TEAM INTEGRATED ENGINEERING, INC. TRAVEL PROCEDURES FOR REST AND RELAXATION (R&R)

Transcription

1 Page i TEAM INTEGRATED ENGINEERING, INC. TRAVEL PROCEDURES FOR REST AND RELAXATION (R&R) Date: 1 June 2009 Revision 1: 2 November 2010 Approved by: TEAM IE, Inc. Directorates The travel procedures created in this document are to provide all travelers eligible for R&R with adequate and necessary information in order to meet the requirements described in TEAM IE, Inc. Travel Policy #TEAM 07 01, dated 29 August They are intended to show the more common travel scenarios encountered by TEAM Travelers. For all other scenarios contact the TEAM Travel Administration support staff. Travelers are to follow the procedures described herein, and use good judgement in incurring official travel related expenses, as if traveling on personal travel. Official TEAM travel is defined as TEAM employee travel in support of TEAM and its client s missions. Travel is performed when there is no other means to successfully complete the mission. When the mission can be achieved by another means, such as written correspondence or teleconferencing, your supervisor must choose that method. It is within TEAM s policy and procedures that travelers may make travel arrangements using Amana Tourism Services or the travel service of their choice. Employees, assigned to Iraq and Afghanistan are allowed R&R travel. transportation, lodging, and per diem while in transit. R&R travel includes The entitlement is based on the employee s home of record. An employee s home of record is based on information provided to the Human Resources Department by the employee. Should the employee decide to travel to a location other than the home of record, traveler shall only be reimbursed for the actual cost of a non refundable coach class airfare ticket up to the equivalent cost of a non refundable coach class airfare ticket to their home of record. Other costs associated while transferring the traveler from his work location to the selected airport to depart on R&R status and the return from R&R status to his work locations are also reimbursable. Expenses may include Personnel Security Detail (PSD), airfare, and lodging.

2 Page ii Per diem and lodging reimbursement are allowable starting upon departure from the employee s work location and ends at the departure location for the first leg of the journey (e.g., employee departs Balad, Iraq and arrives in Dubai, UAE in order to catch a connecting flight out of the region). The employee will not be reimbursed for per diem and lodging costs after departure from Dubai, UAE, as used in the example herein. When the employee ends R&R and returns to the employees work location, per diem and lodging will only be reimbursed between the Dubai, UAE and the work location, as used in the example herein. Travel expenses that are directly invoiced to TEAM IE, Inc. from Amana Tourism Services should not be recorded on the Travel Expense Report (TER).

3 Page iii TABLE OF CONTENTS 1.0 RESPONSIBILITIES Travelers Shall Supervisors Shall Administration Department Shall Finance Department Shall Human Resources Department Shall PROCEDURE Planning Travel Making Travel Arrangements Options for Making Travel Arrangements Approval/Rejection of Trip Itinerary Performing Travel Completing Travel ALLOWABLE TRAVEL EXPENSE GUIDELINES General Transportation Per Diem General Maximum Per Diem Rate Table Lodging General Travel Location M&IE Allowance for M&IE Applicable M&IE Complimentary Meals ACRONYMS DEFINITIONS... 8

4 Page iv 6.0 FIGURES... 9 Figure 1 Travel Authorization Request (TAR)... 9 Figure 2 Travel Expense Report (TER) Travel Expense Report Instructions... Error! Bookmark not defined. 7.0 EMPLOYEE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT:... 12

5 Page RESPONSIBILITIES 1.1 Travelers Shall Obtain a Travel Authorization Request (TAR) number from assigned Administrative support staff before proceeding; Provide a completed TAR to their supervisor for signature; Obtain approval if excess baggage fees will be incurred. Fees must be recorded on the TAR; After supervisor has approved the TAR, make all necessary travel arrangements using either Amana Tourism Services or the travel service of their choice; Coordinate and setup Personnel Security Detail (PSD) or other transportation as required with supervisor's approval; If a trip is to be cancelled at the request of the client, traveler must notify both the supervisor and the Administrative support staff. The supervisor must approve the cancellation request and notify both the traveler and Administrative support staff of such action; If a trip is cancelled after airfare ticketed reservation has been made and trip will not be rescheduled for a later date; traveler must prepare a TER within 5 business days of cancellation date. Failure to do this will result in disciplinary action; Prepare and submit a complete Travel Expense Report (TER) to the supervisor within 5 business days after completion of travel; If a trip reservation is in direct support of a government related project and the project's period of performance comes to an end, traveler must prepare a TER within 5 business days of the project end date. Failure to do this will result in disciplinary action; Notify the Director of Administration and supervisor within 2 business days of the deadline date if unable to prepare and submit a complete TER as described in these procedures. 1.2 Supervisors Shall Ensure travelers are in compliance with the procedures described herein; Provide the approved TAR form to the traveler and assigned Administrative support staff; Inform Amana Tourism Services (if applicable), traveler and assigned Administrative support staff of approved or rejected trip itineraries within 24 hours of notification; Review, approve or reject all TERs within 1 business day of receipt; Submit approved TER to the assigned Administrative support staff after approving; and

