Expenses Policy

Al-Waris Foundation recognises that trustees, volunteers and other authorised persons may incur reasonable expenses while carrying out legitimate charity activities.

No person should normally be expected to personally subsidise authorised charity activity merely because they are:

At the same time, charitable funds must be protected.

Expenses must therefore be:

Reimbursement of legitimate expenses is not payment for acting as a trustee or volunteer.

This policy establishes arrangements for:

This policy applies to:

Contractor invoices are normally dealt with under procurement and financial-control procedures rather than this policy.

An expense is a cost genuinely incurred while carrying out authorised charity business.

Examples may include:

Personal expenditure unrelated to charity activity is not reimbursable.

Trustees may be reimbursed for reasonable expenses properly incurred while carrying out trustee duties.

Reimbursement of legitimate expenses does not itself constitute trustee remuneration.

Examples may include:

Trustee expenses must still satisfy the controls within this policy.

Volunteers may be reimbursed for reasonable costs genuinely incurred while volunteering.

Reimbursement should normally reflect actual expenditure rather than providing an automatic allowance unrelated to costs incurred.

This distinction helps ensure that volunteer expense reimbursement is not confused with remuneration.

Where reasonably practicable, significant or unusual expenses should be approved before they are incurred.

Prior approval is particularly appropriate for:

Routine low-value expenditure may be covered by standing authority.

Expenses must be reasonable in the circumstances.

The charity should consider:

The cheapest possible option is not always required.

However, unnecessarily luxurious or excessive expenditure should not be charged to the charity.

Expense claims should normally be supported by evidence such as:

Electronic evidence is acceptable where it provides sufficient information.

A claim should normally identify:

Claims involving foreign currencies should also identify the relevant currency.

A missing receipt does not automatically prevent reimbursement where the expense is genuine and reasonable.

Where normal evidence is unavailable, the claimant should provide:

Repeated unexplained missing receipts may result in claims being refused or additional controls being imposed.

An authorised person may occasionally pay a legitimate charity cost using personal funds.

Where reimbursement is intended, the payment should be recorded as an amount incurred on behalf of the charity.

The reimbursement should be supported by appropriate evidence.

A person who pays a charity expense personally does not automatically donate that amount to the charity.

The amount may remain reimbursable unless the person:

The charity's records should distinguish between expenses owed and donations.

A valid expense does not necessarily need to be reimbursed immediately where the claimant agrees to wait.

Where reimbursement is deferred, the charity should maintain an accurate record of the outstanding amount where material.

The charity should not reimburse claims merely because cash becomes available without first confirming that the underlying expense is legitimate and properly recorded.

Older claims require sufficient evidence to establish:

Material historic claims involving trustees or connected persons should receive appropriate unconflicted review.

A claimant may choose not to seek reimbursement.

Where appropriate, the charity should record that the expense was voluntarily waived.

No person should be pressured to waive a legitimate expense claim.

Reasonable travel costs incurred for legitimate charity business may be reimbursed.

This may include:

The method selected should be reasonable for the circumstances.

Reasonable public-transport costs may be reimbursed.

Standard or economy travel should normally be used unless another option is justified by:

Where a private vehicle is used for authorised charity activity, the charity may reimburse:

The same journey must not be reimbursed under both methods.

Where mileage reimbursement is used, Al-Waris Foundation should normally use rates no greater than the applicable HMRC-approved mileage allowance rates unless the Board has documented a lawful reason for another approach.

The current applicable rate should be checked when claims are processed rather than permanently embedding a potentially outdated rate in this policy.

Mileage claims should normally identify:

Ordinary personal journeys are not reimbursable merely because the claimant is associated with the charity.

Necessary parking charges and road tolls incurred during authorised charity journeys may be reimbursed.

Evidence should be retained where reasonably available.

Parking fines, speeding penalties and other penalties resulting from an individual's breach of law or rules will not normally be reimbursed.

Exceptional circumstances require specific Board consideration.

Taxis or private-hire vehicles may be used where reasonable.

Relevant circumstances may include:

Flights may be reimbursed where necessary for authorised charity activity.

Economy travel should normally be used.

When booking, consideration should be given to:

International travel undertaken at charity expense should normally receive prior approval.

Approval should consider:

Where a journey combines charity activity with a personal trip, the charity should pay only the reasonable cost attributable to the charity activity.

Any additional cost caused by the personal element should normally be paid personally.

The arrangement should be documented where material.

Reasonable accommodation may be reimbursed where an overnight stay is necessary for charity activity.

Accommodation should be:

Luxury accommodation should not normally be funded where a suitable reasonable alternative exists.

Where a person stays with family or friends rather than purchasing accommodation, the charity will not normally pay a fictional hotel-equivalent expense.

Reasonable actual costs specifically incurred because of the stay may be considered where appropriately evidenced.

Reasonable meal and refreshment costs may be reimbursed where they arise because of authorised charity activity.

Claims should reflect actual reasonable expenditure unless a specific allowance arrangement has been approved.

Personal luxury expenditure is not reimbursable.

Al-Waris Foundation will not normally reimburse expenditure on alcoholic drinks.

Ordinary personal items are not reimbursable merely because they are purchased during charity activity.

Examples include:

An item may be reimbursable where it is specifically required for an authorised charity purpose.

Reasonable additional telephone or internet costs directly attributable to charity activity may be reimbursed.

Where a claimant already pays a fixed personal tariff and incurs no additional cost, the charity will not normally reimburse an arbitrary proportion unless a reasonable arrangement has been approved.

Equipment purchased personally for the charity should normally receive prior approval.

