CORPORATE TRAVEL POLICY

Transcription

1 CORPORATE TRAVEL POLICY July 2009 (Version 1.2) All Rights Reserved. No part of this document maybe reproduced in any form outside DBS Group without an authorized release.

2 Document Sign-Off Revision History Revision Date Version Updated by Summary of Changes 1 Jul Choo Lip Wei First Issue August Chee Pick Leng/Ronald Cheng Addition/amendment of the following clauses : to provide for the e-approval process to provide for adaptation of the policy to entity / local country requirements to allow business class travel for India and Mid-East countries to allow for limited internet usage on flights , paragraph 3 for stipulated restrictions for hotel usage to provide for use of italk for communications to provide for priority of use of corporate hotels for corporate events on Travel Insurance on claim approvals on filing of travel documents Re-phrasing of clause on travel class for MC Members Addition of table indicating Policy Owner on Document Sign-off page 29 July Christopher Lim/ Ronald Cheng Addition/amendment of the following clauses : Scope Clarification with another paragraph on application of policy to transient travel of less than 3 months Correction of title from Policy Overview to more appropriate Travel Approval and updated the URL to the Travel OBT form To extend business class travel to North Asia for Taiwan in addition to China and India Revised clause on Overland Travel for greater clarity

3 Amended clause on Reimbursement Expenditure for greater clarity Sign-off List Name Department & Role Signature Date Chee Pick Leng Ronald Cheng T&O- GPS Services Management T&O- GPS Services Management 8 Aug 07 8 Aug 07 Karen Lee Head of T&O- GPS 8 Aug 07 Shandini Dhanabalan Group HR 16 Aug 07 Theresa Soikkeli Head of Group HR 16 Aug 07 Ho Twee Teng Head of T&O -TI & GPS 29 Jul 09 Sign-off Notes Choo Lip Wei Name Notes Version 1.0 approved by MC Members in July/August 2006 and published on 8 August 2006 Chee Pick Leng Version 1.1 approved by MC Members in August 2007 and published on 31 August 2007 Christopher Lim Version 1.2 approved by MD Ho Twee Teng in July 2009 and published on 30 July 2009 Policy Owner Date August 2006 July 2007 July 2009 Department T&O GPS Corporate Services T&O-Group Procurement Services T&O-Group Procurement Services

4 Table of Contents 1. INTRODUCTION Objective Scope OVERALL DESCRIPTION Travel Approval Concentration Risk Visibility and Transparency Adherence to Policy and Policy Exceptions SPECIFIC POLICY DETAILS Airlines Management Committee Members International Flights Domestic Flights Travel Class Upgrade Unavailable Class of Travel Budget Airlines Use of Corporate Air Fares for Personal Travel Use of Telephone / Internet while on Flight Hotels and Accomodation Corporate Hotels Serviced Apartments Telephone Use in Hotels Travel Bookings and Related Matters Corporate Travel Management Company (TMC) Airport Transfers Overland Travel Security Precaution Travel Expenditure Reimbursable Expenditures for trips of one month or less Per Diem Allowances for Trips Longer Than One Month Hotel Expenses Meal Expenses Overseas Entertainment Expenses Approvals for Claims Payment for Travel Expenses Corporate Cards...10

5 1. Introduction 1.1. Objective The objective of this policy is to provide guidelines to our DBS staff when they travel overseas for business purposes Scope This policy covers overseas business travel by all staff of DBS Group. To avoid any uncertainty among staff, the scope of the Travel Policy covers: DBS Bank; All bank and non-bank subsidiaries of DBS Group; Overseas branches; and Representative offices This Policy applies only to transient travel lasting no more than 3 months in 1 trip. For trips lasting for 3 months or more, please refer to Group Human Resources Short-Term Assignments Policy. 2. Overall Description 2.1. Travel Approval Business travel should be undertaken only when required. Staff should use other alternatives such as tele-conferencing and/or video-conferencing in circumstances where these alternatives are more cost effective and, where appropriate, to replace business travel. Staff must obtain their respective Business/Support Unit Head's (BU/SU) approval for all overseas travel prior to ticketing. Business/Support Unit Head (BU/SU) must obtain approval for their travel from their respective Management Committee (MC) Member-in-charge or CEO prior to ticketing. Approvals for travel must be obtained using the e-approval process in locations where this process has been set-up. In locations where this process has not been set up, travel approvals are to be obtained using the Overseas Business Travel (OBT) Form which can be obtained at: e-approvals are to be forwarded to the appointed Travel Manager(s) in each location together with the final itinerary for approver verification and checking of compliances Page 1