6 Page 2 Provide an alternate supervisor to review and approve all trip itineraries, TARs and TERs during an absence. 1.3 Administration Department Shall Process all TARs and provide TAR number within 1 business day of receipt; Obtain three competitive quotes for a non refundable coach class airfare ticket to the employees home of record, as necessary; Forward the three competitive quotes to the traveler, and supervisor; Maintain all travel reservation documentation related to each trip; Process all TERs for completeness and accuracy within 2 business days of receipt; Coordinate and resolve any TER discrepancies directly with the traveler s supervisor; and Provide complete and approved TERs to the Finance Department for processing within 2 business days of receipt. 1.4 Finance Department Shall Coordinate and resolve any discrepancies on TERs with the assigned Administrative support staff immediately upon discovery; Resolve any collection of monies owed to TEAM directly with the travelers supervisor; Process payment reimbursements of all approved travel costs incurred by traveler within 7 business days of receipt. Payments shall be made via EFT unless otherwise requested by the traveler; and Maintain all documentation on paid travel costs. 1.5 Human Resources Department Shall Provide all new Middle East employees eligible for R&R with a copy of these procedures; Provide to the Director of Administration with employees name to update authorized listing of Middle East travelers; and Notify the Director of Administration of all terminated employees. 2.0 PROCEDURE 2.1 Planning Travel Traveler initiates the travel process by requesting an R&R trip to their supervisor; Traveler requests a TAR number from assigned Administrative support staff before proceeding; The assigned Administrative support staff provides a TAR number to the traveler;

7 Page 3 Traveler provides a completed TAR (refer to figure 1, for example) to their supervisor for approval and signature; and Supervisor reviews the submitted TAR, approves and returns to the traveler and assigned Administrative support staff within 1 business day of receipt. 2.2 Making Travel Arrangements Options for Making Travel Arrangements Traveler has two options for making travel arrangements: Contact Amana Tourism Services and request assistance; Amana Tourism Services are not authorized to arrange PSDs. Arrange his/hers own travel. If traveler arranges to utilize military flights or convoys, this information must be provided on the TAR under the remarks section. Reimbursement of travel costs shall not exceed the equivalent cost of a non refundable coach class airfare ticket to the home of record Approval/Rejection of Trip Itinerary The supervisor approves or rejects the traveler s trip itinerary; If the trip itinerary is rejected, the supervisor must provide to the traveler the reasons for the decision and request necessary adjustments; If the trip itinerary is approved, the supervisor will inform Amana Tourism Services (if applicable), the traveler and the assigned Administrative support staff of the approval; Amana Tourism Services shall complete final travel arrangements and forward to the traveler, the supervisor and the assigned Administrative support staff trip itinerary documentation; If a trip is cancelled, traveler must notify Amana Tourism Services (if applicable), supervisor and the assigned Administrative support staff; Either Amana Tourism Services (if applicable) or traveler will provide documentation of cancellation of the trip to the traveler (if applicable), the supervisor, and the assigned Administrative support staff; If changes or modifications need to be made after the trip itinerary has been finalized, traveler must notify the supervisor and request approval. After the supervisor has approved the change, traveler shall prepare a revised TAR if requested by supervisor and submit to both the supervisor and the assigned Administrative support staff; Traveler shall contact Amana Tourism Services (if applicable) for assistance in making approved changes to the trip itinerary or proceed with contacting airline carrier, etc and make approved changes. After changes have been made to the revised trip itinerary, documentation of such changes must be forwarded to the supervisor, the assigned

