travel, meal, and hospitality expenses are available to be seen upon request. There is no discretion to depart from the principles and the mandatory requirements of the Ministry Directive. Chief Operations Officer

2 Page: Page 2 of 5 Has authority to establish additional rules regarding expenses within the guidelines of the Ministry Directive. May change level of approval upward to a more senior manager / director 5. Policy Hospitality Functions involving those people listed in the Definitions above are not considered hospitality functions and cannot be reimbursed. Hospitality cannot be offered solely for the benefit of persons covered by the Ministry Directive or by the OPS Travel, Meal and Hospitality Expenses Directive. Examples of items or events that cannot be offered or are not reimbursable are: 1) Office social events; 2) Retirement parties; 3) Holiday lunches. Hospitality should cover: those costs of hosting conferences and to facilitate interactions with volunteers, donors, and business partners but incurred within Ministry Directives guidelines. Hospitality expenses should be kept modest and appropriate. The purpose, form, cost, name and location of establishment, number of attendees, names of the individuals, titles and organization and the approval, must be documented. Any reimbursed expense that is not in compliance with this policy must be repaid by the employee. Any expenses related to illness, bereavement, retirement celebrations, staff appreciation, may not be charged to any Ministry funding. 6. Record Keeping For an expense to be allowed, proper record keeping must be maintained. This includes original invoices/receipts signed and dated. The expense receipt must indicate the purpose of expenditure, the names of persons involved, and written confirmation of goods received. These records must be made available for verification and for audit purposes. Under no circumstances can hospitality or incidental food expenses be considered allowable for consultants and contractors under this policy or in any contract between Reena and a consultant or contractor. Reimbursement for an allowable expense can be claimed and reimbursed only when the contract specifically provides for it. 7. Persons Submitting A Claim Must 1) Obtain all appropriate approvals before incurring expenses; This would include a review on what can and cannot be expensed 2) Submit ORIGINAL ITEMIZED RECEIPTS with all claims. A photocopy of a credit card statement is not permissible, nor is the credit card charge slip.

3 Page: Page 3 of 5 3) To be reimbursed, claims musts be submitted within 7 days of month-end. 4) If the information is not available or is impossible to obtain, a senior-level person must submit a detailed written explanation, authorizing payment of the expense and explaining why receipts are not available. 5) Approvers cannot approve their own expenses 6) Expenses for a group can only be claimed by the most senior person present 7) Expenses cannot be claimed by an individual on behalf of his / her approver 8) Expenses must reflect only those costs incurred in the performance of Reena business; 9) To be approved for payment, all appropriate documentation must be attached (see record keeping) The approver: must have knowledge of the situation, must exercise the principles and purposes of the government mandate, cannot depart from the mandatory requirements, and must use good judgement. The approval must be exercised in appropriate situations. 8. Policy Travel 1) Travel outside the GTA, but within the province requires the pre-approval of any one of: CEO, Executive Director, Chief Financial Officer, Director of Finance and Administration. 2) The type of travel selected should be the most practical and economical way to travel. This must be reflective of the principles of the Ministry directive. 3) Economy class will be the standard option. CEO approval would be required for any other type of fare. 4) Accommodation: - standard room is the set option. This is consistent with the principle of value for money. 5) Managerial discretion must fall within the framework of Ministry guidelines. Manager s decisions and choices can have some flexibility but must fall within Ministry Directive. 6) Approver : must have knowledge of the situation, must exercise the principles and purposes of the government mandate, and cannot depart from the mandatory requirements. The approval must be exercised in appropriate situations. 7) Accountability: must stand up to scrutiny of Auditors, must be properly explained and documented, must be fair, reasonable, and appropriate. 8) Reimbursement may include: mileage or public transportation costs, airline, taxi fares, cost of breakfast, lunch, dinner, overnight accommodation, or reasonable incidental costs. (See record keeping, page 3). Alcoholic beverages are not reimbursable. 9) Persons using their own vehicles for travel are expected at all times to carry their own appropriate insurance coverage. 10) Original receipts should be submitted. They include petty cash vouchers/ receipts, with dates, purpose and signatures indicated. (See record keeping, page 3).

4 Page: Page 4 of 5 11) Accommodations: No reimbursement will be made for suites, executive floors, or concierge services. Movie rentals, room service costs, mini bar purchases are considered personal expenses and shall not be the expense of Reena. 12) When it makes operational sense, consideration should be given to using rental cars rather than employees personal cars to drive distances of more than 250 km per day. When possible, local transportation and hotel shuttles should be used. 13) Taxis may be used when rentals are not available, or when public transportation is not available or practical. Weather, baggage, health, safety concerns can be taken into consideration when choosing the means of transportation. 14) Claim requirements as set in Section B 9. Consultants Under no circumstances can hospitality or incidental food expenses be considered allowable expenses for consultants and contractors under this policy, or allowable in any contract between Reena and a consultant/ contractor. This includes but is not limited to meals, snacks, gratuities, laundry, dry cleaning, valet services, dependent care, home management, personal telephone calls etc. Exceptions include such contractual arrangements with consultants where travel and / or accommodation is included. 10. Reimbursement 1) For conferences, workshops, and out of area travel, expenses incurred by an employee while performing duties shall be reimbursed subject to the prior authority of the Manager or CEO. The Board shall approve such expenses when incurred by the CEO. 2) To be reimbursed for travel, a person must submit a mileage expense form or a valid taxi chit receipt, indicating the purpose of the trip, names of persons visited, dates, and signatures. 3) Claims must be submitted within 7 days of month-end unless special circumstances are involved and specified. 4) Expenses not covered: i. Those mandated by the Ministry directive e.g. Certain consultant expenses ii. expenses for recreational purposes, iii. personal items, iv. traffic and parking violations, v. social events that do not constitute hospitality, vi. alcoholic beverages. 11. Principles To Guide Exceptions If a Manager, in exercising discretion, wishes to make an exception, a record of the exception and the rationale for the exception must be documented and accompany the claim. A proper record for audit purposes must be maintained. There is trust (use of discretion) and latitude for managers to act in a fair and reasonable manner. Must have flexibility which respects the duty to accommodate, respond to

5 Page: Page 5 of 5 person s needs and interests, must show consideration for unforeseen circumstances and show stewardship. These principles must also maintain the responsibility for prudent use of public resources. 12. Other When traveling, personal communication devises may be used. Depending on the destination, there may be restrictions on the usage. Whenever possible, the expectation is that the least expensive means of communication such as calling cards and internet access be used. Requests for dependent care while traveling may be reimbursed if travel is occasional or unexpected and if expenses incurred are above and beyond the usual costs for dependent care as a direct result of travel. ***