6 before ticketing can proceed. Where hardcopy OBT Forms are used, these Forms are to be faxed to the respective Travel Manager(s) for the same verification procedures. e-approvals and hardcopy OBT Forms are to be filed centrally by the respective Travel Managers Concentration Risk Not more than 4 staff per BU / SU should travel on the same flight for a particular assignment. Sign-off from at least one Management Committee member or the CEO is required for any exception. This approval must be sent to the appointed travel agency prior to travel. Where possible no two of the following executives should travel on the same flight: the Chairman, Vice-Chairman & CEO, Vice-Chairman & COO or CFO Visibility and Transparency All business travel must be booked through the DBS corporate appointed travel management company (TMC), except otherwise indicated. Only DBS corporate appointed airlines and hotels may be used for overseas travel and accommodation. Any exception will require approval from the specific Management Committee Member responsible for the Unit. The TMC will only make bookings as per the travel policy. It is the responsibility of the Unit Head to ensure compliance with the travel policy Adherence to Policy and Policy Exceptions The policy must be fully adhered to unless there is specific approval for each exception. All exceptions other than those explicitly reflected in this policy require the specific approval from the Management Committee member responsible for the Business or Support Unit of the staff traveling. For example, staff may seek approval from the appropriate management committee member to travel Business Class where frequency of travel, travel schedules, ticket availability and/or carrier options suggest this might be appropriate. Evidence of the exception must be provided at the time of booking the trip to the travel agent Compliance with the travel policy will be monitored by Corporate Services with the help of Group Finance, and reported to management Entities may adapt this corporate policy for their local use, provided the revised policy provisions are made more stringent than this corporate policy. The Owner of this policy must be notified of any such variations before the new provisions are implemented. Page 2

7 3. Specific Policy Details 3.1. Airlines Airline travel class entitlements are as follows: Management Committee Members Management Committee Members are encouraged to adhere to the travel class guidelines below as far as possible International Flights ` Staff are allowed to travel on Business Class on international flights : if the total flight time is greater than 5 hours (including transit time); when the flight is required to connect to a destination where there are no direct flights (with no stopover enroute); to and from North Asia specifically China destinations (excluding Hong Kong), Taiwan and India destinations; amongst the countries in the Gulf Co-operation Council (comprising UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Kuwait); and if the flight includes an overnight sector and the traveler has to start work at the destination soon after arrival. All other international travel where the total flight time is equal to or less than 5 hours are to be Economy class. For multi-sector trips with stopovers, travel time for each sector is to be considered separately to determine flight time. A connecting shorter segment may be booked at Business Class if the principal segment has been booked as Business Class under the guidelines Domestic Flights Staff are allowed to travel on Business Class on domestic flights in the following countries in view of the current airport and immigration infrastructure conditions at these destinations : China (including flights between Hong Kong and China destinations); Page 3

8 India Where the airline does not have a Business Class, staff may fly on either First or Economy class. At all other destinations, the 5-hr cut-off time is to be applied in determining class of travel for domestic flights Travel Class Upgrade Upgrading from economy to business class, which is not in line with the aforementioned travel policy, will not be at DBS expense. Exceptions to this rule apply when: Staff travel with a key decision maker of a key client who is traveling on a higher class; or Staff travel with a member of the Management Committee or Board and that staff is specifically requested to travel on the same class in order to discuss or review business matters during the flight; or The staff s ticket is paid by a client and expenses charged to that client. The staff pays for the difference in the costs between the entitled class and the upgraded class Unavailable Class of Travel If the appropriate class of travel is unavailable (or full), then a traveler should make alternative arrangements to : fly on another day when the entitled class of travel is available; or fly on another airline that has the entitled class of travel; or use a different route on the entitled class of travel; or obtain approval for an exception (as per paragraph 2.4 on Adherence to Policy) to upgrade if available Budget Airlines All travelers can use budget airlines for business travel. Where the TMC does not support such bookings, travelers are to make their bookings on these airlines themselves Use of Corporate Air Fares for Personal Travel Where committed by the airlines, staff can utilize the applicable corporate fares. Travel undertaken for home leave is treated as corporate travel and will be entitled to corporate fares Use of Telephone / Internet while on Flight Page 4