8 Page 4 Administrative support staff, and traveler either from Amana Tourism Services (if applicable) or from traveler (if applicable); and If a trip is cancelled after ticketed reservation has been approved and trip will not be rescheduled for a later date, traveler must prepare a TER within 5 business days of cancellation date if employee wishes to seek reimbursement. Traveler must provide reason for the cancellation. 2.3 Performing Travel Traveler performs the travel according to the approved trip itinerary; If traveler deviates from his original approved trip itinerary and changes the return date to his work location, traveler must notify both the supervisor and the assigned Administrative support staff within 1 business day of change. Traveler must retain original or copies of all receipts required to support reimbursement on the TER. Receipts for meals under the Maximum Per Diem rate are not required. 2.4 Completing Travel Traveler must submit a completed TER (refer to figure 2, for example) within 5 business days upon completion of travel, to include copies of: All receipts for lodging, airfare, baggage fee, etc; Approved TAR(s); and Approved trip itinerary; If a receipt is impractical to obtain or it has been inadvertently lost or destroyed, traveler must provide a statement explaining the circumstances. For lodging, a statement must include the name and address of the lodging facility, the dates the lodging was obtained, whether or not another person shared the room (and the sharer s status as an official traveler or not), and the cost incurred. 3.0 Allowable Travel Expense Guidelines 3.1 General In the paragraphs that follow, the more common examples of travel situations the traveler is expected to encounter are addressed. Actual situations encountered by the traveler must be coordinated with the Administration department to ensure clear and precise understanding of the application of these procedures. Travelers should make every attempt to identify their travel requirements as early as possible. This allows the traveler and TEAM to take advantage of discounts and other industry practices. 3.2 Transportation Travelers will normally travel via commercial airline.

9 Page 5 Tickets shall be purchased at least 14 days in advance or as soon as scheduled R&R travel has been granted; and Coach class non refundable tickets are recommended for purchase. Preferred seating requests such as aisle, Economy Plus, or Coach Elite (seating service may vary from airline to airline and use various names but it is in the economy/coach cabin and should not be confused with other than economy/coach class travel) is a personal choice and it is not a requirement of TEAM or the government. This is an expense that is borne by the traveler and is not reimbursable. Baggage allowance is restricted to 1 carry on bag and 1 check in bag (maximum weight of 50 pounds), unless airline policy allows for more than 1 carry on bag or check in bag at no cost. Requests for excess baggage must be prior approved by supervisor or appropriate Director. Early check in features is a personal choice and it is not a requirement of TEAM or the government. This is an expense that is borne by the traveler and is not reimbursable. You may upgrade to business class at your personal expense, including through redemption of frequent flyer benefits. Travelers may choose to utilize military air flights when available. 3.3 Per Diem General Per Diem reimbursement is allowable from the employee s departure location for the first leg of the journey (e.g., employee departs Balad, Iraq and arrives in Dubai, UAE in order to catch a connecting flight out of the region). The employee will not be reimbursed for per diem and lodging costs after departure from Dubai, UAE, as used in the example herein. When the employee ends his R&R, per diem will only be reimbursed from the departure location for the last leg of the journey until employee is transported to his work location (e.g.; employee departs Dubai, UAE and arrives in Balad, Iraq). Travel location determines the maximum per diem reimbursement rate Maximum Per Diem Rate Table For Travel in Rates set by For maximum per diem see Foreign areas Department of State

10 Page Lodging General When travel is more than 12 hours and overnight lodging is required, the traveler is reimbursed at the actual lodging cost for the travel location or stopover point Travel Location The employee may lodge at the departure location for the first leg of his R&R. At the completion of his R&R employee may lodge at the departure location for the last leg of the journey awaiting transportation to his work location ; and When lodging facility rates are higher than the maximum amount allowed, traveler must provide a reason for selecting that facility M&IE Allowance for M&IE When travel is More than 12 hours but less than 24 hours Your allowance is 75 percent of the applicable M&IE rate. 24 hours or more, on The day of departure 75 percent of the applicable M&IE rate. Full days of travel The last day of travel 100 percent of the applicable M&IE rate. 75 percent of the applicable M&IE rate Applicable M&IE For days of travel which Require lodging Do not require lodging, and Travel is more than 12 hours but less than 24 hours Travel is 24 hours or more, and you are traveling to a new travel site or stopover point at midnight Travel is 24 hours or more, and you are returning to your official work station. Your applicable M&IE rate is The M&IE rate applicable for the travel location. The M&IE rate applicable for the travel site or the highest M&IE rate applicable when multiple locations are involved. The M&IE rate applicable for the new site or stopover point. The M&IE rate applicable to the previous day of travel.

11 Page Complimentary Meals A complimentary meal provided by a lodging facility does not affect your per diem as long as the room charge is the same with or without meals. 4.0 Acronyms EFT Electronic Funds Transfer M&IE Meals and Incidental Expenses OCONUS Outside of the Contiguous United States PSD Personnel Security Detail TAR Travel Authorization Request TER Travel Expense Report

12 Page Definitions Supervisor For the purposes of this procedure, the term supervisor is used to identify the management level authorized to commit funds for travel. This will vary from Department to Department. The appropriate office must be identified to the Department of Administration. Employee/Traveler These terms are used interchangeably in this procedure.

13 Page Figures Figure 1 Travel Authorization Request (TAR)

14 Page 10 Figure 2 Travel Expense Report (TER)