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Benefits of Having a Corporate Travel Policy

Key elements of a corporate travel policy, creating a corporate travel policy, best practices for implementing a corporate travel policy, ensuring compliance with a corporate travel policy, sample corporate travel policy, what is a corporate travel policy, and why is it important, what should be included in a corporate travel policy, how can organizations create an effective corporate travel policy, the bottom line.

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How to Set a Corporate Travel Policy: Key Elements, Best Practices, and Compliance

A corporate travel policy is a set of guidelines and best practices that govern employee travel. Organizations that have corporate travel policies use them to ensure that all employees follow the proper protocols when booking business-related travel and logging expenses.

While travel policies are often standard for large corporations, smaller businesses can also benefit from instituting them.

Key Takeaways

• A corporate travel policy is essential for organizations to manage travel expenses, ensure compliance, and streamline processes.
• Key elements of a corporate travel policy include travel booking procedures, expense reimbursement guidelines, travel safety measures, and approval processes.
• Best practices for implementing a corporate travel policy include effective communication, employee training, and regular policy review and updates.

Having a corporate travel policy can yield a range of benefits, both for business owners and their employees.

From the perspective of business owners, a corporate travel policy can allow you to:

• Monitor employee travel expenses to ensure accuracy and detect possible instances of fraud
• Establish guidelines for which hotels, airlines, and other travel organizations that employees may book through
• Ensure that employees understand which travel expenses may be submitted for reimbursement
• Organize expense data accurately and quickly
• Remain compliant with Internal Revenue Service (IRS) tax rules and regulations regarding business travel
• Minimize waste and streamline your accounting systems

On the employee side, having a standard corporate travel policy in place can help employees avoid a scenario where they may be waiting weeks or months to be reimbursed for expenses they’ve paid out of pocket because the company can’t verify what they spent.

Employers should take care to understand which business travel expenses are deductible and which ones are not under the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) .

There’s no one-size-fits-all corporate travel policy template or blueprint that businesses can follow. That’s an advantage, however, as it allows you to create a travel policy that fits your business’s needs.

Generally speaking, a corporate travel policy should cover rules and guidelines for the following:

• Airline, hotel, and rental car reservations
• Other transportation expenses , such as rail travel or ride-sharing
• Employee spending, as it pertains to meals, entertainment, phone calls, and other necessary expenses
• Parking fees and toll passes
• Acceptance of gifts when meeting with clients, or expensing of gifts presented to clients
• Medical care and travel insurance
• Currency exchange fees and international banking
• Employee submissions of receipts for reimbursement
• Review, approval, and payment of submitted expenses
• Personal safety of employees
• Security of business equipment or documents

When in doubt, it’s better for a corporate travel policy to cover more ground rather than less. Making your organization’s travel policy as comprehensive as possible can help to avoid confusion with regard to which expenses are acceptable and when employees can expect to be reimbursed.

Creating a corporate travel policy is a multistep process. Breaking each step down can make it easier to manage and create a policy that’s tailored to your business’s needs.

Identify Your Objectives

First, consider what you need a corporate travel policy to do for you. Are you primarily interested in minimizing costs or preventing abuse? Do you want to ensure that employees are booking with approved organizations and taking steps to remain safe while they’re traveling? Considering your top three objectives can offer a good starting point for developing your corporate travel policy.

You can use those insights to draft a purpose statement outlining the policy’s intentions. This doesn’t need to be lengthy, but it should convey what the policy is designed to do.

Get Your Team Involved

A corporate travel policy is only as good as its ability to meet the needs of those who are expected to adhere to it. Asking some questions about your team and your business’s travel activities can help you pin down what your policy should cover.

For example, ask yourself the following:

• Do any employees require special accommodations for travel related to a health condition or disability?
• Are there any destinations that the business travels to regularly?
• Are there any preferred hotels, airlines, or rental car companies that the business likes to use?
• Is there a preferred process for booking trips or answering questions?
• Who will be responsible for approving bookings, answering employee questions, approving expenses, and submitting them for payment?
• How will employees pay for expenses they book?
• If employees are using corporate credit cards , what rules are they expected to follow?
• How will they submit those expenses for reimbursement, and what information will they need to provide?

Polling your employees can further inform your decision making. For example, an employee who travels frequently may know which hotels are better than others or which airlines offer the best rates. Your employees may appreciate being given a chance to share their insights and opinions on what the company’s travel policy should look like.

If you’re considering corporate credit cards for employees, look for one that allows you to set individual spending controls for each card.

Draft the Policy, and Review It Carefully

Once you’ve collected all the feedback you think you’ll need, you can get to work on fleshing out your corporate travel policy. Again, you want to be thorough in detailing the policies and procedures that you expect employees to follow.

After you’ve written out the first draft, go through your policy a second time. Is there anything that could be explained more clearly? Any areas that may cause confusion for employees? Anything you’ve left out entirely?

You may need to review your travel policy several times to make sure you’re covering all of the most important bases. Once you have the language down, you can review it one final time to check for spelling and grammar errors.

Share the Policy with Your Staff

The final step after creating a corporate travel policy is conveying it to everyone in the company who’s affected by it. If employees don’t know what’s in the policy, it’ll be very difficult for them to adhere to it.

Remember that you’ll need to repeat this step anytime you make changes to the policy. If you add something new or take something away, it’s your duty to convey that to your employees so they’re aware of the changes.

Once you’ve created a corporate travel policy, you’ll need to implement it. These tips can help with introducing your company’s travel policy and enforcing it.

• Ensure that employees know who they can direct questions to regarding business travel bookings, expense reporting, and reimbursement.
• Set a specific time frame for submitting expenses for reimbursement and processing payments to employees.
• Consider scheduling an employee meeting or workshop to walk through the details of the travel policy and answer any questions that might arise.
• Ensure that all new hires get a copy of the travel policy.
• Regularly review and update your travel policy if necessary.
• Conduct monthly reviews or audits of travel expenditures to check for errors and potentially detect fraud or abuse.

It’s also important to specify what consequences, if any, employees may face if they’re found to be noncompliant with the policy. That may include having travel privileges restricted or, in a worst-case scenario, dismissal if evidence of fraud is found.

Ensuring compliance with your company’s corporate travel policy is important from a cost perspective, as you don’t want to blow your travel budget. There are different tactics you can use to maintain compliance across all stakeholders .

• Update your policy regularly to reflect the company’s latest practices and guidelines.
• Simplify the policy if necessary to avoid confusion.
• Clearly communicate compliance expectations, as well as the consequences of noncompliance, to all employees.
• Ensure that the policy is detailed thoroughly during the onboarding process for new hires.
• Conduct regular reviews and audits of travel expenses to look for any signs of noncompliance.
• Consider using a business travel management tool or software to keep track of bookings and expense reporting.

You may also place safeguards on travel bookings to prevent employees from straying outside the boundaries of the policy. For example, if you use a corporate travel agency, you might direct the agency to automatically reject any attempted bookings that don’t involve a preferred travel partner.

Corporate travel policies are common across a variety of industries, from finance to retail to the government. Examples of organizations that maintain corporate travel policies include:

• JPMorgan Chase & Co.
• Columbia University
• U.S. Department of the Interior

All of these sample policies have similar characteristics, in that they outline the purpose of the policy, specify the rules that apply to booking accommodations, and offer detailed instructions to employees on how to submit expense reports for reimbursement. It may take some time to work out your travel policy, but reviewing examples like these can give you an idea of what to add.

If writing a detailed corporate travel policy yourself seems daunting, you may consider outsourcing this task to a consultant who’s experienced in compliance.

A corporate travel policy establishes the guidelines for booking travel expenses and submitting them for reimbursement. Travel policies can also extend to things like personal safety and security of business equipment or documents. Having a corporate travel policy is important for minimizing fraud and abuse, while ensuring more accurate record-keeping.

At a minimum, a corporate travel policy should outline approved practices for booking airfare, hotels, rental cars, and other necessary travel expenses. It should also detail the process for submitting expenses for reimbursement, including how expenses are approved and when employees can expect to be paid.

The first step in creating an effective corporate travel policy is understanding what your business needs. Forecasting your budget for business travel and setting proper limits on which expenses are acceptable are the next steps. Organizations must also ensure that all employees are aware of the corporate travel policy and understand how to adhere to it.

A corporate travel policy may be a necessity if your employees take regular business trips to meet with clients or prospective clients, attend professional conferences or seminars, or participate in career training. If you don’t yet have a policy in place, you may want to set that as a priority for your business. Having a clear policy to follow leaves little room for misunderstandings and mismanagement of travel privileges.

Internal Revenue Service. “ Understanding Business Travel Deductions .”

JPMorgan Chase & Co. “ JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A. Supplier Travel and Expense Policy .”

Best Buy Partner Portal. “ Vendor Travel and Expense Reimbursement Policy .”

Columbia University, University Policies. “ Travel Expense Policy .”

U.S. Department of the Interior. “ Travel .”

Starbucks. “ Non-Partner Travel and Business Expense Standard—U.S. and Canada .”

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Company Travel Policy: The Complete Guide + A Free Template

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Traveling on business has become the norm in our busy, work-oriented society, and so is a company travel policy with this trend.

Despite all the technological advancements, getting a chance to talk to clients face to face or pitch a business project in person still beats sometimes messy communications apps. 

Since travel is neither cheap nor easy, it's best to set clear expectations and rules ahead of time. A company travel policy will outline the procedures for employees on company-paid trips to avoid any issues that might arise in the process.

Our comprehensive guide to company travel policies will give you an idea about the kind of information and provisions the Policy should include. 

We'll also provide you with a free template that you can use to quickly deploy a company travel policy of your own.

What Is Travel Policy?

A company travel policy, also known as a corporate travel policy, is an  internal document that outlines how business-related expenses are handled within the company . 

It covers everything from defining what a business-related expense is and isn't to how to remain safe if traveling alone and everything in between. Most importantly, it makes it clear who's in charge of approving expenses and reimbursements and who takes care of the actual booking.

Among other things, a travel policy can include:

• Booking responsibilities and the choice of company-approved travel agencies
• Total budget (lodging, travel, daily meals, etc.)
• Company-paid and out-of-pocket expenses
• The approval process and the person in charge of it
• The approval of reimbursements
• Preferred company vendors and partners
• Travel debriefing process
• Travel insurance carrier
• Exceptions to rules for any reason

As you can see, a travel policy is about much more than just saying whether an employee can fly business or not.  Instead, a corporate travel policy is about foreseeing all the situations that can arise from business trips and staying on top of them .

Why Do Companies Need a Travel Policy?

Streamlining processes saves companies a lot of time and money in the long run. Be it onboarding new employees, paying out bonuses, or organizing business trips,  having a system in place will make the process more efficient and reliable .

More importantly, rules and  policies protect both parties from unexpected events and expenses  that could arise from misunderstandings.

A travel policy will help employees manage both business and personal expenses more reliably while also giving them the freedom to book and organize trips how they please.

When employees have strict guidelines, they'll always know what's coming out of their pocket and what expenses the company will incur. 

On the other hand, companies will reduce unnecessary overheads by making it clear what is reimbursable and what isn't. An employee on a business trip with a business card in their wallet can quickly lose sight of the purchases they're making. Your Policy should clearly say what the limit to such expenditures is and draw a line.

A company travel policy will also contribute to fairness and positive company culture as there will be the same set of rules that applies to everyone.

Approving and reimbursing expenses won't be left to the whims of individuals — instead, everyone will abide by the same guidelines.

Another important point needs to be clarified when we're talking about company travel policy. What exactly falls under the category of business travel? We'll address that issue in the section below.

What Counts as Traveling on Business?

Any international or domestic journey that the employee undertakes for the company constitutes traveling on business .

In some cases, companies might try and define what a business trip is depending on the distance that the employee has to travel, but in essence, it should all fall under traveling on business.

It shouldn't matter whether a company is reimbursing its employee for just a bit of gas or a transoceanic flight — if the employee was traveling at the company's behest, all their expenses should be covered.

Of course, this goes only for the expenses mentioned in a company travel policy, which is yet another reason to have such a document in the first place.

How Do You Write a Business Travel Policy?

Now that we've gotten the "what" and "why" out of the way, it's time to address a frequent question:  how do you write a business travel policy?

Writing any Policy can feel daunting since there is a lot to cover and keep in mind. We'll help you write an effective travel policy, step by step. First and most importantly - let's see what you need to include in this document.

What Should Be Included in a Travel Policy?

When you want to create a company travel policy for employees, it's important to include information they really need. For example,  reimbursement is vital for your team , so it should be properly addressed. 

Your employees need to understand what they can get reimbursed for and how to claim those expenses. The reimbursement procedure must be a part of a comprehensive corporate travel policy.

