Introduction

Background

SNOMED International aims to meet reasonable work-related expenses incurred while conducting official, authorized SNOMED International-related business. This may include air travel, road and rail transport, car hire, accommodation or other expenses. Most SNOMED International travel expenses are handled by reimbursement, meaning the authorized traveler makes his/her own arrangements, pays for travel expenses with personal funds, and then applies for reimbursement. Notable exceptions to this point include use of an SNOMED International corporate credit card (see Section 12) and issuance of a travel advance (see Section 13).

Purpose

The SNOMED International Travel Policy aims to ensure that cost-efficient travel arrangements are reimbursed in a timely manner, that individuals do not lose or make money, and that the policy and procedures are in accordance with the regulations of the Danish Taxation Authority, where relevant. 

Scope

The policy is designed to cover everyone who is authorized to travel on behalf of SNOMED International, including SNOMED International staff members, Management Board Directors, contracted consultants, and other individuals with appropriate authorization.  

Questions about the policy should be directed to info@snomed.org. 

Who Authorizes My Travel?

Authorization for Individual Travel

So you need to travel on SNOMED International business. Before you make your travel arrangements, you must secure travel authorization from the appropriate SNOMED International representative. Please see Travel authorization or https://ihtsdo.freshdesk.com/support/solutions/articles/4000037184-how-do-i-get-travel-authorization- for information on how to do this (contact info@snomed.org if you need assistance). Please submit any travel authorization forms with your expenses unless the SNOMED International Corporate Services staff is already aware that the trip has been authorized (note that authorizations through Google forms automatically send approval and denial emails to the Corporate Services staff; traditional travel authorization forms on Word docs should be submitted with the expenses). 

Once the travel claim processor receives your expenses and authorization, she or he will check over the expense claims and then ask the appropriate SNOMED International representative to approve the claims. The table below outlines the roles in authorizing travel and expenses:

Authorization for Group Travel

Authorization is required from both the CEO and the Head of Finance for group travel, whether budgeted or unbudgeted, when the  collective costs of the meeting total USD 5000 or above. Examples of these types of meetings include:

1. Any team meetings where travel or hotel costs are involved;
2. Any conference attendance and travel;
3. Any meetings with Member countries.

For these approvals, please fill out and submit the Group Travel Approval Form (instructions are on the form itself), available at: https://drive.google.com/a/ihtsdo.org/templates?type=spreadsheets

The group travel form does not remove the requirement for individuals to submit individual travel forms (see section 2.1). The Executive Lead - Finance & Corporate Services will issue a purchase order number for each Group Travel request, which can be quoted by individuals on their individual travel request to maintain an audit trail.

Approval must be given before any contracts or travel is booked, so please request approval well in advance of the intended conference or meeting.

How Long After My Travel Should I Submit My Expense Claim?

SNOMED International recommends that you submit your expense claim as soon as your travel period has ended. All expenses on the corporate credit card must be submitted no later than 10 days after the statement date. Please note that SNOMED International will not accept any claims after 4 months have lapsed since your travel. Exceptions to these policies require approval by the CEO.

How Do I Submit My Expense Claims? Web-Based Versus Paper Submissions

SNOMED International processes travel expense claims with two different systems:

1. zExpense: an online system used by SNOMED International employees or other authorized users.  For instructions on how to access and use zExpense, please see Claiming expenses, or contact invoices@ihtsdo.org.
2. SNOMED International Travel Expense Form (available on the our FAQs): a spreadsheet, supplemented with receipts, used by all other authorized travelers. Normally the spreadsheet and receipts can be scanned and emailed to invoices@snomed.org, but travelers should maintain paper copies at least until they receive reimbursement.

Please remember to submit receipts for all expenses (including food) when traveling for under 24 hours or when traveling domestically (note section 6 below).

How Do I Calculate My Travel Period?

SNOMED International will normally only reimburse costs for the days that work-related events take place and for transport to/from any such events by the most expeditious route.

Combination of official travel with personal travel

If you wish to take some personal time in conjunction with your official travel, it is at your own expense and your own risk. Please keep in mind that SNOMED International assumes no responsibility or obligation with regard to any personal leave, travel arrangements and associated costs made in conjunction with official travel. Transportation or additional stopover costs to locations you wish to visit for personal reasons in conjunction with work are at your own expense. Similarly, should you wish to spend extra days at your hotel, those extra accommodation fees are your own responsibility and you will not receive per diem for the extra time. If you travel to a destination for a personal visit prior to a work-related event and then become ill or are otherwise unable to attend the work event, you will not be entitled to claim reimbursement of those travel expenses unless the CEO agrees to make an exception to the rule.

Personal time should be identified when seeking initial authorization for travel and when submitting claims. Documentation of these costs must be provided, with evidence of the difference of the costs incurred.