9 The use of in-flight phones should, as a rule, be avoided because of the high costs. Its use should therefore be on an 'exception' basis limited to urgent DBS business that has to be dealt with while the staff is on board the aircraft. Use of Internet services is allowed where there is a fixed maximum charge on usage. Staff claiming reimbursement for use of such services must produce evidence to show that the business was urgent enough to require such services. Approval under the existing DOA will apply to these reimbursements Hotels and Accomodation Hotels and accommodation such as serviced apartments have been selected with the following in mind: Security every corporate hotel is required to complete a security questionnaire cleared by Corporate Security before being appointed by GPS; Location where possible, hotel are selected in cities, close to offices and where most travelers are carrying out their businesses; Comfort only reputable hotels of at least 4-star grade are considered for appointment on a yearly basis; and Price price is evaluated in relation to the other 3 criteria above. At least 2 hotels (of 5-star and 4-star grades) will be appointed in destinations with usage of more than 200 room nights per annum. One 4 or 5-star hotel will be appointed for destinations with usage of less than 200 room nights per annum Corporate Hotels Our hotel policy is for travelers to stay in hotels that DBS has a corporate agreement with and has negotiated preferential rates. Staying at non-corporate hotels might not meet our safety requirements for our staff, will probably increase our costs, and reduce our negotiating power on corporate hotel rates. It is mandatory for staff to select an approved hotel at the corporate rate. The only exceptions to this requirement are: That staff has to stay in the same hotel as a client; or the corporate rates at all the corporate hotels are unavailable and alternative room rates at these hotels are too high; or The function (e.g., a conference, seminar or workshop) that the staff is attending is being held in another hotel. In addition to the above mandate, the Bank may also stipulate restrictions on the use of the corporate hotels at selected or all destinations for cost or other reasons. In the event that a corporate appointed hotel is not available at the corporate rates, travelers may consult the TMC s list of recommended hotels for alternative Page 5

10 accommodation. Non-compliance with the corporate travel policy may result in charges not being reimbursed by the Bank Serviced Apartments Travelers staying more than 2 weeks in any city are encouraged to use appointed serviced apartments (where available). Service apartments are also selected on the same basis as hotels. A service apartment list is provided on the intranet for our travelers viewing Telephone Use in Hotels Travelers are to refrain from originating telephone calls from hotel-based telephone services, since hotels generally apply large mark-ups for local and overseas calls. Instead, travelers should use lower cost services, such as a home country / office based telephone calling card or even home country-based mobile phones. In destinations where the Bank s italk service is available for communication between the Bank s offices, staff are encouraged to use the italk service for such communications, where feasible. A traveler is allowed to claim for 1 personal call per day made back home if the overseas trip is at least overnight - up to a maximum duration of 10 minutes per call. Any charges beyond this duration will be borne by the employee Hotels for Events Organized by the Bank BUs / SUs who organize events at overseas destinations should give priority to the use of the function rooms and guest rooms of the corporate hotels 3.3. Travel Bookings and Related Matters All travel bookings (e.g., airlines, hotels, car rental, rail passes) and travel-related matters (e.g., visa applications) must be arranged directly by individual departments through the DBS appointed TMCs Corporate Travel Management Company (TMC) Working with the corporate travel management company (TMC) provides the following advantages : In the event of an emergency, DBS will be able to locate our travelers easily. DBS will be provided with expert advice on current market conditions and industry benchmarks to assist us in negotiating the best rates. DBS benefits from demonstrating greater scale when negotiating volume discounts with airlines and hotels. Page 6

11 Staff from overseas offices that are not serviced by corporate TMCs should work with TMCs approved by the country manager of their respective offices. In the unforseen event where a staff has to make bookings without using the TMC (eg., for travel on budget airlines), the staff is to forward copies of their booking / itinerary to the DBS Travel Manager of their home country before their travel for record and traveler tracing purposes Airport Transfers In general, acceptable modes of airport transfers in key destinations are as follows: Singapore - flag-down taxis, MRT, public buses Hong Kong - MTR Airport Express (between airport and town station terminals), flag-down taxis (between MTR town station terminals and hotels) Bangkok - flag-down taxis, airport taxis Manila, Jakarta and Surabaya - airport or hotel limousines Taipei - flag-down taxis, subway, public buses Japan and Korea - airport buses, express train Indian cities - airport taxis and buses China cities - airport taxis and buses The guiding principle in the choice of airport transfers is to select the most economical and safe option available. In cities where security is a concern, a staff may choose to arrange for hotel transportation instead Overland Travel For land travel between countries, for example, Singapore and Malaysia or Hong Kong and Shenzhen or EU countries, staff may travel by public conveyances such as coaches, taxis or ferries. A BU/SU Head can authorize an employee to self-drive his own vehicle or hire a vehicle (with or without a chauffer depending on the destination). For self-drive cases, the employee will be eligible to claim mileage costs for the trip at a reasonable mileage rate set by the relevant HR Dept or approved by the BU Head (depending on local cost conditions). For vehicle-hire cases, the employee shall be allowed to claim for any expenses related to the vehicle hire, eg., rental, insurance, petrol expenses. Toll charges incurred can also be reimbursed at cost. All relevant receipts must be submitted to support such travel claims. All travelers on official business trips are covered door-to-door for Accidental Death/PD/Medical/Hospitalization. Staff should, however, ensure that they have the necessary licenses to drive the hired vehicle as well as the appropriate vehicle insurance for the trip. Most rental contracts already include insurance. In these instances, additional insurance should not be purchased. Page 7