And, of course,  safety is a crucial component  of travel policy for companies. You want this document to have value for your team and to add a layer of protection, so it needs to include travel insurance and emergency procedures too. This is especially important nowadays, given the fact that both Coronavirus and Monkeypox are circulating the globe. 

The list below will give you an idea of the basics that are usually included in the company travel policy for employees:

• The introductory part  that explains what will the travel policy cover and why it is important for the employees
• The travel booking procedure  and business travel booking tool - are both approved by you. This section should also contain exact timeframes for booking and approvals
• Expense categories  include details on what's reimbursable in each one. Your Policy should clearly state whether items like meal expenses are included. 
• Non-reimbursable purchases . This part of the travel policy is important, as it cites what isn't covered and therefore must be paid by the employee if they want it.
• Expense reports and reimbursement requests  - how to submit them
• Travel support and emergency procedures , including travel insurance and duty of care vendors 

These are the essential elements that are usually listed in a corporate travel policy. Still, you are free to expand it or tailor it in any other way, so it suits your business needs.

Pro tip:  Before you make your corporate travel policy official, reach out to one or more frequent travelers for feedback. They'll be able to fill any gaps and assess whether it's clear and to the point.

Avoid Common Company Travel Policy Mistakes

The most frequent mistake companies make when creating their travel policies is making the document  too challenging to understand . This means that the Policy is either too loosely and unprofessionally written or that it's too strict and bureaucratic.

Both of these extremes make understanding travel policies unlikely.

Give your policy structure and decide on a tone of voice you'd like to use throughout the document. Then, try to be as consistent as you possibly can. The tone can be serious and official, but it doesn't have to be robotic. If your employees need a lawyer to make heads or tails of your Policy, you haven't done a good job.

Another common mistake is  not using technology to your full advantage .  Tracking mileage , employee expenses, and  their location  and then aggregating that data can help you manage travel budgets accordingly. Without tech-based solutions, you'll have to record every receipt and every tiny detail of the employee's trip. It's time-consuming, ineffective, and annoying at best.

Read our article on the best GPS employee tracker apps and find out which solution is right for your business.

Get Your Free Company Travel Policy Template Now

Now that you've learned how to create an effective and comprehensive corporate travel policy, we'll provide you with more guidance on the matter:  a sample company travel policy for employees in a PDF format . You can download and print it or use it as a foundation for your internal document.

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Table of contents

What Is a Travel Policy For Employees?

Definition and purpose, objectives of an employee travel policy, reason why should organizations have a travel policy, compliance and cost control, employee satisfaction and retention, domestic travel policy, international travel policy, 1. cultural diversity and sensitivity, 2. cultural awareness training:, 3. client engagement:, 1. regional compliance:, 2. taxation:, 3. legal implications:, sample travel policy for employees.

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Crafting an Effective Travel Policy Template: The Complete Guide

• travel policy template free
• October 24, 2023

Travel policies are an integral part of any organization’s HR toolkit, and they play a important role in regulating and facilitating employee travel. But what exactly is a travel policy, and why is it so significant for modern businesses in the HRMS software industry?

A travel policy is a comprehensive set of guidelines, rules, and principles that govern how employees conduct and manage their business-related travel activities. It serves as a guiding framework that outlines the dos and don’ts, expectations, and procedures when employees are on the move for work purposes.

Note: You can download directly from here and edit as per your need.

A travel policy is a set of guidelines and rules governing employee travel and expenses incurred during business trips. Its primary purpose is to ensure that employees adhere to company standards while travelling for work, promoting cost control and compliance.

A well-structured travel policy aims to achieve several key objectives:

Cost Control: Managing travel expenses efficiently to minimize financial impact.

Compliance: Ensuring that employees adhere to company regulations and industry standards.

Employee Satisfaction: Creating a clear and fair travel framework contributes to employee satisfaction.

Risk Management: Mitigating potential risks associated with travel.

Company travel policy for employees are essential for organizations in the HRMS software industry, serving many purposes that benefit the company and its employees.

Implementing a travel policy ensures compliance with relevant regulations and standards. This is essential, particularly in a field where meticulous record-keeping and compliance are paramount. It also enables effective cost control, which is crucial in managing expense related to employee travel.

A well-structured HR policy, aligned with industry standards, ensures that your organization doesn’t face financial or legal penalties. Additionally, it reduces the risk of fraudulent expense claims, which can substantially impact your budget.

Employee satisfaction is directly tied to how well an organization handles its travel policies. A well organized travel policy, which aligns with employee needs and preferences, can significantly boost job satisfaction and ultimately lead to higher employee retention.

Employees are more likely to feel valued and appreciated when they see that their company has policies to support their travel needs. This can enhance their overall job satisfaction and reduce turnover rates.

Moreover, a travel policy clearly defining the reimbursement process and timeframes can contribute to employee satisfaction. Employees want to be assured that their out-of-pocket expenses will be reimbursed promptly and fairly.

Types of Employee Travel Policies

Depending on the nature of an organization and its global footprint, different types of travel policies may be needed.

Domestic travel policies are designed for employees who primarily undertake business trips within the country. Travel and expense policy addresses expenses and procedures relevant to domestic travel.

A well-structured domestic travel policy is crucial, especially for all companies with various clients and projects in the country. This policy should provide detailed guidelines on booking accommodations, transportation, and meal expenses for domestic trips.

Moreover, it should outline the approval process, expense reporting requirements, and reimbursement procedures for employees travelling within the country.

On the other hand, international travel policies are tailored to employees who travel internationally for work. They encompass broader considerations, including visas, foreign currency expenses, and international regulations.

An international travel policy is important for all IT companies with a global presence. It should cover visa requirements, cultural sensitivity training, travel insurance, and international tax implications. Additionally, the policy should provide guidance on handling emergencies abroad and obtaining consular services.

Furthermore, it should clearly outline the procedures for converting foreign currency, handling international expenses, and seeking reimbursement for expenses incurred during international trips.

Read more : Why Providing Employee Transport Services is Need of the Hour?

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Challenges in Implementing a Travel Policy in India

Implementing a travel policy in India can be particularly challenging due to cultural diversity and regulatory variations across different states. Companies operating in India must address these challenges effectively.

Cultural and Regulatory Diversity

India’s cultural diversity can impact employees’ perception of and follow the travel expense policy. Sensitivity to various cultures and customs is vital in maintaining employee satisfaction and adherence to the policy.

India is a melting pot of cultures, languages, traditions, and beliefs. With many diverse backgrounds and customs, it’s crucial to consider the cultural dimension of travel policy implementation.

To navigate the intricate web of cultural nuances, company travel policy must consider providing cultural awareness training to their employees. Understanding and respecting various cultural practices and etiquettes is essential, as it can significantly impact business relationships and overall success. This awareness enhances the travel experience and promotes a positive image of the company that respects and values cultural diversity.

HRMS software companies often engage with clients from various backgrounds. This makes cultural sensitivity even more vital. Employees should have the knowledge and skills to adapt to cultural expectations during client interactions, ultimately fostering better client relationships.

Regulatory Variations Across States

India’s federal structure gives rise to regulatory variations across different states, complicating travel policy implementation.

Companies operating in multiple Indian states need to be well-versed in the intricacies of regional regulations. Each state may have different rules concerning taxation, permits, and other aspects of travel, which should be incorporated into this policy to ensure compliance.

Tax laws can vary significantly between states, impacting expenses and reimbursements. A well-crafted business travel policy should address these variations and provide clear guidelines for employees.

Failure to adhere to regional regulations can lead to legal complications. As such, HRMS software companies should work closely with legal experts to ensure that their policy aligns with the specific requirements of each state they operate in.

In conclusion, an effective travel policy is a crucial tool for all organizations, helping them manage employee travel efficiently, maintain compliance, and enhance employee satisfaction. Companies can create policies that meet their specific needs and promote successful business travel by understanding the types of travel policies, addressing unique challenges, and utilizing sample templates.

With Superworks’ free travel policy template, organizations can streamline their operations, reduce costs, and ensure the satisfaction and retention of their valued employees.

Also, See: Data Retention Policy

Written By :

Alpesh Vaghasiya

The founder & CEO of Superworks, I'm on a mission to help small and medium-sized companies to grow to the next level of accomplishments. With a distinctive knowledge of authentic strategies and team-leading skills, my mission has always been to grow businesses digitally. The core mission of Superworks is Connecting people, Optimizing the process, Enhancing performance.

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Company Travel Policy

A company travel policy is designed to outline a business's travel arrangement procedures and guidelines, stipulating which travel expenses are paid for by the company and how to manage the reimbursement process. A company travel policy should include a purpose statement, scope, authorization and reimbursement section, and travel arrangement processes.

Creating a detailed company travel policy will help ensure all business trips run smoothly, are secured ahead of time, and adhere to all company requirements.

Company Travel Policy - Free Template

Download this company travel policy template in Microsoft Word format.

Company Travel Policy Template:

Introduction..

When employees travel for company-related purposes, it is [ company name's ] responsibility to provide safe and reliable travel arrangements. This company travel policy serves to clarify the conditions and parameters of a company-paid trip.

The purpose of this company travel policy is to (a) outline the authorization and reimbursement process for travel arrangements and expenses; (b) list the company-paid travel expenses; and (c) establish protocols that oversee the travel arrangement process.

This company travel policy applies to all employees under contract at [ company name ], including paid interns, contractors, as well as seasonal, part-time, and full-time employees. [ Company name ] sees traveling out of the city, state, and/or country as a fully paid business trip, as well as one-day trips that are [ number of hours ] hours away from the office.

Authorization and Reimbursements.

All company travel arrangements must be authorized by senior employees at least [ number of weeks/months ] before the expected travel date, depending on the circumstances and the required travel arrangement period. Employees are not permitted to authorize their own travel arrangements.

Employees are expected to submit a Travel Expense Report at least [ number of days/weeks ] after the first business day back at work. On the Travel Expense Report, employees must include all company-paid expenses and personal expenses. The finance department is responsible for examining the Travel Expense Report and finalizing reimbursement payments.

Travel Arrangement:

All travel arrangements must be reserved at least [ number of weeks ] weeks before the travel date. The finance department is responsible for the booking and payment of all transportation, accommodation, and travel-related expenses.

Travel Expenses.

[ Company name ] employees are entitled to a company-paid travel ticket for any means of transportation the employee(s) require, including a [ type of class ] return plane, boat, train, and/or coach ticket, [ number of meals ] meals, and [ number of luggage ] luggage.

While traveling, employees can use a company-paid taxi service from and to the airport, hotel, and business location. If an employee wishes to travel for personal reasons, they will be financially responsible for the travel fare.

Accommodation.

[ Company name ] employees are permitted to stay in a [ number of stars ][ type of accommodation ] while traveling for company purposes. The finance manager is responsible for securing the [ type of accommodation ] room and paying for an employee's stay.

Other Expenses.

[ Company employees ] will be reimbursed for [ number of meals ] lunch(s) and [ number of meals ] dinner(s) for a maximum of [ $/meal amount ] per meal. If an employee is hosting a client of [ company name ], the entire meal will be reimbursed.

In addition, if an employee requires a meeting, boardroom, or conference room while traveling, [ company name ] will book the room and make payment.

Personal Travel.

[ Company name ] will not be financially responsible for any personal expenses and travel arrangements. If an employee chooses to travel with a partner, [ company name ] is not responsible for their partner's accommodation, leisure, and/or travel expenses. An employee is required to submit this information on the Travel Expense Report and produce payslips for their expenses only.

International Travel.

If employees are required to travel out of the country for business, [ company name ] is financially responsible for all travel arrangements, including accommodation, transportation, visas, travel insurance, and medical expenses. International business trips must be authorized at least [ number of months ] before the expected travel date.

The finance department is required to submit a Travel Expense Report before and after the trip. Both reports must be signed off by at least two senior officials before and after the trip.

Company Credit Card Policy

What should be included in a travel policy?

• Introduction .
• Purpose statement .
• Authorization and reimbursements .
• Travel arrangement (both business-related and personal) .

What is corporate travel policy?

A corporate travel policy is a formal document that details the procedures and rules of business-related trips. The policy mainly focuses on the arrangements, expenses, and authorization processes.

How do you write a travel expense policy?

Use our free, customizable company travel policy template in Word format.

What is a travel and expense policy?

A travel and expense policy is an alternative name for a company travel policy, which outlines the travel arrangements and expenses required on a company-paid business trip.

Related Articles:

Employee handbook, expense reimbursement form, conflict of interest policy, code of ethics, professional code of conduct.

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The complete guide to writing a corporate travel policy.

Posted Jan 04, 2022

It's well documented that COVID-19 has had a lasting, if not permanent, impact on the way we live and work. The pandemic has reshaped the business travel industry and, to ensure staff safety and wellbeing, companies are required to adapt to an ever-changing situation. If your staff travel for business purposes of any kind, it is essential that you have a robust travel policy in place. This will help to keep your employees safe, protect your organisation and keep your costs in check.