Extension of travel time to reduce costs

In some cases, there may be significant savings for the organization if the time at a destination is extended beyond the scheduled work-related travel period (e.g. because flight costs may be cheaper with a Saturday night stay). In this case, extension of the scheduled travel period with associated costs may be approved by the CEO in advance of any travel arrangement being made.  Please inquire with the person who has authorized your travel (see Section 2).

Please note that the traveler will be reimbursed for the costs of additional accommodation and/or other expenses only if the total expenditure is shown to be less than it would have been for the originally scheduled period. In other words, keep a copy of that original overpriced flight ticket offer to prove how much money you saved!

Per Diem, Meals and Related Expenses

For all authorized travelers, unless otherwise informed, per diem is provided based on the following guidelines:

Travel period less than 24 hours and domestic travel

Per diem does not apply if the travel period is less than 24 hours. SNOMED International will instead reimburse reasonable meal expenses based on receipts only. 

As of 1 April 2016, domestic travel of any length is no longer eligible for per diems. If you are traveling in your country of residence and staying away from home for over 24 hours, any expense you claim must be via submission of a valid receipt or paid for on a corporate credit card and receipted accordingly. No receipt, no reimbursement.

Travel period more than 24 hours

Per diem is provided if the travel period is more than 24 hours. For staff members based in Denmark, in accordance with the Danish Taxation Authority, the 2017 per diem is 69 USD/24 hours. For staff members based in Sweden, special rates apply. For staff members based outside of Denmark and Sweden, per diem rates for meals and incidentals vary by the country of destination (all listed below in USD):

For other countries not listed, please contact invoices@snomed.org for rates.

For all authorized travelers, if the traveler receives meals at no cost during his/her trip (e.g. a meal on an airplane or lunch that is included in a conference fee or provided to participants in a meeting) the allowance should be reduced by the percentages set by the Danish Taxation Authority:

If using the zExpense automated system, the calculation is done for you after you enter the number of meals you received.

The remaining 25% of the per diem allowance is intended to cover reasonable expenses such as:

• Excess luggage for personal items in case of travel over extended periods of time;
• Foreign currency commissions;
• Maps for the destination;
• Laundry or dry-cleaning; and
• Personal phone call.

The fact that these expenses are covered by per diem means that they cannot be claimed as separate line items.

Group Meals

If multiple SNOMED International-funded travelers attend the same event (e.g. a dinner), an attending SNOMED International Management Team member may agree to pay the costs of the event for the group. In such case, the Management Team member should provide SNOMED International with receipts, names of attendees, and any other relevant information. The other attendees may not claim the same expense, and their per diems should be reduced by the appropriate level (see table in Section 6.2.2 for levels). Please note that the cost of such event should generally be consistent with or lower than the amount of the per diem that would otherwise have been provided. 

Accommodation Expenses

Reasonable accommodation expenses (USD 200/night or below, not including tax) are reimbursed based on the submission of receipts. For accommodation expenses above USD 200/night, advanced approval in writing is required from the responsible authorizing person from SNOMED International (see Section 2). An exception is made for hotels in the UK, where accommodation expenses can go up to GBP 200 (as opposed to US 200) per night (not including VAT) without pre-approval. 

Air and Rail Transportation Expenses

You are generally responsible for booking your own travel. SNOMED International will reimburse reasonable air and rail transportation expenses to and from approved work-related events based on receipts. Where receipts are not provided, tickets can be submitted to SNOMED International. Original airline boarding passes do not need to be included in the submission. Please try to ensure that receipts submitted can be used to verify the start and end times of any travel, where this is possible.

In general, SNOMED International will reimburse the costs of economy class travel to the airport/station closest to the destination. Exceptions (economy extra or occasionally business class) to this policy must be approved by the CEO. Exceptional circumstances may include: 

• Medical reasons;
• Duration of journey (e.g. for flights of 6 or more hours duration or for night flights of 5 or more hours where work-related events begin within 24 hours of arrival);
• Higher class reimbursed by other payer (e.g. where IHTSDO staff travel is being reimbursed by an outside organization that is prepared to pay for a higher class of travel);
• Cost-effectiveness; or
• Other exceptional circumstances (e.g. the traveler will work during the journey on time-sensitive projects and such work could not be completed in economy class travel, or when there is a short period of time between arrival and critical events at which the traveler is representing SNOMED International).

Proof that more expensive travel has been authorized must be submitted with the travel expense claim.

Please note that with advanced approval, authorized travelers covered by the SNOMED International Travel Policy may be permitted to choose a different route or mode of transport on condition that any extra costs are at his/her charge (see Section 5.1 for more information).

Travel by Taxi, Public Transportation, or Private Vehicle

Necessary ground transportation, including airport shuttles, public transportation and taxis, can be claimed by submitting receipts. When receipts are not available, tickets can be submitted.  Claims should be reasonable, e.g. do not take a taxi when there’s a perfectly good train that could take you to the same place.

