This blog posting represents the views of the author, David Fosberry. Those opinions may change over time. They do not constitute an expert legal or financial opinion.

If you have comments on this blog posting, please email me .

The Opinion Blog is organised by threads, so each post is identified by a thread number ("Major" index) and a post number ("Minor" index). If you want to view the index of blogs, click here to download it as an Excel spreadsheet.

Click here to see the whole Opinion Blog.

To view, save, share or refer to a particular blog post, use the link in that post (below/right, where it says "Show only this post").

I Want An Expenses Deal Like This Guy!

Posted on 7th November 2016

Show only this post
Show all posts in this thread.

I would really love to have a job with an expenses deal like Ian Cleland, the guy in this report in The Guardian!

I have had many jobs, both as a freelancer and as a permanent employee, but never one where the expenses were handled like that. Ian Cleland claimed for the lease and insurance of a luxury Jaguar for himself and his wife, plus nearly £3,000 for car servicing and new tyres. Cleland also spent £3,000 of taxpayers’ money on first-class rail travel, and his dining expenses included a meal with other staff at a Marco Pierre White restaurant totalling £471 and at the Bank restaurant in Birmingham for £703.45.

When I used my own car for business, I was able to claim a pre-defined mileage rate for it; no extras for insurance, tyres, or anything else. When I had a company car, there was a greatly reduced mileage rate, only for petrol (since my employer was already paying for the car, servicing and insurance). Also, when I had a company car, I was strongly encouraged to use it for all business travel; I would have needed a damned good reason to use the train instead (and never first-class!).

The restaurant bills might be OK, depending on how many colleagues were with him, but the other items simply look like him squeezing out as much money as he could. Of course, his employer has to take a large part of the blame, for giving him the expectation that he could claim such items, and for accepting his ridiculous expense claims. It is not as if the man is poor: his salary of £180,000 a year should allow him to spend some of his own money on meals for his employees; I earn much less than that, and I often buy drinks and dinner for my team members.

Clearly there is still too much money sloshing about in the budgets of government funded organisations, and a culture of corruption. It is us the they are stealing from!