Travel managers across the world have adapted their corporate policies to ensure that their colleagues can return safely to business meetings, conferences and events across the globe.

Are you looking to write or update your corporate travel policy? If so, you’ve come to the right place. Follow our top tips to ensure your company travel policy is clear for your employees and beneficial to your business.

What is a corporate travel policy?

A company travel policy is, in simple terms, a guide that details all the necessary parameters, information and procedures for both domestic and international travel.

A well-crafted travel policy will not only keep your employees safe, but also help to save your company money and safeguard your business against legal ramifications caused by negligence.

Your travel policy should be unique to your organisation, with your purpose of business and the size of your organisation being key factors that shape the document.

Why is a good travel policy important?

Writing a robust travel policy is about far more than just rules and restrictions. Having a policy that fits your company’s culture and supports your employee’s personal preferences can have a notable impact on the success of your business and the happiness of your employees.

Your travel policy needs to cover every part of your traveller's itinerary, as this reduces the likelihood of running into safety hazards, significant costs, and legal issues. Employee safety should be your travel policy’s primary goal. A well put together policy will put your employee’s safety at heart, providing all-important peace of mind to travellers that you care about their welfare.

A clear travel policy will positively impact your business by minimising any confusion and hassle with bookings, whilst providing your employees with the flexibility and autonomy to book their own travel.

How your travel policy can benefit your business

By managing business travel effectively through a successful travel policy, you can eliminate corporate travel confusion and bring a mass of benefits to you, your employees, and your organisation.

Here are just some of the benefits your workplace travel policy can bring:

Champion traveller confidence and safety

Streamline the process

Achieve firm control over your corporate travel spend

Boost employee satisfaction and support staff retention

Help with the recruiting of staff by positioning yourself as a responsible employer

Support employee work-life balance

Improve your image with clients, customers and suppliers

Combat risk of encountering legal issues

Improve time management and visibility

Enhance communication and engagement

Improve your corporate social responsibility

Discover what's working and what isn’t

Stay current with travel trends and technology

Top tips for creating a great corporate travel policy

There’s a lot to consider when creating an all-encompassing travel policy, so we’ve compiled our top tips to help you write a robust document for you and your employees:

1. Define your objectives

Before creating or updating your travel policy, it’s a good idea to set your policy priorities.

Some areas to consider include:

Is your goal to improve traveller safety?

Do you want to reduce travel costs?

Are you wanting to simplify the booking process?

How will it boost internal efficiencies?

Can your organisation reduce its environmental impact?

Are you seeking to increase compliance?

Would you like to boost employee freedom and flexibility?

Establishing your priorities will guide your policy. Compile and analyse your company’s business travel data before starting to identify any trends, areas that work well or issues from the past. A good analysis will lead to better decision making.

2. Think like a traveller

The key to writing an effective travel policy is to balance your business goals with your employee’s needs. Your employees should be at the heart of your travel policy; therefore, it’s a good idea to get their feedback on which areas they think work well or may need improvement. Outline what problems have arisen in the past and how these can be prevented in the future.

Consider the amount of freedom you wish to give your employees. Empowering your employees through offering flexible choices will increase employee satisfaction. Many employers now factor in ‘bleisure’ options, blending business and leisure travel into one trip by allowing them to add annual leave onto their stay for a better work-life balance.

After all, happy employees that feel safe, comfortable and valued will work more effectively.

3. Set clear guidelines

It’s a good idea to make your travel policy as detailed as possible, whilst still being clear and concise. Your employees are unlikely to read a document that is too text-heavy, so make sure it is easy to understand and locate information.

Incorporating the following will ensure an effective corporate travel policy:

Introduction

Your booking processes and approved travel booking tool/s

Expense reporting, allowances, and limits

Travel and mileage reimbursement processes

Duty of care policy

Preferred suppliers (hotels, managed taxi organisation, airline, etc)

Travel insurance details

Any special exception of rules (e.g. more expensive cities or routes)

The approval process for trips that exceed the allowable costs

Out of hours contacts

Travel debriefing process

Crisis management and emergency procedures — ensure your travellers know what to do and where to go if an incident occurs, no matter the time or their location

4. Make sure your travel policy is easily accessible and updated and communicated regularly

After laying the foundations, it's time to decide how to communicate and monitor your travel policy. Your policy should adapt and grow alongside your business. Therefore, it's important to keep an eye on the effectiveness and performance of your travel policy, revisiting it regularly so you can track your targets and improve accordingly.

It’s best practice to make your corporate travel policy available for your staff to access at any time. We recommend storing it on your organisation’s intranet or online booking tool. It’s also a good idea for travel managers to remind employees of the travel policy regularly via email, at minimum once every 6-12 months.

Don’t be afraid of over-communicating your policy as this is better than under communicating.

The impact of covid-19 on corporate travel

Covid-19 brought travel to a standstill. The new normal has meant that employers are having to factor in how the pandemic could still impact their day-to-day operations.

Here are some key considerations you might want to include in your post-pandemic corporate travel policy:

Follow the right advice — Your travel policy must be based on recommendations from official authorities such as WHO, OSHA and CDC. Make sure to include these websites in your policy for information on how, where and when to travel.

An analysis of which countries are lower or higher risk areas — Remember to communicate which locations require COVID-19 tests, vaccination certificates or mandatory quarantine upon arrival with your employees.

List the travel precautions needed — Stress the importance of your business travellers taking certain measures to protect themselves and others. This includes wearing a face covering, frequent washing of hands, using sanitiser and practicing social distancing.

Procedure in the event of COVID-19 infection — Be sure to include details on the steps your business travellers should take if they were to test positive whilst on a trip.

Restoring traveller confidence — The pandemic has catapulted employee safety to the forefront of every business’ operations. It’s important to understand your employee’s individual views on how safe they feel when on the road and ensure your policy takes everybody’s preferences into consideration.

Factor in changes and cancellations — With restrictions continually changing, ensuring any plans can be changed or cancelled is essential to avoid incurring significant costs.

Alternative transport options — Whether your corporate travel plans have switched from international to domestic, or your travellers used to favour car share over rail, you might need to revisit your policy’s transport options post pandemic.

Why it’s important for taxis to be included in your corporate travel policy

It is highly important to not overlook taxi travel when writing your travel policy. As one of the least regulated modes of transport, taxi travel is often left to be arranged by the employee, which means the employer has no way of locating their traveller should an incident occur.

Employers have a duty to know where their employees are at all times when travelling for business, therefore it is essential that someone in your organisation is aware of each employees chosen taxi provider and can track the employee and can obtain driver and vehicle details should you need.

We therefore recommend incorporating a managed taxi programme into your travel policy, to take back the control and ensure any risk or liability is mitigated.

A managed taxi programme , such as CMACs, can deliver a multitude of benefits to both your company and your travellers, including:

Ensures full visibility of when and where employees are travelling to

Allocates trusted and reliable taxi providers that have been vetted prior to onboarding

Driver and vehicle information is shared with the traveller before their trip

Simpler booking options mean you can take back control from your employees

Optimises expenditure - streamlines administration and allows complete control over travel costs

Enhances the safety of your employees

Travellers have peace of mind that each journey is recorded and supported through a 24/7/365 contact centre

CMACs managed taxi service takes the hassle of booking travel arrangements and provides total, end-to-end duty of care, making business travel much safer for all.

Final checks

Remember to keep your employee's needs, safety, and long-term job satisfaction at the forefront of your policy, whilst aligning your objectives with the culture of the company.

It is a good idea to get somebody outside of the business to have a read through and get their feedback on any areas of uncertainty before you communicate your policy with your employees.

Before you put it into action, considering the following will help you to address any loopholes:

Are you able to always pinpoint your employee’s exact whereabouts?

Does your travel policy tell your employees what to do if an issue / crisis arises when travelling for business?

Have you factored in your organisation’s emergency contact details?

Are you able to track and monitor spend? Have you included spend or travel limits?

Do you have any preferred suppliers?

Is your booking process clear?

Is your document easy to navigate, can your employees easily find what they’re looking for from the contents?

Are you able to cancel or amend your trips if you need to?

Have you included taxi travel in your corporate travel policy?

We hope this guide has provided you with a detailed understanding of what your travel policy should include. An equal balance of guidelines, mandatory policies and flexibility should build a winning travel policy for your organisation.

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Building a better travel and expense (T&E) policy: step by step 

A travel and expense policy (T&E) is a dynamic set of rules regulating how employees book travel. From setting budgets on flights and accommodations to standardizing the process for expense reports, your T&E should answer any (and all) questions about company travel, so you don’t have to. 

But whatever the scope of your policy, its main purpose is to control spending. Defining specific guidelines makes it much easier to predict how much individual travelers will spend – and determine if you need to get that number down.  

Plus, with a corporate travel expense policy in place, there’s no room for ambiguity. An expense is either authorized, or it’s not. Say bye-bye fraud. 

What happens without a T&E policy? 

Let’s just say, what can go wrong, will probably go wrong.  

At the end of the day, a travel and expenses policy aims to streamline business processes, save costs, and eliminate fraud. If these factors go unaddressed, you leave yourself vulnerable to:  

• Overspending due to hidden costs if expenses are not under constant supervision. 
• Expense reports arriving late or without essential information if employees are unaware or unsure of specific guidelines. 
• A rise in fraudulent expense claims in the form of duplicate, exaggerated, and misreported business expense claims. 
• Without guidelines, fraudulent behavior cannot be controlled or addressed, and, therefore, encouraged further. 
• Without a fixed way of recording and storing expense data, you’re left with no insights into spending trends and patterns.    

T&E is not one-size-fits-all 

No two companies are the same, so naturally, not every company’s travel and expense policy is going to look the same. For example, some companies will need to reimburse incidentals, but that won’t really apply for others. Some provide per diem allowances while others only reimburse actual expenses. You get the picture. 

The key to creating an effective and dynamic travel expense policy is to first figure out your organization’s specific needs from a control and spend perspective. And to figure out what you need, you’ll need to analyze your current expenses. Here’s some key factors to consider:  

• How much does an average business trip cost? 
• What percentage of your employee’s travel? 
• How often do they travel? To where? 
• What is your return-on-investment (ROI)? This can be easy or difficult to measure depending on the nature of the trips.  

(Pssst! All that data sound like a daunting task? Don’t worry – travel management software   can make this process so much easier. 

Defining the scope of your T&E policy 

Now that you know what you need, it’s time to set your guidelines.  

Keep in mind: T&E policies are meant to manage and regulate the process for submitting an expense report. As you create it, here are a few expense categories to keep in mind:   

1) Transportation 

Transportation expenses can include airfare, train or bus tickets, car rentals, and taxi or ride-sharing services. A comprehensive travel and expense policy should clearly state which modes of transportation are allowed and what limits are in place for each. 

For example, team members may be allowed to rent a car for up to a certain cost per-day or only use a ride-sharing service for trips under a certain distance. Are your employees flying first or business class? The policy should clearly state which class of flight bookings will be applicable for reimbursements.  

2) Lodging 

Accommodations are another important aspect of business travel. The policy should state the hotels or hotel chains your employees are allowed to stay and what the maximum per-night rate is – and be sure to consider the discounted rates your travel management company  can offer you. 

If hotels aren’t being booked through your travel booking software or dedicated travel consultant, make sure you drive travelers to your preferred booking solution. This way you can define capping amounts for hotel bookings and are not overpaying for hotels or other accommodations. 

3) Meals and Per Diems 

When defining a corporate travel expense policy, remember not to overlook meals and incidentals. The per diem – also known as a subsistence allowance – should cover these expenses, including meals, snacks, incidentals (such as laundry or tips), and even entertainment expenses. It should also provide guidance on what types of meals are covered and what limits are in place. 

For example, employees may be allowed to expense a certain amount for lunch and dinner, but not breakfast or alcoholic beverages. Most importantly, set clear boundaries not to mingle personal and business expenses. So even though your policy does cover a few drinks with clients during a sales pitch, team members shouldn’t use it as an excuse to turn up at happy hour on the company dime. 

4) Corporate credit card expenses 

These cards are typically issued to employees who frequently travel for business, allowing them to charge expenses directly to your company. Not every organization implements corporate credit cards for travel, but if you’re one of the companies that do, you’ll need to lay some ground rules.  

The expense policy should outline what types of expenses are allowed to be charged to the card (like airfare, hotel rooms, and meals), who can use one, and what limits are in place. Just as with per diems, discourage employees from using this card for non-business purposes by emphasizing the consequences for violating policy.   

Creating an effective T&E policy 

Every organization requires rules and regulations to perform its day-to-day operations smoothly. As such, you’ll need to think beyond the basics and deeply consider the current state of your travel expenses. 

