Employee Outsmarts Manager And Gives Company A $500 Cab Bill After They Say Bus Tickets Can’t Be Reimbursed

Expense reimbursement is a method for paying employees back when they spend their own money on business-related expenses. Travel is usually one of the main parts of this policy. So when redditor u/SugarWine was traveling for work, they thought their bus trips would be covered. They weren’t. You see, their company demanded a receipt for everything. So, since the bus drivers wouldn’t give receipts, u/SugarWine had to find other means of transportation. A taxi…

Employee Outsmarts Manager And Gives Company A $500 Cab Bill After They Say Bus Tickets Can't Be Reimbursed

Image credits: Flickr (Not the actual picture)

Employee Outsmarts Manager And Gives Company A $500 Cab Bill After They Say Bus Tickets Can't Be Reimbursed

Image credits: SugarWine

When talking with senior managers of a large company, Liezl Groenewald from Ethics Institute heard one of them ask whether it is okay to bend the rules from time to time if it is for the greater good of the company.

“Performance-based judgment calls are managerial decisions to bend the rules because, in doing so, company or individual performance will be enhanced,” Groenewald wrote. “This is typically related to rewarding employees for good performance by making exceptions to established rules.”

“Faulty rules refer to ambiguous, out-dated or simply wrong rules in the eyes of the manager.”

Moreover, a study by the Academy of Management Executives (USA) revealed that 70% of executives bend company rules. When asked why they do so, they mentioned three rationales for rule-bending, namely performance–based judgement calls, faulty rules and socially embedded norms.

“Organisations need to build a culture where the emphasis is on following the spirit of the law rather than the letter of the law. A code of ethics should thus not be predominantly rules-based, but rather a combination of rules- and values-based.”

People had a lot to say about the whole ordeal

Employee Outsmarts Manager And Gives Company A $500 Cab Bill After They Say Bus Tickets Can't Be Reimbursed

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What do you think ?

POST

Jo Choto 5 years ago

I am surprised how people don't seem to understand the need for proof of expenditure. How do they think accountants justify spending and balance books and file tax returns? You can't just randomly pick numbers and hand out money to employees without some evidence. It would be easy to purchase some kind of monthly bus pass and have proof of purchase for that. There are lots of logical ways around a problem that don't involve screwing the company. Failure to show proof of expenditure could be interpreted as embezzlement or tax fraud. It's not a stupid policy. It's common sense for anyone with half a brain to understand how any organization has to do its books.

25points

J. Zingler 5 years ago

Basicly the ticket( if printed on paper) is the receipt?

11points

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Kathy Baylis 5 years ago (edited)

So, research bus fare for the city you’re sending your employee to, then calculate their daily travel needs. That will give you a figure to add to a cash per diem you hand them before they leave. The government uses per diems for average miscellaneous expenses, such as meals, and does not generally require receipts in return. So, if for instance you normally allow them $75/day cash per diem for 3 meals (average $25/meal), just add another $25 for travel, and hand them $100 for each day of their stay, thereby relieving them—-and the accounting office—-of the stress of justifying every little penny while wasting a huge amount of cash on vastly more expensive, but receipt-issuing, activities.

5points

Becky Samuel 5 years ago

I am surprised how some people can look at a disastrously broken system and try to justify its existence using its own stupid rules. Paying 50x as much for something has nothing to do with common sense.

5points

kurisutofu 5 years ago

So you want her to take a monthly bus pass for a one week convention? I believe companies have some leeway for tax declaration (low amount in the "cash" section etc ). The company in the story now allows for it so I guess there was a way after all.

3points

Carol Emory 5 years ago

One way to avoid the problem is to issue corporate credit cards. The expenditures would still need to be accounted for, but a corporate credit card statement can be used as a receipt in lieu of places that don't offer receipts. My father had a hard time keeping track of all his medical expenses for tax purposes..so he had a credit card that was totally devoted to medical costs. The IRS took the statements as receipts because each transaction was detailed. As someone who used to process travel orders for reimbursement..I understand the headaches of traveling for business all too well.

0points

Full Name 5 years ago

You can often buy bus tickets at 7-11 in many cities. Either that, or just take a selfie on the bus each time.

0points

elfin 5 years ago

Yet the company made the change and apparently can still do its books okay. Also, note that following company rules to the letter is not screwing the company. And while you shouldn't randomly pass out small amounts of money to employees for small expenditures, maybe you could just trust them on this and not assume they're all thieves. I'm glad I don't work with you.

0points

Martha Meyer 5 years ago

Every place I've ever worked you could just show the bus ticket you uses to get reimbursed. It has the time stamp abd everything. Can't believe this didn't occur to anyone in this situation.

18points

Electric Ed 5 years ago

Sounds that these were the sort of busses where you just pay, and don't receive a ticket? Plus everyone seems to bend over backwards in expecting all busses to work just like the ones at (their) home.

8points

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heart.in.southwest 5 years ago

Once place I worked for allowed a certain amount for travel and a certain amount for each meal while you were at your training/convention/whatever they had you doing. Before you left you were given the money, and whatever you did with it was your own affair. If you wanted to eat steak and lobster every meal or if you wanted to go to the grocery store and buy cheap eats, it was up to you, they would just only pay that much. If something came up outside that, then you justified what you did with receipts. To me that is so much simpler.

4points

Geoffrey Holland 5 years ago

Yes, that's called a per diem.

0points

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POST

Jo Choto 5 years ago

25points

J. Zingler 5 years ago

Basicly the ticket( if printed on paper) is the receipt?

11points

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Kathy Baylis 5 years ago (edited)

5points

Becky Samuel 5 years ago

5points

kurisutofu 5 years ago

3points

Carol Emory 5 years ago

0points

Full Name 5 years ago

You can often buy bus tickets at 7-11 in many cities. Either that, or just take a selfie on the bus each time.

0points

elfin 5 years ago

0points

Martha Meyer 5 years ago

Every place I've ever worked you could just show the bus ticket you uses to get reimbursed. It has the time stamp abd everything. Can't believe this didn't occur to anyone in this situation.

18points