In parts of Italy, staff were (by law) allowed to claim lunch expense if they had to travel beyond the city limits. The Supervisor in Rome had claimed lunch nearly every working day over the past three years. Always from the same three restaurants just outside the city but which were at different points of the compass. This despite the fact that his role was primarily desk-based in the city centre. His (Italian) manager pointed out that the receipts were all properly printed documents and seemed genuine.

I pointed out that the same waiter seemed to have signed all of the receipts!

Maybe an AI would have varied it a little ?   🙂

IanT

In the eighties whilst away on business I went to a restaurant on the Wirral. They recommended their sister restaurant, partly because they did “good receipts”.

Back in 2001 I was sent to the States on business. Many times when you received a receipt you were given the option of stating the amount shown. I was not given this option in Italy.

JA

Priceless Gentlemen, thank you !  The one about the Wirral I sent to a friend who lives there and travels all over the world on business – I await their reply with interest. Noel

Another one from North America. Because of work locations I normally have a hire car but there are exceptions like Washington DC and Boston were a car is more of a liability. I the early 2000’s Boston taxis were pretty poor. I did notice that when asking for a receipt you got handed a blank pre-printed slip. All the companies seemed to use the same slip. So you had to remember the the amount, company and taxi number. One day I got out with my slip, pen in hand, looked at the taxi plate and it was ABC Cabs No. 123. That’s not going to odd to accounts at all….
Later in that trip a cab took me the “long way round” crossing the Charles river 3 times. I (work) paid the fair and he gave me the slip and the change. I then told him that as he had taken me for a ride I would not be tipping him. He grabbed the slip back and filled it in – result!

Robert.

The majority of my working life was spent in an installation and commissioning role within the telecoms industry employed by an equipment manufacturing company which meant that I, and my fellow workers, could be sent to any telephone exchange in the country. Until about the mid 90’s the employers and unions had a formal agreement, recognized by the then Inland Revenue for tax exemption, which set out mileage bands for daily travel from home in private cars and accommodation rates when the distance was too great for commuting. If the distance from home was over 32 miles the accommodation rate could be claimed, which in the days before the ‘chain’ hotels were established, and lorry drivers did not sleep in their cabs, this usually meant a ‘transport’ doss house. Because of this, working away was not popular with many people and any transfer away from home was fiercely resisted but it was amazing how many people just happened to live exactly 32 miles from the site they were working on, no matter how little the distance really was. In reality, there was a certain amount of collusion by at least one employer in the industry as the fact that tax-free ‘expenses’ could be claimed, and were factored into the price of the contract, lessened the pressure for rises in basic hourly pay.

As the technology changed and contracts became shorter, days and weeks rather than months and years, the companies now merged into one corporate body moved to putting itinerant employees into company cars and paying for a short stay in a so-called budget hotel when necessary. Even then I knew of many cases where questionable accommodation claims were made but it was deemed ‘gross misconduct’ and dismissals did take place if a fraudulent claim was discovered. Fortunately, I survived! (only joking)

I worked in a small engineering team once and regarding expenses for trips/ customer visits we were all as honest and respectful of the system as the day is light. It was usual to have an ‘Asian’ from the head office join us for short stints to see what was going on and these were, on the most part, decent and professional people. However on one occasion we received a young chap who was not like the others in multiple ways. After a few months he was caught submitting duplicate receipts with his expenses. When challenged he said “I have had been told that all Brits fiddle their expenses so I’m just doing the same to fit in.”

He went on to have a ‘complex’ career. I was told later that his own countrymen referred to him as ‘the Alien’.

The problem with modern receipts produced by thermal printers is that they fade away remarkably quickly.

Not really an expenses fiddle, but some might find it amusing. I worked at one time at one of the major newspaper production sites and as I usually only had any real work to do when something mechanical went wrong, was given the side job of collecting in and checking the time sheets. We had a major transformer/ switchgear fire one night and everyone was called in and expected to work until the power was back on. It was accepted that we would be paid overtime for 24 hours a day, grabbing a rest when we could. took about three days in total and on collecting the time sheets in one chap had booked on his time sheet 25 hours each day, I questioned this pointing out there were only 24 hours in a day and he calmly stated ” but I worked my lunch hour!”