12 An employee traveling overland as provided above should also inform his/her department of his/her impending whereabouts as details regarding such trip are not lodged with the TMC Travel Insurance All travelers on official business trips are covered in a comprehensive corporate travel insurance program taken up by the Bank. Travelers should not need to buy additional insurance cover. Travelers who take out additional insurance for travel already covered under the corporate program shall bear the cost of additional premiums incurred Security Precaution We advise all staff to refer to the Corporate Security s intranet website for Personnel Security - Travel Advice before each trip. See link given below: Travel Expenditure Staff can only claim business related expenses as per the guidelines below. Staff who extend their stay overseas for personal reasons are not entitled to claim any reimbursement for items during the personal part of their trip Reimbursable Expenditures for trips of one month or less The expenses listed below are reimbursable, Taxi fare from home to airport and back from airport (in home location); Ground transportation within business destinations (e.g., taxi, airport transfers, trains, etc.); Personal meals Official telephone calls (including 1 personal call a day) / telephone cards Travel-related vaccinations as advised by doctors or travel advisories issued by the Bank or the authorities Various hotel expenses (see below) Incidental expenses (eg. stationery items, small medical items, etc.) Staff should only claim for expenses which are necessary to ensure an appropriate standard of transportation and meals. The reimbursement is considered as compensation to staff for out-of-pocket expenses related to the trip and not as a staff benefit. It will be the responsibility of the Officer approving the claims to check on the reasonableness of the amounts claimed. A reasonable amount of tips based on acceptable practices in these countries can be claimed. Excessive tipping will not be reimbursed by the Bank. Page 8

13 Receipts must be presented for all claims, where possible Per Diem Allowances for Trips Longer Than One Month For overseas trips of more than a month in duration, per diem allowances will be paid. The allowance is meant to cover living expenses incurred overseas, including meals, transport and other incidental expenses such as laundry. The following daily limits apply: SGD80 per day for Asian countries, except for Korea and Japan. SGD120 per day for countries in the US, Europe, Oceania, Korea and Japan Hotel Expenses Staff will be eligible to claim for the cost of laundry during trips involving 2 or more nights stay for business purposes. Only laundry costs incurred during the trip will be reimbursed. Costs incurred for dry-cleaning of warm clothing either during or on return from the trip can also be claimed. Alcohol for personal consumption, massage service, Pay-TV / Movie expenses are not reimbursable Meal Expenses Travellers will be reimbursed for meal expenses according to actual and reasonable cost, consistent with what a traveller would incur in the home location. Claims are to be supported with original receipts and can be made personally or through fellow DBS travellers. In the latter situation, the claimant has to list the name of his/her fellow DBS travellers for each meal Overseas Entertainment Expenses For overseas entertainment expenses, the DBS Code of Conduct, (Annex IV : Gifts and Entertainment) applies. Please refer to the website: Approvals for Claims Approvers for claims are to be in accordance with the Finance Expense / DOA Policy Filing of Travel Documents Page 9

14 All travel documents (comprising approved OBT Forms, final travel itineraries, credit card statements, invoices, approved claims summaries and receipts) should be filed together centrally in Business Units to facilitate compliance checks and audits. 3.5 Payment for Travel Expenses Corporate Cards Travelers should charge their overseas travel expenses only to DBS Corporate Cards. The only exceptions when a personal credit card can be used are : New travelers who do not have a DBS Corporate Card; these travelers should then put up an application for the card as soon as possible; and in emergency or contingency situations. DBS personal cards should be used for such exceptions. All exceptions will be tracked and reported to BU / SU Heads. Non-adherence to this policy may result in charges not being reimbursed by the Bank. In locations where the DBS Corporate / Personal credit cards are not issued (eg. at subsidiaries or DBS overseas locations), staff may use any credit card to pay for their travel expenses. End of document Policy Requirements Document Page 10