A well-written and well-communicated travel and expense policy streamlines travel expense management for the company and simplifies the employee process. 

And trust us: you don’t want to get stuck scrambling for receipts when employees return from a training event or leave them in the dark while waiting for expense reimbursements (talk about a hit to employee morale). 

But the work doesn’t end after successfully writing your first draft. Like any operation, an efficient T&E policy is enforced and consistently refined.  

Communicate your policy to your employees. And if they try to claim excess reimbursement? Stand by your policy. Afterall, it’s there for a reason. 

If your policy says it won’t pay for extra luggage fees, don’t pay them. If it sets a maximum mileage rate, don’t pay above that. The easier you make it to comply, the more your employees will guide themselves. 

Phew – that was a lot. If the thought of building a business travel expense policy for your organization from scratch has you running for the nearest exit, don’t fret. Check out our travel policy  template  to guide the first draft of your policy.  

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How to write an effective corporate travel policy

Everything you need to do business travel right.

Writing an effective corporate travel policy

There’s a lot to consider when arranging business travel, so it makes sense to have a robust corporate travel policy in place. Setting out all the relevant procedures will help keep your employees safe while working to reduce your business’s travel spend. Some of the key steps to creating your ideal company travel policy include:

• Defining your objectives. These could include keeping costs down, ensuring employees are safe and comfortable and helping them make decisions on their travel.
• Ensuring your travel policy reflects travelers’ needs. Consider the most common destinations for your business travelers and the best way to get to them, are there specific needs or considerations related to your company’s activities?
• Giving your employees options. Everyone likes to have a choice, so try to give your employees a selection of hotels or airlines. You can keep costs down by capping the hotel star rating or class of airline ticket.
• Setting clear guidelines for all aspects of travel and more. Your travel policy needs to be all-encompassing so it leaves no room for doubt – that includes everything from airline booking rules to the policy on areas such as additional expenses and the acceptance of gifts.
• Making sure everyone knows what the travel policy is. All relevant documents need to be readily available to everyone within your company whether via the intranet or a travel platform. The policy needs to be clearly communicated to all, including line managers so they can enforce it.

Corporate travel policy best practices

When writing a corporate travel policy document, one size doesn’t fit all. You should start by thinking about the nature of your organization – is it pretty strict or relaxed? Make sure your travel policy follows the same tone.

Highlight how important it is that your employees read the document, not least for their own safety, and clarify what they need to do in an emergency situation, as well as who they’d need to contact.

Other information you should include is how business travelers should get to and from airports, and to what extent they’re permitted to combine their business travel with their own leisure.

Empower your employees by giving them a choice of hotels while capping the star rating or cost per room. Impress upon them the fact that complying with your travel policy will ensure the smooth and easy reimbursement of additional expenses. Finally, keep reviewing your corporate travel policy. Flexibility is key, and your travel policy and procedures should be open to the changing requirements of your employees and your business.

Remind your senior leaders that this is for them as well as business travelers –if everyone follows the policy it will help your company offer more effective support to its strategic partners, as well as allow better management of its expenses budget.

What to include in your corporate travel policy

There are many aspects of business travel to consider before writing your corporate travel policy. While your policy should reflect the unique needs of your business and employees, you’ll need to establish policies for these fundamental areas:

• Airline, rail, hotel and rental car reservations.
• The use of other transportation, such as taxi cabs.
• Rules for on-site spending, including meals, entertainment and phone calls.
• Security relating to travel – both in terms of personal safety and work materials.
• The rules around gifts and favors that may be bought or received during business travel.
• The approval process that employees and managers need to follow.
• The system for the payment of any expenses incurred during travel.

Laying out your travel expense policy

Establishing a clear and fair expenses policy is vital to the health of your business – poor management of travel expenses costs your business money. Here’s how we’d recommend your policy approaches a range of key expenses:

Additional travel State that travel costs will cover the purposes of business travel only – whether to events, meetings or training – and that non-business or leisure travel comes out of the employee’s pocket. You should also encourage business travelers to use the most cost-effective mode of transport, taking expected journey time into account. Accommodation Empower your business travelers by giving them control over their own spending – capping their budgets by hotel star rating or amount per room. You could provide average room rates in each location, and ask them to stay within that range. Specify that standard rooms should be the required room type, and clearly outline whether your business will cover minibar charges, Wi-Fi costs, etc. Meals Depending on your company culture, you can be as explicit as you like with your meal policy. Many companies find it easier to offer a daily allowance that covers breakfast, lunch and dinner, but your policy should include a statement about alcoholic beverages – usually to clarify that they will be at the employee’s cost, unless they’re with a client. Tips Many corporate travel policies cover tips to 20 percent, but only when it’s already been included in the bill as a service charge. If a business traveler decides to add a tip for anything else it should be out of their own pocket, or at a manager’s discretion. Entertainment Entertainment can cover eating, drinking or any other hospitality. The most effective way to manage entertainment expenses is by setting a limit or range, and advising that managerial approval will be required for any reimbursement above and beyond this amount.

How to forecast your budget

Using data on traveler behavior and previous expenses is key to setting intelligent forecasts for your annual expenses budget. Different employees will travel in different ways, to different locations, and at different frequencies. However, having data on the average flight cost per mile, as well as the nightly hotel, average meal and ground transportation costs, will mean you can accurately predict and anticipate your expenses budget for the year ahead.

Setting expense limits

For the most part, business travelers want to do what’s right for their company – and many companies find that giving employees control over their own spend can actually reduce overspending. Find a happy middle ground by giving employees control while setting key limits.

For example, meal expenses can be set as an overall allowance per day, giving the employee the choice of how much to spend individually on breakfast, lunch and dinner.

When it comes to booking accommodation, give employees the choice of a standard room in any hotel of a certain star rating or a maximum price per night.

For ground transportation, a corporate travel policy should clearly advise employees to choose the most cost-effective method considering the journey time. Most business travelers will accept being restricted to flying economy on short-haul trips.

Handling expense claims

It’s important that business travelers have a clearly defined method of claiming back their expenses. Ask them to fill out an expense report for the date, amount, category, location and business purpose of their claim – and decide whether you’d like them to file receipts for all their expenses, or just ones that exceed a certain amount.

Give your employees a time frame for submitting expenses – this will help your business maintain a stable and accurate cash flow. Similarly, let them know when they can expect money to be credited back into their accounts. Depending on the amount spent, it might be a good idea to clarify who will approve their expenses in each case.

Setting up your guidelines and procedures

There is no one, uniform corporate travel policy. If your policy doesn’t fit with the nature of your organization, it’s unlikely to ever meet the expectations of your stakeholders. Fundamentally, your travel policy and procedures must be adapted to your business’s culture, and be flexible around the needs of your employees, industry and economy. They also need to be widely circulated and understood.

Your guidelines and procedures will help your business travelers make decisions within the framework of your corporate travel policy. They should include procedures for all bookings – after all, it’s important that employees are clear on what is expected of them at every point of their business trip.

It might also be necessary to include a section about the consequences of not following the set guidelines and procedures.

Considering safety and security procedures

The safety, security and well-being of employees must be at the heart of every corporate travel policy. While they’re engaged in business travel, your employees are your responsibility, so it’s crucial your policy has procedures in place that can ably respond to personal risk, severe weather or political unrest in a foreign country.

Highlight how important it is that your employees read your corporate travel policy document for their own safety, and clarify what they need to do in an emergency situation and who to contact. If your employees are regularly flying out to high-risk countries, organize additional travel safety and security training. We work closely with International SOS to offer enhanced medical and security assistance, and keep your employees safe on the road.

Take a look at how else we’ll support your employees at every stage of their journey.

Delivering the travel policy to employees

Once you’ve written your corporate travel policy, you need to make sure your employees read and understand it. Whether you choose to deliver the policy in a printed document, via intranet or in an email, there are some general ways to make sure it’s communicated as effectively as possible.

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Company travel policy guidelines and topics to include

If you’re wondering what to include in your company travel policy, don’t worry, we’ve laid it out for you here. There’s a number of travel-related expenses to consider as well as policies and procedures needed to make the travel and expense process seamless for the employer and employee. Read on to learn about employee travel management best practices and how to create a comprehensive travel policy.

Why do you need a company travel policy?

In some industries, business travel accounts for a large portion of business’ expenses and employee time.

Even if you don’t think you’ll need a travel policy because your staff does not travel frequently, consider things like annual industry conferences, company meetings or events, and training or collaboration with other offices or worksites. This policy may only be used once a year for some companies, but if you don’t at least have the procedures clearly recorded it can create a huge amount of hassle and confusion.

Having clear policies in place simplifies the process for both parties. Employees understand how to go about booking travel and submitting for reimbursement of travel expenses. Employers can ensure that travel arrangements are made in a cost-effective manner and that proper expense reporting occurs.

Having set guidelines for travel also makes the travel management process transparent and fair to all staff. Employees should all receive the same travel budget, aside from adjustments made due to differences in location costs or business needs. Without clear guidelines, one employee may be booking first class seats and five star hotels while another books economy and low budget accommodations. It’s best for your company culture to provide equitable travel experiences across the board where possible.

Travel approval

Define your policy and approval process for business travel authorization.

How far in advance should employees request approval for business travel? In some industries and job roles, advance notice may be limited. However, in many cases business travel can be planned out several weeks or a month in advance. Planning ahead will usually allow for the company or employee to book air travel and accommodations at lower rates.

Also be sure to include who travel requests should be submitted to and what needs to be included. Some employers ask for expense estimates prior to authorizing a trip.

Depending on your industry, you may want a separate policy for conference attendance authorization and trip planning. Trips for trade shows, trainings, and conferences can be planned further in advance, but you’ll want to ensure that attendance will be worthwhile. Some businesses have a set budget or allowance for employees to travel to attend industry conferences or training.

Travel booking

Clarify your company’s travel management style and booking process. Are employees allowed to book their own travel or is there an administrator in charge of all travel bookings?

If travel is something that members of your organization will be doing frequently, it’s usually easiest to allow employees to book their own rooms, flights, and rental cars. However, it’s a good idea to put some guidelines in place on costs, upgrades, and expense reimbursement procedures.

Large employers with frequent business travel sometimes use a travel booking tool to help employees book travel in one central place and within the constraints of the company’s travel policy. These tools can be helpful, but if you don’t have one yet it’s not a problem – not every company will need a booking tool. Sites like Expedia or Priceline work just fine for the average travel booker.

Lastly, some employees do prefer to book travel for their employees. Often an administrative staff member will help with booking or department heads can book for their department. This gives the employer more control over managing travel expenses and ensuring that travel policies are followed. However, it is generally preferable to give employees some input as it tends to improve their experience and morale. If an employee has a particular preference on airline, flight times, or hotel it’s a good idea to accommodate those preferences if they don’t add too much to the cost or interfere with planned business activities.

Meal reimbursements or per diems

Employees need to eat while they’re traveling, and it is customary for employers to cover those costs within reason.

You have three solid options to choose from in terms of employee travel meal expenses.

Offer a Per Diem

A per diem is a fixed daily amount that employees are reimbursed for food or incidental expenses during their business trip. Lodging is also sometimes handled with per diems. Sometimes per diems are paid prior to the trip so that staff do not need to pay out of pocket and wait for reimbursement for expenses. This method is used by the federal government but also some private employers. It can make the expense process simpler as individual receipts don’t need to be saved and submitted and the company can accurately estimate the cost of a proposed business trip. Businesses should still have employees fill out a general expense report with the dates, business purpose of the expense, and amount for tax purposes (per diems are not taxed as long as they are properly accounted for and used for business purposes). It varies by individual company policy whether employees can keep or be reimbursed for per diems that they did not fully spend while on the trip.

Reimburse meal expenses

The classic option is to allow employees to buy their own food while traveling and submit their receipts upon return for reimbursement. Employers often set spending limits and many do not allow alcohol purchased with meals to qualify for reimbursement.

Provide a company credit card

A company credit card allows employees to avoid having to pay up front and wait for reimbursement. This is a good idea for employees that travel frequently and do not wish to constantly have personal funds tied up in hotel room deposits and reimbursable meal expenses. If your staff will be entertaining others on trips such as clientele or prospects, a company card is a must. It’s reasonable to have employees buy their own meals, but asking them to regularly buy clients dinner on their personal cards is a bit excessive. However, you should definitely have a company credit card policy in place prior to providing a card.

Employees should sign an agreement taking responsibility for reporting a lost or stolen card or suspicious charges immediately. They should also agree that the card is for business use only and to reimburse the company for any personal expenses placed on the card in error.

Many of us do not enjoy flying, but it is a large component of most business trips. Be sure to lay out any policies or restrictions on airfare or flight options.