Where the charity reimburses the full cost of an item purchased for charity use, ownership should normally belong to Al-Waris Foundation unless otherwise agreed.

Significant equipment should be added to the asset register where appropriate.

A person may make small project purchases and claim reimbursement where authorised.

Material procurement should follow the Procurement and Purchasing Policy rather than routinely being processed through personal expense claims.

Expense claims must not be used to bypass:

Artificially dividing purchases into smaller personal claims is prohibited.

Overseas expenses should be subject to the same core principles as UK expenditure.

Additional evidence may include:

The charity recognises that formal receipts may be less readily available in some locations.

Alternative evidence should therefore be considered reasonably.

Foreign-currency claims should identify:

Where a bank or card statement shows the actual GBP amount charged, that amount may normally be used.

Otherwise, a reasonable documented exchange rate should be applied.

Reasonable transaction or conversion charges incurred directly because of authorised charity expenditure may be reimbursed.

Where legitimate overseas expenditure must be paid in cash, the claimant should maintain a proportionate record of:

Supporting evidence should be obtained where reasonably possible.

The charity may provide an authorised advance for expected expenses.

The advance must be:

Unused funds must be returned promptly.

After an activity involving an expense advance, the recipient should provide:

No further advance should normally be issued where a material previous advance remains unexplained.

Travel undertaken to:

may constitute legitimate charity expenditure where appropriately authorised.

Reasonable expenditure incurred to document genuine charitable work may be legitimate where the activity supports:

The trip must have a genuine charity purpose.

Personal tourism costs must not be transferred to the charity.

Where appropriate, the charity may cover reasonable beneficiary costs necessary to enable participation in a legitimate charitable activity.

Such payments should be distinguished from trustee or volunteer expenses.

Reasonable travel and meal costs incurred by volunteers during authorised activities may be reimbursed.

Expense arrangements should not be structured primarily as disguised remuneration.

Collectors or supervisors must not remove money directly from collection proceeds to reimburse themselves.

Expenses connected with public collections should be:

This preserves the integrity of collection records.

Reasonable expenditure directly connected with authorised fundraising may be reimbursed.

Examples may include:

The cost should be recorded separately from gross fundraising income where appropriate.

Personal gifts are not normally reimbursable.

Where an item is legitimately purchased on behalf of the charity for an appropriate charitable or organisational purpose, it should be treated according to the Gifts and Hospitality Policy.

Reasonable hospitality expenditure may be reimbursed only where it serves a legitimate charity purpose.

The charity should consider:

Claims submitted by trustees or connected persons require appropriate scrutiny.

A claimant should not be the sole person approving their own material expense claim.

Where complete separation is impractical because of the charity's size, another unconflicted trustee should review the claim.

No person should normally approve their own material expense claim.

Where automated or banking processes technically permit self-processing, an appropriate independent review should still occur.

Where an expense involves a potential conflict, the Conflict of Interest Policy applies.

The existence of a conflict does not automatically make an otherwise legitimate expense invalid.

It must be properly managed.

Claims should be submitted within a reasonable period.

As a general administrative expectation, claims should normally be submitted within three months of the expenditure where practicable.

Late claims may still be considered where:

The approver should consider:

Approval should be recorded.

Approved reimbursements should normally be paid by a traceable method such as bank transfer.

Cash reimbursement should be used only where appropriate and properly documented.

Claimant bank details should be stored securely and used only where necessary.

Unexpected changes to payment instructions should be verified where appropriate.

The charity should maintain sufficient records to identify:

Records should reconcile with the charity's accounting system.

Expenses should be recorded under the appropriate accounting category.

The charity should distinguish between:

An expense may be charged to a restricted fund only where the applicable restriction permits it.

The charity must not allocate general operating expenses to a restricted project merely because that fund has available money.

Legitimate operational expenditure should normally be funded from:

Knowingly submitting a false expense claim may constitute fraud.

Examples include:

Such matters should be handled under the Anti-Fraud, Bribery and Corruption Policy.

A person must not claim reimbursement where:

Where costs are shared, only the appropriate charity portion may be claimed.

An accidental error should be corrected promptly.

A genuine administrative mistake should not automatically be treated as fraud.

Repeated or deliberate irregularities require further review.

Where an expense reimbursement exceeds the amount properly due, the charity should normally seek repayment of the excess.

Material overpayments should be recorded and resolved.

Expense arrangements should be operated in a manner consistent with applicable tax requirements.

Where there is uncertainty over whether a payment constitutes:

appropriate professional advice should be obtained.

Where travel or other expenditure may be recoverable under insurance, the charity should avoid unnecessary duplicate reimbursement.

Insurance claims and reimbursements should be recorded appropriately.

Expense arrangements must not undermine safeguarding controls.

For example, reimbursement arrangements should not be used to justify:

Expense records may contain personal and financial information.

They must be processed in accordance with the Data Protection and UK GDPR Policy.

Access should be limited appropriately.

Expense records should be retained in accordance with:

Records should be securely disposed of when retention is no longer required.

Expense patterns may be periodically reviewed to identify:

Where an expense claim is disputed, the claimant should be given an appropriate explanation.

Material unresolved disputes involving a trustee should be referred to unconflicted trustees.

Professional advice may be obtained where necessary.

The existence of this policy does not create an automatic right to reimbursement for expenditure that was:

Each claim may be assessed on its circumstances.

Breaches may result in:

This policy should be read alongside:

This policy will be reviewed:

Version: 2.0 Status: Approved Approved by: Board of Trustees Approval date: 25/08/2026 Next scheduled review: 24/08/2027