A personal vehicle may be used when more appropriate than public transportation, but SNOMED International does not provide insurance for the vehicle or third party liability connected with the use of a private vehicle. Travelers authorized to use their personal vehicles must ensure that their insurance legally covers damage to the vehicle and third party liability when the vehicle is used for transportation to the work-related event. Individuals shall have no claims against the organization in respect to any damages caused to their vehicles or its contents or in respect to damages paid to a third party.

When travel by personal vehicle is authorized, travelers will receive a kilometer allowance for a direct journey at rates set by the Danish Tax Authority.

Everywhere except the UK: The 2017 rate is 0.50 USD per km (not mile) from 1 to 20,000 km/year and 0.28 USD per km over 20,000 km/year. In zExpense, click on "Denmark."

In the UK: As of 6 Apr 2016, UK rates are 0.40 USD per km (not mile) from 1 to 16,093 km/year and 0.22 USD per km over 16,093 km/year. In zExpense, click on "Compensation" and select "UK." 

To claim reimbursement for these costs, the precise number of kilometers, not miles, driven in the private vehicle must be submitted to SNOMED International. Please provide addresses of where journey commenced and ended.

If you parked at the airport or train parking lot, you may request reimbursement for the cost. If someone dropped you off at the airport/station, you may claim kilometers for that person to drive to the airport and back home again (the same goes for instances of someone picking you up from the airport or train station).

Other Expenditures During Travel

Reimbursement may also be claimed for work-related expenses while on official travel if receipts are provided in the expense claim. Examples of such expenses include:

a)    Internet, postal, telephone, and fax expenses incurred for official purposes;

b)    Photocopying, printing and reproduction of official documents;

c)    Vaccinations required or recommended for the country of destination by medical authorities;

d)    Official visa and document costs required by the country of destination;

e)    Excess baggage charges for the transport of documents or equipment required for official purposes (e.g. booth for a conference).

f)     Any work-related items/material. Pre-approval may be required prior to purchase.

Currencies

Expenses may be submitted in, and will be reimbursed in, your preferred currency. 

Please note that:

• If SNOMED International has instructed you to submit an expense claim using the online zExpense system, currency exchange conversions are automatically performed in the system.
• If SNOMED International has instructed you to submit an expense using the manual Travel Expense Form spreadsheet, please use either:
• The exchange rates as provided by http://www.oanda.com/currency/converter/ using the rate on the first travel day. If you start traveling on a Saturday, Sunday or bank holiday, use the rate from the next business day (currency exchange rates are only provided on working days).
• The exchange rate you actually received from a bank or other service provider. To use this method, you must provide a statement or receipt with the currency conversion rate together with your expense claims. Note that you may not claim currency conversion fees for reimbursement unless you are not claiming per diem (see section 6.2.2 above).

IHTSDO Corporate Credit Cards

In general, travelers who have been issued SNOMED International corporate credit cards should use those cards to pay for any significant work-related travel expenses. If the person is receiving per diem, any meals charged to the card will be deducted from the total owed to the employee. If those charges are higher than the total owed by SNOMED International to the employee for expense reimbursement, the traveler must repay the difference to SNOMED International.

The SNOMED International corporate credit card should not be used for cash withdrawals or personal expenses unless in exceptional circumstances authorized by the CEO.

Travel Advances

Travelers who do not have a SNOMED International corporate credit card may request a travel advance. Such requests must be made at least 14 days in advance of the commencement of travel and they must be approved by the CEO. As a guideline, a travel advance may cover known expenses (e.g. hotel costs), plus no more than 75% of the total meal allowance expected to be due to the traveler.

Any travel advance will be deducted from the amount owed by SNOMED International to the traveler. If the advance was higher than that amount, the difference must be repaid to SNOMED International. Questions about travel advances should be directed to invoices@snomed.org. 

Travel Costs Paid by Another Organization

In cases in which an organization other than SNOMED International has offered to pay part or all of the travel or other costs incurred by an authorized SNOMED International traveler, the traveler can either:

• Pay the expenses personally and receive reimbursement directly from the other organization. In this case, the travel rules of the external authority apply and the traveler is responsible for paying any taxes associated with the reimbursement; or

• Ask SNOMED International to pay the expenses according to the SNOMED International Travel Policy and ask the other organization to reimburse SNOMED International. In this case, it is the traveler’s responsibility to complete any documentation required by the other organization and to pursue reimbursement from that organization.
  
  

Honoraria

If you are offered an honorarium (e.g. a speaker fee), that honorarium shall be the property of SNOMED International. SNOMED International is responsible for any associated tax payable in accordance with the Danish Taxation Authority.

Bonus Points

All bonus points accrued during SNOMED International-related travel accrue to, and are the responsibility of, the traveler. The traveler is responsible for taxation related to bonus points.