Can employees book seats in business class? Most companies steer their staff towards economy class plane tickets, but be sure to list any applicable exceptions. For instance, at off-peak travel times, business class may occasionally be cheaper or the same price as economy class once things like in-flight wi-fi and baggage fees are factored in. Some companies also allow employees to book premium seats for unusually long flights such as international travel.

You can also include whether employees can use things like frequent flyer miles or other rewards accumulated through business travel for personal use. Ultimately it is the employee doing the travel even if the employer is footing the bill, and air travel can be grueling, so it’s generally worth providing this small benefit to employees rather than accumulating rewards for the business.

Hotels and accomodations

If business trips are a frequent occurrence at your organization, you may want to partner with a specific hotel chain or vendor. Often you can negotiate a discounted room rate if you book with the hotel for enough nights per year. This can cut down on accommodation costs and makes the hotel booking process simpler. Inform employees to check for rooms at the partnered hotel chain for each of their business travel destinations. This also adds consistency, as all employees receive approximately the same room quality and experience.

Generally employees are directed to book a standard room, meaning no suites or upgrades. This cuts down costs and makes it fairer for everyone. Of course, accessible rooms (sometimes marked as ADA rooms) may be selected for disabled employees needing them. These are offered by most hotels and shouldn’t cost extra to book.

You may also specify whether extra charges will be reimbursed or considered personal expenses. Are employees allowed to raid the mini-bar or order a pay per view movie on the hotel television? If there is an entertainment budget or meal/incidental per diem offered these charges may fall under those categories. Wi-fi and hotel parking are generally considered reimbursable expenses.

Transportation expenses

Most business travelers will require a rental car. Employees should choose an economy option unless they need an upgraded rental card to transport large materials or drive clients. In some circumstances, other transportation methods may be used and expenses should be tracked by the employee. For example, it may be more cost effective for an employee visiting New York City to use taxis, rideshare, or the subway to get around as parking in the city may be excessively expensive and impractical.

Many businesses also reimburse public transportation or ride share costs to and from the airport.

Travel insurance

Specify whether or not employees should buy travel insurance. Some companies outright prohibit staff from opting in to extra insurance on flights and travel costs. However, if there is a possibility of trip cancellation, the insurance could come in handy. If the trip is to meet a client or prospective client, consider the client’s industry and prior track record to determine the likelihood that they need to reschedule.

Also check whether staff should pay extra to participate in rental car insurance programs. Your company’s auto insurance policy may cover employees traveling on business. Their personal coverage may also cover them while using a rental car.

Entertainment and other expenses

If employees will be entertaining clients on these trips, specify the budget and what is allowed to be expensed. This may be a scenario where expensing alcohol is allowed, even if it is not generally expensable under your meal policy.

Personal entertainment expenses such as site-seeing or going to bars/events alone after work are generally not reimbursable. Sometimes dry cleaning and personal expenses necessary for professional appearance at important meetings or conferences are reimbursable. Your company can decide what personal expenses, if any, will be eligible for reimbursement.

Also be clear on how personal travel will be handled. Occasionally, employees may request to stay in a business trip location over the weekend to explore the city. This is generally reasonable as long as additional hotel nights or rental car days are paid for by the employee and the change in return dates does not lead to a large increase in airfare costs. Set clear expectations and understandings with the employee prior to approving a trip extension for personal travel.

Expense reimbursement procedure

We’ve talked about the expenses covered for business travel, now it’s time to craft your most important travel policy and let employees know how to submit their expense reports from their business trips.

Give employees a deadline. If expenses are not submitted promptly, the likelihood of a receipt being lost or an expense being forgotten increases. A one week deadline is reasonable. Use your expense reimbursement cycle to guide this policy. Some businesses process expenses monthly and only request monthly reports while others process them weekly or biweekly.

If employees will be traveling and expensing frequently, consider using an expense management app such as Expensify to allow them to upload receipts and expenses as they go from their mobile devices. This can help everyone stay organized and streamline the reimbursement process. A mobile app system is especially useful if you are providing a company card, as employees may be less motivated to submit expenses or save receipts when they are not seeking personal reimbursement.

Let them know the procedures for submitting and receiving reimbursement. Do expense reports go to their department head, human resources, or accounting? What is the submission and payout schedule? Some employers provide reimbursement on employee’s regularly scheduled paychecks while others use a separate system for expenses. Employees want to know when they can expect to receive these funds, so be detailed in order to avoid any questions or confusion. If there’s no set schedule, or you are giving employees a deadline from the date of their return, let employees know what the turn around time will be for processing reimbursements.

Employee conduct

It should go without saying that professional conduct is expected on business trips, but it never hurts to reiterate your company’s policies and expectations.

Remind employees to follow your company’s Code of Conduct and applicable policies while traveling, including vehicle safety policies if driving on the trip. Alcohol consumption policies may be relaxed for business dinners or networking events, but most company policies should still apply while traveling. Employees are representing the company on these trips and should take that responsibility seriously.

Additional resource: Updating your handbooks and company policies? Check our guide to employee handbooks .

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Travel Policy Nonexempt Employees

The purpose of this policy is to outline pay rules that apply to nonexempt employees when traveling on company business.

Employees in positions classified as nonexempt (overtime eligible) under the Fair Labor Standards Act may be eligible for compensation for the time they spend traveling. The compensation an employee receives depends on the kind of travel and whether the travel time takes place within normal work hours.

"Normal work hours," for the purposes of this policy, are defined as an employee's regularly scheduled work hours (e.g., 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.). This definition applies to normal workdays (Monday through Friday) and to weekends (Saturday and Sunday). Employees with variable work hours will have their normal work hours defined by human resources prior to travel, based on a review of time records over the previous month.

  "Travel time" is defined according to the type of travel involved:

Travel for a one-day assignment in another city : An employee who regularly works at a fixed location and is given a special one-day assignment in another city and returns home the same day will be paid for the time spent traveling to and from the other city, except for the time the employee would normally spend commuting to and from the regular worksite.

Travel during the workday : Time spent by an employee traveling as part of his or her regular job duties, such as travel from jobsite to jobsite during the workday, is work time and will be paid as such.

Travel away from home : Travel that keeps an employee away from home overnight is travel away from home. Travel time that takes place within normal work hours, regardless of the day of the week, is treated as work hours. When an employee travels between time zones, the time zone associated with the point of departure should be used to determine whether the travel falls within normal work hours. Time spent traveling from home to an airport terminal or train station is considered commute time and is not treated as hours worked. Time spent waiting at a terminal until arrival at the destination is compensable when it falls during normal work hours.

Travel time as the driver of an automobile : All authorized travel time spent driving an automobile (as the driver, not as a passenger) is treated as work hours, regardless of whether the travel takes place within normal work hours or outside normal work hours.

If an employee requests a specific travel itinerary or mode of transportation that is different from the one authorized by the company, only the estimated travel time associated with the itinerary and mode of transportation that has been authorized will be eligible for compensation. For example, if an employee drives a car as a matter of personal preference when an authorized flight or other travel mode is available, and the travel time by car would exceed that of the authorized mode, only the estimated travel time associated with the authorized mode will be compensated.

Travel time as a  passenger  in an automobile is not automatically treated as work hours. Travel as a passenger in an automobile is treated the same as all other forms of travel.

Calculating and Reporting Travel Time

Employees are responsible for accurately tracking, calculating and reporting travel time on their time sheets in accordance with this policy.

Meal periods should be deducted from all travel time.

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Travel Policy for employees  

The following reasons explain the need of a Travel Policy for employees and these various reason to make this important to have travel policy in place for a company.

Sample Travel policy gives standardised rules and regulations which are to be followed while on travel.

It saves time of employees as with business Travel Policy in place processes and procedures are clearly mentioned so an employee’s time is not wasted in making arrangements.

Corporate Travel Policy

Corporate Travel Policy results in better analysis with the inputs received from employees review. Better analysis results in better decision making.

Travel policy helps in cost management.

Travel expense policy helps to keep an eye on the overall travel expense.

It determines do’s and don’ts of conduct/behaviour while travelling.

Travel policy for employees includes

Travel Guidelines for employees to be followed while travelling.

Complete travel policy format

Details of company travel policy & procedure

Details of boarding and lodging as per HR travel policy

Details of the process to be followed for travel arrangements and related aspects as per travel policy template

Arrangements for local conveyance in the city ,travel to be done

Entitlements details as per different levels.

Different categories of cities and how entitlement differs in these cities.

Per Diem details

Travel insurance while on international travel

Safety & security of employees

Corporate travel policy best practice

Disclaimer: The content prepared has been created with greatest care. These policies have been prepared for sample. However, for accuracy and completeness.

HRhelpboard.com cannot guarantee. The user is therefore requested to professionally check or to have professionally checked the suitability of all content for its use

               *******

Phase  1.

3. General guidelines to be followed in policy

4. The Company approved travel agency.

5. Travelling by air

a. Guidelines

b. Class to be chosen

c. Customized Air Ticket

d. Flight Insurance

e. Cancellation of travelling

f. Loss of airline ticket

g. Transportation from Home to airport

6. Road transportation

a. Car on rent

c. Use of personal cars

d. Sharing of Ride

7. Rail  transportation

Phase  3

a. Entitlement  for International travel

b. Classification of countries

c. Domestic travel entitlements

d. Per diem entitlements for international travel

e. Classification of cities as per domestic travel

f. Per diem entitlements for domestic travel

9. Meal expenses

10. Entertainment  Expenses

11. Process for expense reporting

b. Expense payment

c. Miscellaneous  expense

d. Medical emergency

e. Laundry charges

f. Spouse/ guests/ personal travel combined with business

1. Purpose: The Purpose of travel policy is to ensure that the travel expense of the company is controlled by establishing certain standards. Employees must control business travel expense by making the sound judgment with respect to use of company funds. Travel is an important aspect for carrying out the business, it is expected from employees that they will follow the "travel guidelines for employees “while travelling and would provide documentation in support of the same. It is also meant to reimburse the amount spent by an employee when on international or domestic travel.

2. Scope: The policy includes all the regular employees of the company. Non-adherence with policy while on business travel for company's business include stringent disciplinary action which may even lead to termination . 

3. General guidelines to be followed  in the policy 

1. A travel request must be approved before proceeding on any international or domestic travel. 

2. Any international or domestic travel request must be raised and followed as per the company travel policy and procedure.

3. If there is any change in the travel ( domestic or international) due to any reason and it is more costly then the approval that has already been taken, a fresh travel request need to be raised in this case.

4. The details on all exceptions with respect to the policy must be explained on the travel request form in case there is an exception and it needs to be approved by  HOD and director.

5. All employees are expected to travel to the countries which are allowed as per the company's guidelines. No exception in this regard will be entertained.

6. Any employee who requires travelling for the business purpose must get the approval in advance by the department head/ director. 

7. An email need to be sent to the finance department along with approval mail to get the travel advance.

8. Most economical mode of travel would be reimbursed.

9. All the tickets for any kind of travel international or domestic must be approved by the travel help desk.

10. Food expenses are allowed only as per the limit of entitlements.

11. No expense will be reimbursed for alcoholic beverages or cigarette etc.

12. In the case of business travel wherein food expenses are taken care of the client in such case only incidental expenses can be claimed.

13. In case an employee gets ill while on business travel the expenses occurred while taking the treatment will be reimbursed on actual bill and doctor’s prescription. However, if the illness is for more than 3 days special approval needs to be taken from director / HOD.

14. The expense report with travel request submitted to the finance department must consist of original boarding pass and travel -tickets, along with complete tour report maintained date wise. Any deviation from the tour programme shall be approved by the business head/director as applicable.

15. In case an employee wants to combine business stay with personal vacations, it must be duly approved by the director/HOD. It should be noted that no reimbursement would happen for any personal expense.

4. The Company  approved travel agency

All travel arrangements must be made through the travel agency which is approved by the organisation. Any arrangements if made by some other travel agency need to have approval from director/HOD. In case the travelling services are not provided by the organisation approved agency, in that case, any local agency can be contacted as per the Corporate travel policy .

5. Travelling by Air: 

A . Employees are expected to take the lowest airfare while travelling. By considering the lowest airfare common sense need to be applied as the expense must not exceed the amount mentioned in Travel Policy. The undermentioned guidelines to be followed while travelling by air for the company's business purpose. 

1. There should not be more than 1 stoppage in case of domestic travel and the stoppage must not exceed more than 2 times in the case of international travel.

2. It must not increase the travelling time for more than 2 hours in case of domestic travel and more than 4 hours when it comes to international travel.

3. It is advised to book only through the company approved travel agency as it provides savings in both domestic and international travel. Also, the benefit both for the company and employee lies with the fact that it will book a ticket with the lowest logical fare available with the air carrier.

4. As per the Company travel policy any exception need to have approval from the director and above.

5. Any kind of additional fee which is occurring due to any reason like seat up gradation etc. will not be reimbursed.

B. Class to be Chosen

1. While on air travel, organisation employees are expected to fly in the economy class which comes under the category of economical fare. Business class is allowed only for director level and above.

2. All policy exception must be noted on the travel request form and must be approved in advance by the director and above level.

3. Baggage fee will be reimbursed.

4. In case any rebooking is done, it must be reimbursed in case of emergency only.

C. Customized  Air tickets

Following the Travel expense policy customization of the air ticket is not allowed. It can't be upgraded or downgraded and any expense occurred in case of up gradation will not be reimbursed by the company. On similar ground downgrading of air ticket is also not allowed. However, the air carrier itself downgrades the ticket for any reason the refund must be made to the organisation. For the employees who travel often the points accrued due to frequent flying by the employee can be used for personal purpose.

D. Flight Insurance

The business travel policy makes it clear that while purchasing the ticket from the company authorised agency, the employee is covered under the business travel accident insurance. In case an employee purchases some other insurance coverage it will not be reimbursed by the company.

E. Cancellation of Travelling:

In case of any cancellation done to the already planned business trip, the employee must inform the travel help desk who in turn will check from the agency as soon as possible. The ticket can be refunded if it is possible; the same need to be checked by the travel agency with the air carrier.

F. Loss of airline ticket:

If the paper air ticket has been issued but it is lost due to any unforeseen reasons in such case the travel agency must be contacted immediately so that they can check from the air carrier as well. Best practices in corporate air travel must be followed.

G. Transportation from home to airport

The most economical means of transportation must be chosen while commuting from home to the airport and vice versa.

6. Road  Transportation

A . Car on Rent: Like air travel, most effective and economical means must be chosen in case of ground transportation also. The various means of ground transportation means the use of alternative transportation before deciding on car rental.  Like travel agency, the organisation also has a tie-up with the most usable car rental company. 

B. The car on rent must be taken from the company booked vendor. In case vendor car is not available, the most economical vendor should be chosen. 

C. Any reservation to have a car on rent must be chosen from the travel agency approved by the organisation. 

D. The employee must ensure that proper and economical rate is charged at the time of rental.

E. The Car can be rented when there are no other means of transportation available, It is either more costly or impractical.

F. The employee is required to refill a car before returning it to the rental company.

1. In case of travelling to an international location as per the International travel policy for employees,  the expense for taxi must not be more than the cost of a car rental.

2. Use of taxi shall be done only in case no other means of transport is available. Generally, the use of a taxi is not encouraged as other services which are more economical are available. In most of the cases, public transport must be used.

C.Use of personal cars :

The employee can use the personal cars for business travel in case it is more economical than other means of transportation. The amount spent by the employee can be reimbursed on actual. However, before the start of travel, approval needs to be taken from HOD and immediate reporting manager.

D.Sharing of Ride

If 2 employees are travelling to the same location, they are advised to share the ride.  

7. Rail Transportation

Rail transportation can be available by the employee in case travel distance is less than 12 hours.

The rail travel fare is reimbursed as per the entitlement. However, like air class, Rail transportation must be done in the most economical way.

9. Meals Expenses :

1. The company policy states that expenditure occurred on meals ( breakfast, lunch or dinner) will be reimbursed while the employee is on business travel. This is defined under "Company travel policy and procedure".

2. Every 24 hours from the scheduled departure will be counted as a day.

3. In case food bills are claimed for any client or on entertainment per diem allowance will be reduced.

4. Meal expenses are reimbursable whenever the company business travel demand stays for overnight.

5. When the business travel is for 1 day, Meal expenses are reimbursable under the following conditions:

Breakfast : If the employee is required to leave home 3 hours early than the normal time.

 Dinner: If an employee cant return home within 3 hours or more after normal           working  hours.

10. Expenses  held on entertainment :

The company by solving the “ Purpose of travel policy “

However, it should be noted that only those reimbursement are allowed which is contributing towards the business purpose.

11. Process for Expense reporting:

A. guidelines followed as mentioned under “travel policy for employees”..

• All expenses report must be raised through a web-based expense system.
• All reports must be submitted within 15 days of return from a business trip.
• If reports are delayed for more than 15 days, it will be considered late.
• In case the business travel is for more than a month's time expense report must be submitted on a weekly basis through a web-based system.
• The expense report must have the following items:
• Travel request form.
• Actual expense bill related to the meal, transportation etc.
• If possible, the employee must try to submit expense bill on miscellaneous articles also.
• Any exception made to the employee must be attached to the expense report.
• Expense  Payment
• All the expense payment is made by the finance department.
• The expense report along with the bill is submitted to the finance department who in turn validate the bills and makes the payment to employee account.
• In case of international travel, employees are issued with the credit card./li>
• The application form for issuance of credit card can be obtained from the web portal.
• The credit card must be used only for the business purpose, in case it is used for the personal expense it must be indicated clearly in the expense report and payment must be made directly to the company.
• Miscellaneous  Expenses
• The company will reimburse calls made for business purpose while travelling. The calls made for the business purpose must be marked clearly in the expense report.
• The company also encourages the employee to be in touch with the family to maintain communication. So, it will reimburse reasonable personal calls made by the employee. However, before the start of business travel, the employee must submit a declaration with contact details which he/she will be calling while travelling.

      D . Medical Emergency

In case of any medical emergency while travelling for business purpose the organisation insurance carrier will provide referral and support service. The details on the same can be obtained from the travel desk.

      E . Laundary charges

The company will reimburse necessary laundary charges if stay in the location is for business purpose and is more than 7 days.

      F . Spouse/Guest/personal travel combined with business:

Any kind of travel expenses occurring for guest or family member will not be reimbursable.

Spouse/ guests can share the accommodation till the time there is no additional cost to the company.

Revision of the policy

• The company reserves the right to revise, modify any or all clauses of this policy depending upon the demand of business.

 Explanation of the policy 

• Corporate HR department will be the sole authority to interpret the content of this policy.                                

Template Sample - 2

Objective :   The objective of the Company travel policy is to lay down guidelines which are to be followed by an employee on domestic or international travel for official work and also to ensure that the travel of employees is effectively managed.

Purpose :  The purpose of travel policy is to make guidelines for travel related to business and to provide protection against any kind of misrepresentation and to ensure all reimbursement for the expense done on travel

Eligibility :   This policy applies to all the regular employees of the company and management trainees

Classification of Cities as per Domestic Travel Policy

​classification of countries as per international travel policy for employees, ​company travel policy and procedure.

As per the procedure followed in company travel policy, all business travel must be approved by immediate reporting manager and HOD as per the domestic travel policy. Also as per the HR travel policy any international travel made by employee must also be informed to Human Resource Department and an approval is must to be taken from immediate reporting manager, HOD and HR. All expenses in case of domestic and international travel are made as per the eligibility of expense made under travel expense policy.

NO CLAIM OVER AND ABOVE THE ELIGIBILTY CRITERIA 

Guidelines for travel policy for employees in india and international travel policy for employees.

All Travel request must be raised by an employee on HRMS tool. Request must be made 30 days prior to the start of travel. This  travel guidelines for employees is mandatory to be followed.

All guest house /Hotel facility will be made available by travel desk as per the entitlements mentioned in the Company Travel Policy.

As per travel policy Hotel /Company guest house arrangement will be done by travel desk once travel request has been raised and approved on HRMS tool depending upon the eligibility criterion. In case on urgent travel when bookings have not been made by travel desk an employee can book a hotel as per eligibility criterion and can later on claim the amount on actuals.

Airport pick and drop can be made by radio taxi/local conveyance depending upon the availability and the same can be reimbursed on submission of actual as per company travel policy & procedure.

The number of days will be counted from the time of departure till the time of arrival as  per business travel policy.

Any extension of stay due to personal reason will not be counted as official travel and no reimbursement for personal stay will be made.

All Claims must be raised on HRMS tool. Filling of Travel expense report is must even in case all expenses were made by company directly as per travel policy format.

As per Travel Policy All travel request must be duly approved by the approving authority. An automatic notification will reach employee and travel desk after approval. Once approved travel desk can make necessary arrangement after coordinating with employee.

All travel expense must be settled within 15 days of return from the tour. In case of delay from employee end/travel desk an escalation email will be sent to immediate reporting manager and HOD as per Travel expense policy.

Travel   advance, if any, to be paid to employee will be credited to employee account.

Any Travel expense not been used by employee on travel, such amount shall be returned to accounts department with a confirmation mail.

All reimbursement bills must be supported by original bills / receipts etc.

In case an employee is accompanying seniors from level above their own level on domestic travel arrangement in such case bookings will be done as per eligibility criterion only.

Employee cannot avail higher class facility then their own entitlements.

Any arrangement made over and above the eligibility criterion the same will be deducted from employee salary.

In case 2 or more employees travelling to the same destination up to level 2 & 3, twin sharing arrangement will be made. However separate arrangement will be made for level 1

Team entertainment expense will not be counted as part of travel expense claim.

In case employee is suppose to take client for dinner/Lunch, amount will be reimbursed on actual. However email approval to be taken from immediate reporting manager before any such event.

Cancellation of travel shall be duly informed to travel desk at least 2 days before the travelling date and must have a valid reason.

In case flight/ train missed by employee without any valid reason, the amount will be recovered from employee salary.

Leave can be allowed to an employee on tour on a case-to-case basis by the HOD. No other charges will be admissible for such period of leave.

If any company assets are lost while on tour the same should be informed to the concerned authority immediately. In case no action taken company reserves the right to recover the amount of lost assets from employee salary.

Food claim exclude Alcohol and tobacco.

In case an employee is using own vehicle /company leased car vehicle to an outstation city in such case reimbursement can be made at the rate of Rs. 9/KM . This clause is not applicable from office to home or vice versa.

For local travel in outstation city an employee can avail local transport/Taxi depending upon eligibility and availability of transport. This amount can be reimbursed on submission of actual.

Travel expense report in case found fake, serious disciplinary action will be taken against the employee. Such an act can lead to termination also.

All Air travel should be by economy class.

All arrangement for international travel shall be made by travel desk/admin. Department

International travel for an employee must be approved by immediate reporting manager, HOD, HR and director.

It is as per the corporate travel policy while on international travel it is the employee’s responsibility to control travel and meal expense.

In case arrangement for employee is made in company guest house in the country of travelling expenses for meals, refreshment and other expenses will be given as 20% of entitlement as mentioned in the corporate travel policy.

All payments while on international travel can be made by credit card, the amount can be reimbursed on submission of  actual. The points however earned by use of credit card can be used by an employee on personal use.

All claims which are made by foreign exchange / foreign currency can be settled with accounts department on submission of actual, upon return from travel. However all  foreign exchange must be drawn from an authorised agent. It is as per business travel policy.

Most economical preferably local transport must be availed for ground transportation.

In case employee is making own stay in such case an allowance is paid for $125 in lieu of hotel expense.

Travel Entitlements as per Travel policy for Employees in India

Travel Entitlements as per Travel expense Policy for International travel policy for employees

Per diem entitlement for international traveler.

I nsurance coverage :   Insurance coverage is provided by the company to its international traveler. The insurance cover is provided by the company

​Items which are not covered under Travel Expense Policy

The non reimbursable expenses which are not covered under the Corporate Travel Policy are as follows:

• Family Care items.
• Dry cleaning.
• Expenses for personal entertainment.
• Any change of airline class or change from economy to business class.

​Local conveyance expense and working on a holiday

Employees are encouraged to use public transportation wherever possible or the most economical means of transport. In case of emergency if an employee has to use some other means of transport in such case approval is required from immediate reporting manager & HOD.

Also if an employee has to work on holiday or weekend as per the need of hour while travelling to some international location, he/she will be paid 800 Rs. Per day.

​Process to be followed for domestic & International travel

The process to be followed by an employee while going on domestic/ international travel as per travel policy template is explained below. Generally the process to take pre approval is mandatory both in case of domestic as well as international travel however if any changes they are highlighted separately.

​Safety & Security of Employees While on travel (Domestic travel or International travel)

• One of the most important aspects of any business travel policy is to protect employees while on international or domestic travel. Some of the measures that are being taken is as follows:
• As per the travel policy format employee is suppose to inform travel desk & immediate reporting manager about their stay with the help of an itinerary.
• They are also suppose to provide their hotel contact number as soon as they reach the destination.
• Time to time intimation of their stay and plan of the day
• Insurance cover as provided by the company on international travel.
• The practices mentioned in the travel policy template are some of the best practices as they include:
• Employee friendly practices
• Details on reimbursable and non reimbursable items
• Clear and easy to follow process & procedure for travel.
• Information about safety and security
• Insurance Coverage.

Revision of the Travel policy

The company reserves the right to revise, modify any or all clauses of this policy depending upon demand of business.

Explanation of the Travel policy ​

Corporate HR department will be sole authority to interpret the content of this policy.

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Do I need travel insurance for my summer vacation? It's complicated.

• Travel insurance can be complicated, but it's worth it if you have travel expenses that insurance would cover.
• You might not need travel insurance if you're taking a driving vacation and staying in a place where lodging is free.
• If you're leaving the country, you'll likely need travel insurance.

Get more news like this delivered to your inbox by signing up for our Travel newsletter here .

If you're planning to travel somewhere this summer, you're probably thinking of buying travel insurance.

Kingsley Hopkins is. He's headed to Portugal and Iceland with his girlfriend, and he wants to make sure he's covered for things like medical emergencies or trip disruptions, "or if a volcano erupts," he said.

Check out   Elliott Confidential , the newsletter the travel industry doesn't want you to read. Each issue is filled with breaking news, deep insights, and exclusive strategies for becoming a better traveler. But don't tell anyone!

But getting the right travel insurance can be complicated. There's no one-size-fits-all policy, and Hopkins, an assistant editor at a book publishing company in New York, has been spending a lot of time thinking about how to protect his summer vacation.

Learn more: Best travel insurance

Chances are, so have you.

Why finding the right travel insurance is so hard

Most surveys suggest this will be a record summer for travel. How much of a record? Demand is so high that some airlines are afraid they will run out of planes. Now that's busy.

At the same time, danger and uncertainty are lurking everywhere – wars in Europe and the Middle East, the usual slate of natural disasters like hurricanes and maybe a volcano or two. It's no wonder people are giving some serious thought to insurance. 

Older travelers are particularly worried. And they should be, said PK Rao, CEO of INF Visitor Care . Claims by travelers over age 50 spike during the summer months.

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"According to our claim data, medical emergencies tend to uptick during the summer, especially for those going on trips that involve outdoor activities," he said.

But there are so many choices out there, including credit card coverage, medical evacuation membership programs and stand-alone travel insurance. What should you get?

You need peace of mind 

But don't just reflexively start shopping for a travel insurance policy this summer. Instead, look for peace of mind – knowing that if something goes wrong, you'll be taken care of.

"Knowing you're protected from unforeseen travel mishaps – like delays, lost baggage and even medical emergencies – can make the trip that much more enjoyable,” said Daniel Durazo, a spokesman for Allianz Partners USA .

As it turns out, there are several ways to get the peace of mind you need. And there are times when you can safely skip travel insurance.

This is when you don't need insurance

Here's when you can skip travel insurance, according to experts:

◾ If you already have coverage. "You may already have travel coverage through your benefits at work, your credit card, or through group benefits with an organization," said Jiten Puri, CEO of PolicyAdvisor.com. If you do, there's no need to buy more coverage. You're all set.

◾ If you're not traveling far. If you're taking a driving vacation and staying in a place where lodging is free, like a relative's sofa, then there's not much to insure. "If you already have health insurance, it may cover you for a domestic trip, so you don't need to think about health insurance coverage," said Joe Cronin, CEO of International Citizens Insurance .

◾ If your trip isn't insurable. Traditional travel insurance covers conventional trips with prepaid, nonrefundable components like airline tickets and hotel stays. You might find that you either already have coverage through your medical insurance, or the trip is essentially uninsurable.

So think twice before saying "yes" to optional travel insurance that your online travel agency may offer you when you're booking a trip. You might not need it.

Here's when you need travel insurance

But most travelers should consider some kind of travel insurance coverage this summer. Here's when you need the extra coverage:

◾ If you have travel expenses that insurance would cover. "If you have many prepaid, nonrefundable expenses, it's best to take out travel insurance," said Lauren Gumport, a spokeswoman for Faye Travel Insurance ."This includes things like flights, hotel rooms, tickets and activities." The more conventional your vacation, the likelier travel insurance is to cover almost every aspect of your summer vacation.

◾ If you're leaving the country. "Your regular medical insurance might not extend coverage beyond your home borders," said John Rose, chief risk and security officer at ALTOUR . Also, many countries require travel insurance for entrance. They include Bermuda, Qatar, Sri Lanka, and some European countries.

◾ If you can't afford to lose your trip. "When considering travel insurance for your summer trip, evaluate whether you can afford to lose your vacation investment due to unforeseen circumstances like illness, weather disruptions, or emergencies," explained Robert Gallagher, president of the US Travel Insurance Association (USTIA). "Can you afford the financial risk if you miss your cruise departure because of covered flight delays? What if you have to cut your trip short because of illness?"  

One of the most common mistakes travelers make is assuming their credit card will cover them. For example, I found that my credit card only covered my rental car as secondary insurance, which made it completely useless when I rented a car in Tampa recently. I had to buy a standalone policy from Allianz to cover the vehicle.

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How one traveler insured his summer vacation

So, how did Hopkins handle his travel insurance needs? Well, as I mentioned – it's complicated.

Hopkins said he always buys some travel insurance before he takes a trip, "but how much, and what I cover, varies," he explained.

He decided that his path to peace of mind in this case was to spend a few extra dollars: He made fully refundable flight and hotel reservations, just in case something went wrong. That would eliminate a lengthy claim with his travel insurance company or credit card.

But he still needed at least $50,000 in medical coverage with emergency evacuation because of his active schedule.

"We’re going to be doing a lot of hiking in Iceland," he said. "And you just never know." 

At the beginning of the year, he decided to buy an annual Medjet Horizon plan, a membership that would get him from a hospital in Portugal or Iceland to a hospital at home, in case something happened. 

For insurance, Hopkins checked TravelInsurance.com to find an affordable travel insurance policy. He found coverage through Trawick International that pays up to $50,000 in medical expenses and up to $200,000 for an evacuation.

"I’ve heard good things about them," he said. "Hopefully, we won’t need any of it."

How do I insure my trips?

I'm on the road about 360 days a year, so I'm always thinking about peace of mind. I currently use a Wells Fargo credit card with lots of travel benefits, and I have long-term policies through Faye and Cigna, which have worked fairly well. I also am a long-time Medjet Horizon member. If I rent a car, I turn to Allianz for my primary coverage.

I know – that's a lot of peace of mind. 

But I've also run into trouble and had to use many of those benefits. Medjet got me back home during the pandemic. Cigna covered me after a serious ski accident in Switzerland. My old Allianz policy took care of my medical expenses when I had to see a doctor in Santa Fe, New Mexico, a few years ago.

Like I always say, when it comes to having enough insurance, better safe than sorry.

Christopher Elliott  is an author, consumer advocate, and journalist. He founded  Elliott Advocacy , a nonprofit organization that helps solve consumer problems. He publishes  Elliott Confidential , a travel newsletter, and the  Elliott Report , a news site about customer service. If you need help with a consumer problem, you can  reach him here  or email him at  [email protected] .

The Key Points at the top of this article were created with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and reviewed by a journalist before publication. No other parts of the article were generated using AI. Learn more .

The Rising Legal Risks of Return to Office Policies

Navigating legal risks of return-to-office mandates..

Posted July 15, 2024 | Reviewed by Monica Vilhauer

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• Rigid RTO mandates risk legal issues, including disability discrimination, without proper accommodations.
• Rising mental health issues highlight the need for remote work accommodations to avoid discrimination claims.
• RTO mandates can lead to age discrimination claims and loss of experienced older workers without flexibility.
• Inflexible RTO policies may indirectly discriminate against working mothers, intensifying gender disparities.

Are employers walking into a legal storm by enforcing rigid return-to-office (RTO) mandates? The post-pandemic era presents a unique challenge as employers grapple with shifting workforce dynamics. The insistence on a full return to the office, without considering individual circumstances, could lead to a surge in legal issues, particularly discrimination claims. This concern is not mere speculation; it's a reality backed by a significant uptick in workforce discrimination charges.

The Disability Discrimination Dilemma Leading to Legal Risks of RTO

One of the most pressing issues is disability discrimination. With many employees having worked remotely for over two years without a dip in productivity or performance, employers face a challenging legal landscape when justifying the need for in-person work.

Thomas Foley, executive director of the National Disability Institute, noted that he has “great concerns” for RTO for people with disabilities, including transportation to and from work, workplace accessibility and the potential to encounter micro or larger aggressions. Brandalyn Bickner, a spokesperson for the EEOC, said in a statement that the ADA's reasonable accommodation obligation includes “modifying workplace policies” and “might require an employer to waive certain eligibility requirements or otherwise modify its telework program for someone with a disability who needs to work at home.”

In a notable legal settlement, a facility management company agreed to pay $47,500 to settle an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) lawsuit for violating the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The case, EEOC v. ISS Facility Services, Inc., involved the company's refusal to allow a disabled employee at high risk for COVID-19 to work part-time from home, despite previously allowing a rotating schedule during the pandemic.

In a lawsuit against Electric Boat Corp., Zacchery Belval, a resident of Enfield, Conn., claimed discrimination for the company's failure to provide reasonable accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Connecticut Fair Employment Practices Act. The physical demands of returning and poor office conditions led him to seek continued remote work, which the company partially granted. However, Belval deemed this accommodation insufficient. When he did not return to work under these conditions, Electric Boat considered him resigned.

Mental health issues have become increasingly prominent in the context of workplace accommodations. The pandemic has led to a 25% increase in cases of depression and anxiety in the U.S., underscoring the need for employers to consider remote work as a reasonable accommodation. Companies are facing a rise in mental health disability discrimination complaints from employees who view remote work as a reasonable accommodation. The EEOC has observed a 16% increase in such charges between 2021 and 2022, particularly for conditions like anxiety, depression, and post- traumatic stress syndrome. This trend is indicative of a broader challenge where mental health disorders have become a prominent reason for disability complaints. Employers who fail to make an effort to accommodate such requests risk facing EEOC actions. In September, the agency filed a complaint against a Georgia company after it fired a marketing manager who requested to work remotely three days a week to accommodate anxiety.

Working Parents, Age Discrimination, and Gender Disparities

Older workers are particularly impacted by RTO mandates. A recent survey from Carewell has illuminated this trend, revealing that as many as 25% of workers over the age of 50 are contemplating retirement more seriously in light of RTO mandates. This statistic is particularly striking when compared to the 43% who expressed a reduced likelihood of retiring if given the option to work remotely. Such figures not only highlight the preferences of older workers but also underscore the potential unintended consequences of inflexible RTO policies.

The legal risks associated with RTO policies are further highlighted by their impact on working parents, especially mothers. The transition from remote to office work brings into sharp focus the balancing act that working parents, especially mothers, must perform between their professional responsibilities and childcare obligations. The legal implications of these policies stem from the potential for indirect discrimination and unequal treatment of working parents.

Studies have consistently shown that working mothers are disproportionately affected by the lack of flexibility in work arrangements. The data reveals that nearly twice as many working mothers as fathers have considered leaving their jobs due to the stress associated with childcare. This statistic is alarming and points towards a deep-seated issue in the current work environment, where the needs of working mothers are not adequately accommodated. Furthermore, 30% of mothers, compared to 17% of fathers, report difficulties in finding working hours that align with their childcare needs. This disparity not only highlights the challenges faced by working mothers but also raises concerns about potential gender discrimination in the workplace.

From a legal standpoint, these disparities could give rise to discrimination claims under various employment laws. Employers who fail to provide reasonable accommodations or flexibility to working parents, particularly mothers, might be seen as engaging in indirect discrimination. Such practices can be construed as creating an unfavorable work environment for certain groups of employees, thereby violating equal employment opportunity laws.

The Legal and Ethical Imperative of Flexibility

In response to these challenges, it's valuable to adopt a flexible approach to RTO mandates. A one-size-fits-all policy may not only lead to legal repercussions but also overlook the diverse needs of a modern workforce. Companies need to make wise decisions and avoid biases in considering individual employee circumstances, including disability, age, and parental responsibilities, to navigate this new legal landscape successfully. Inflexible RTO mandates not only risk alienating key segments of the workforce, but also invite a host of legal challenges. By embracing flexibility and inclusivity in RTO strategies, employers can mitigate legal risks, foster employee engagement, and build a more inclusive and productive work environment.

A version of this article was published on disasteravoidanceexperts.com

Miranda, S. (2023, Sept 4). How return-to-office mandates could affect workers with disabilities . Axios. https://www.axios.com/2023/09/04/return-to-office-mandates-2023-disabil…

Kalser, L. (2023, Jan 3). EEOC: Company settles ADA suit over refusing remote work for employee at risk for COVID-19 . Industry Drive. https://www.hrdive.com/news/eeoc-company-settles-ada-suit-over-refusing…

Cousins, E. (2023, Oct 30). Fired for not returning to the office? Employee sues employer, alleging ADA discrimination . BenefitsPRO. https://www.benefitspro.com/2023/10/30/fired-for-not-returning-to-the-o…

Gleb Tsipursky, Ph.D. , is on the editorial board of the journal Behavior and Social Issues. He is in private practice.

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The complete guide to corporate travel policies

Foreign travel policy for employees.

Start writing your own corporate travel policy with our comprehensive template

What is a foreign travel policy for employees.

• Processes and tools for making reservations (airline, railway, car & hotel) and travel arrangements
• Travel expense limits and restrictions for different categories
• Protocols to follow in case of unaccounted incidents
• Incidental expense allowance
• Expense reimbursement policies, including formats for expense receipts and reports
• Business travel insurance details

What to include in your foreign travel policy for employees?

1. expense categories and limits.

• Hotel bookings
• Personal car mileage
• Ground transportation, including rental car expense
• Tips to waiters and bellhops
• Room service
• Incidental expenses
• Per diem rates or daily allowance for miscellaneous spending
• Cash advances
• Visa expenses
• Public transportation allowance inc. trains, buses, and trams
• Airline ticket cancellation

2. Non-reimbursable expenses

• Hotel upgrades
• Airline ticket upgrades from economy class to business class
• Airport lounge fees
• Foreign transaction processing fees
• Expenses due to negligent traveling
• Personal travel expenses

3. Expense claim reporting policy

• How can employees report international travel expenses?
• Is there a way to report travel expenses online?
• Does it need to be reported within a specific timeline?
• Do employees need to submit proof of expense? If yes, in what format (receipt, invoice, form, etc.)?
• How long will it take for employees to receive reimbursements?

Learn how to write a comprehensive business travel policy with our ebook.

4. international travel expense approval and reimbursement process.

• Travel request approval
• Travel and hotel expense approval
• Making air travel bookings
• Making hotel reservations
• Creating expense report (non-reimbursable amount, travel advance amount, and reimbursable amount)
• Expense auditing for identifying policy violations
• Processing expense reimbursements
• Carry forward excess reimbursements

5. Safety and insurance policies

Best practices for creating an international travel policy.

• Use an approved business travel tool to consolidate travel plans, automate spend approval, and reimbursements
• Create an easy-to-understand and handy policy guide outlining details of SOPs for emergencies, reimbursement procedures, and travel support
• Leverage automated expense management solutions for gaining deeper insights into the financial health of your company
• Allow self-booking so that employees can choose the flight, layover, and accommodation they want

Wrapping Up

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Injured Australian Rebecca Ode was medically evacuated from Bali last week. How does it work?

Rebecca Ode expected to return from her Bali holiday the way most Australians do: on a commercial flight.

Instead, the 36-year-old from Newcastle was medically evacuated after she sustained horrific head and facial injuries on Nusa Lembongan island .

Ms Ode needed brain, eye and reconstructive surgery after being found on a roadside and rushed to hospital in Denpasar.

Her family, who crowdfunded to help fly her home, said the cost of her treatment in Indonesia and the evacuation flight was about $250,000.

It's a staggering amount most travellers don't think they will ever need.

But emergencies like Ms Ode's do occur, so what happens if you need to be medically evacuated home to Australia?

Who organises evacuations?

A medical evacuation needs to be organised by you or your loved ones.

In a statement, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) said it was able to provide limited assistance.

"The Australian government can't organise or pay for a medical evacuation back to Australia," a DFAT spokesperson said.

The statement referred to the government's SmartTraveller website, which advises travellers on what to do if they experience medical trouble overseas.

DFAT cannot recommend hospitals or doctors, organise local medical care or book appointments, according to the website. 

It can, however, provide a list of local hospitals with doctors and lawyers who speak English and can assist with contacting friends and family back home.

How does care work on board?

Critical care service CareFlight provides medical evacuation flights and transfers in Australia. It is planning to expand its services to some overseas areas.

CareFlight chief operating officer Peter Broschofsky told ABC Radio Newcastle the decision about whether a medical evacuation flight was appropriate was usually made by the local treating doctor and the flight operator's medical retrieval consultants.

"The kind of personnel that are typically on board are what we call critical care doctors and flight nurses; they're extremely well credentialed with lots of critical care experience, normally in hospital emergency departments," he said.

"But [they have] the additional training required to operate in what's a very difficult medical environment.

"In this case, it's within the hull of an aircraft that potentially cruises at 40,000 feet."

Mr Broschofsky said the aircraft typically used for evacuations was similar to smaller planes available for commercial travel, but was purpose-fit.

He said cabin pressure, low humidity and other typical parts of air travel could make a medical flight difficult.

"Those types of environments can create particular issues where, for example, if the patient has any gas-related injury, such as pneumothorax [the presence of air or gas in the lung] or a collapsed lung, or if they're septic," Mr Broschofsky said.

"Blood can pool in the legs on take-off, affecting blood pressure, those types of things, there's many more of those.

"There are parts of the body that they potentially couldn't attend to if there was an emergency. But our clinicians are very well adept at dealing with those issues."

Mr Broschofsky said evacuees still needed to go through customs, but providers could assist them and others on board.

The evacuee and/or their family are almost always liable for flight costs. 

"Australians should ensure they have travel insurance that will cover these costs," the DFAT spokesperson said.

"They should also read and understand the fine print on policy exclusions, including any for pre-existing conditions, adventure activities or drugs and alcohol."

The Insurance Council of Australia said in a statement that most travel insurance policies included coverage for medical evacuation and repatriation "if agreed it is medically necessary, up to the relevant benefit limit".

"The costs for a medical evacuation will either be covered by the insurer or paid following the emergency evacuation or repatriation, depending on what is outlined in the customer's product disclosure statement," a spokesperson said.

"Travel insurance is as important as your passport, but it does not provide unlimited cover, and all policies have limits and exclusions, so it’s important to be informed and choose the right level of cover."

Rebecca's recovery

More than $217,000 has been crowdfunded to help cover Ms Ode's evacuation and ongoing treatment costs.

"Currently, we have invoices of approximately $250,000," her brother-in-law, Jesse Wilton, said in a GoFundMe post.

"$135,000 approximately to fly her home ... $100,000 approximately in current baseline hospital bills and medication.

"The costs of what treatment she will require in Australia are currently unknown."

Indonesian police believe Ms Ode's injuries were sustained in a motorcycle crash.

Mr Wilton said their family was seeking Australian medical advice about what may have caused her injuries. 

"We are so grateful that Bec is home in Australia; we know now she will get the best possible medical treatment."

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As Trump creates distance from Project 2025, the conservative Agenda47 comes into focus

• Oops! Something went wrong. Please try again later. More content below

As the Republican National Convention (RNC) continues into its third day, speakers and party members have rallied around a firm support of Trump, despite a tumultuous few years that resulted in 34 felony convictions for falsifying business records, among other controversies.

At the RNC , political speakers outlined issues the Republican party considers to be some of the biggest facing Americans, including crime, immigration and identity politics. While some also proposed solutions that would be ushered in under a conservative president, voters don't have to guess Trump's plans; instead, they can simply head over to his website.

Starting in 2022, Trump's official campaign began uploading a series of policy plans to its website, detailing how the Republican candidate plans to tackle some of the country's most pressing issues. Called Agenda47 , the campaign materials paint a big picture of what Americans may expect under another Trump presidency.

Here's what to know about Agenda47.

What to know about Heritage Foundation: Main group behind Project 2025 and RNC sponsor

What is Agenda47 and how is it different from Project 2025?

Agenda47 is the Trump administration's official policy platform for the 2024 presidential election. Outlined in a series of videos and statements on the Trump website, the proposals were released during primary election season.

Many of the actions proposed would be achieved through executive order and touch on topics ranging from climate change and education to the economy and immigration.

The policies are separate from Project 2025, an ultra-conservative initiative created by far-right think tank the Heritage Foundation . Project 2025 is something of a playbook for the next conservative president and details a reimagining of the executive branch and plans to overhaul federal government agencies in a conservative image.

It was created by a team that includes several members of Trump's former staff, but Trump has since attempted to distance himself from the Heritage Foundation after President Joe Biden publicly criticized his ties to the project.

Agenda47, on the other hand, is the official outline for Trump's campaign.

What Agenda47 says about education

Trump's proposals for education reform focus on defunding and punishing educators and institutions that do not teach conservative values and creating new organizations to enforce rules created around Republican talking points to "save" schools from "Radical Left maniacs."

These plans include:

Cutting federal funding for any school or programs teaching "Critical Race Theory," "gender ideology" or other lessons deemed "inappropriate."

Keeping "men out of women's sports."

Abolishing teacher tenure.

Pushing prayer in public schools.

Seeking out and undoing "Marxism" in education.

Certifying only teachers “who embrace patriotic values" through a new credential program.

Undoing DEI policies.

Encouraging home and religious schooling.

Creating a "Parental Bill of Rights" to give parents control over curriculum.

Allowing parents to elect school officials and favoring school districts that enable teachers to carry firearms.

On the college level, Agenda47 wants to punish universities like Harvard for "turning students into Communists and terrorists" and plans to do away with the existing accreditation system, replacing it with one that adheres to GOP values and heavily fines those that don't comply. With money made from the fines, Agenda47 proposes the creation of a free online “American Academy" with "no wokeness or jihadism."

Immigration

Anti-immigrant rhetoric is a prominent feature of Trump's 2024 campaign, a fact reflected in Agenda47. In the discussion of policy around immigration, Trump's preamble relies on the message that immigrants are "criminals" and "birth tourists" taking over America.

According to the plan, Trump will sign an executive order on "day one" to end automatic citizenship for children of "illegal aliens."

The agenda also envisions a slew of proposed executive and presidential orders that will:

Determine the "correct" interpretation of the 14th Amendment.

Completely prohibit undocumented immigrants from receiving any form of government benefit.

Impose a travel ban on certain countries.

Close the border to asylum seekers.

Stop refugee admissions.

Suspend visa programs including family visas, the visa lottery and "non-essential" work visas.

Stop federal funding to sanctuary cities.

Create a vetting center for "extreme vetting of foreign nationals,"

Agenda47 says it wants to restore "law and order" to address what Trump claims is "out of control crime ."

The plan proposes an investment in hiring, retention, and training for police officers and increasing their liability protections as well as supporting policing policies like stop-and-frisk and local police working with ICE on deportation.

Agenda47 also wants to:

Overhaul federal standards on disciplining minors

Have the DOJ "dismantle every gang, street crew, and drug network in America.”

Deploy federal troops for "law and order."

Establish a DOJ task force for “protecting the right to self-defense.”

Facilitate the hiring of 100 U.S. attorneys to investigate what Trump believes to be "left-leaning" district attorney and "anti-conservative bias" in law schools and firms.

Agenda47 places a focus on pharmaceuticals and medical devices manufactured within the U.S.

Under the plan, essential medical devices and medicines would be manufactured in the U.S. and federal agencies would be required to “Buy American" to prevent shortages.

It also calls for an increase in the production of drugs domestically, bans agencies from other countries from buying "essential drugs" and demands that pharmaceutical companies only be paid the “best price they offer to foreign nations.”

Agenda47 describes proposed economic policies under Trump as "pro-American" and blames Biden's "pro-China" administration for the poor state of the economy.

The agenda proposes cutting federal regulations on resources like energy, cutting taxes, raising tariffs on foreign producers while lowering taxes for domestic producers, imposing universal tariffs on most foreign products, "eliminating dependence on China" and banning federal contracts for any company that outsources to China.

Welfare, social security

Agenda47 says "Under no circumstances should Republicans vote to cut a single penny from Medicare or Social Security."

In the proposal, Trump blames threats to the programs on Biden's spending and says the Democrats are trying to undo Social Security, though Republicans have previously proposed a higher retirement age and funding cuts.

Trump's agenda proposes cutting tax dollars going to "corrupt foreign countries," "illegal aliens," "left-wing gender programs from our military" and "climate extremism" to save Social Security funding.

The proposal also bans undocumented immigrants from receiving any welfare monies and seeks to address homelessness , banning "public camping" and instead giving unhoused individuals the option to go to some form unspecified of "treatment" or being arrested.

It also proposes the creation of large tent cities to accommodate unhoused people with doctors and social workers on site.

LGBTQIA+ rights

Trump makes apparent throughout his policy plans an anti-LGTBQIA+ stance that specifically targets transgender individuals.

Proposed policies include

Removing any healthcare provider that offers gender-affirming care to youth from Medicare and Medicaid eligibility.

Pushing Congress to pass laws that say “the only genders recognized by the U.S. government are male and female—and they are assigned at birth."

Defunding any school where a staff member discusses gender identity.

Passing laws that ban what he calls "child sexual mutilation."

Promoting education around the traditional nuclear family in schools.

Supporting private lawsuits against doctors who provide gender-affirming care.

Demanding any federal agencies "cease all programs that promote the concept of sex and gender transition at any age."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: What is Agenda47? A look at Trump's policy plans beyond Project 2025

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