BUSINESS TRAVEL & EXPENSES POLICY

BUSINESS TRAVEL & EXPENSES POLICY

When employees are required to travel on business, the HR Travel Desk will make
the necessary arrangements to ensure travel requirements are met. Employees are
to submit all documents and approvals to the Travel Desk before travel is arranged.
Travel Desk will thereafter make arrangements for the purchasing of airline tickets,
making hotel bookings and arranging transportation where required.
Reimbursements for reasonable sundry travel expenses and costs incurred as a
consequence of business travel will be reimbursed to the Employee by RA providing
the conditions in Article 4 are met.

Business related travel must have a recurring benefit to the company (e.g., business
development meetings with potential clients or attendance at mandatory site visits)
or be a strategic necessity for the company (e.g., registering a company in a new
jurisdiction).

1. Purpose
The purpose of this Policy is to provide efficient, reasonable, and accountable
guidelines for dealing with business travel expenses, to identify the mandatory
submissions of reports after business travel and the benefit of such travel to the
company; to delineate those expenses that are eligible for reimbursement and
specify any financial limits applicable to such expenses; and to explain the
procedures and responsibilities for dealing with business travel expenses.

2. Principles
The means of travel must be cost-effective and commensurate with Employee’s
position within the company as indicated in Articles 4.1 and 4.2. Business Travel must
be justified, approved and followed by an Expense Claim Form. All travel expense
claim forms are to be submitted to the Travel Representative or the HR
representative in operational areas.

3. Scope
This Policy applies to all Directors, Management, and Staff expected to travel locally
and abroad for business purposes.

4. Expense Definitions
Eligible Expenses are normally those deemed reasonable and prudent e.g.,
transportation (taxis, airport buses, car rentals, parking charges, public
transportation), accommodation, meal allowances, telephone calls, immigration
registration, and other business-related expenditures.

Non-Eligible Expenses are usually those deemed personal, e.g., personal

entertainment, sightseeing, side travels, ‘tips’ and expenses for a spouse or other
individual accompanying the Employee.

Reasonable Expenses are expenses accrued that may be justifiably expected in the
normal course of business and that have not necessarily been accounted for in any

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budgeted requirement and/or not specifically detailed in this Policy.

4.1 FLIGHTS
The Travel Desks will always ensure that business travel is arranged by the most
economically available flights. Directors, in view of their business preparation and
planning requirements, are entitled to business class travel.

4.1.1 Prior to making a travel arrangement, each employee whose position

requires business travel must obtain approval from their Line Manager
and complete a Business Travel Request Form. Upon receiving a
request for Business Travel, the Travel Desk will coordinate with
company approved travel agencies to arrange the travel itinerary.
4.1.2 In some cases, the Requestor of the Travel can be different from the
Traveller but should be well documented in relation to the reason for
travel.
4.1.3 The Requester should provide the purpose of the Travel as per the
below categories:
• Operations (General): this Category will be covering normal
business operations and cost will be charged to his respective
department.
• Operations (Specific): where the purpose of Travel is for a specific
Project, the Requestor should specify the related Project Name after
confirming with the Director of Projects as the cost will be charged
to that specified Project.
• Training
• Selling (General): this category should be approved by Business
Development Director.
• Selling (Specific): this category should be approved by Business
Development Director.
• PLC: This is specific to UK related travels and should be approved
by the CFO.
4.1.4 Requests for Business Travel should be made as far in advance
(preferably one month in advance of the Travel) to secure the best
discounts and availability. All airline tickets will normally be issued as
e-tickets. It is the responsibility of the Employee to review the tickets
and itinerary and ensure they meet the scheduled requirements of
Travel.
4.1.5 Airfares change constantly and there are certain airline rules
associated with special fares and air carriers. The non-refundable rules
with relation to air tickets require that changes to a ticket must be
made prior to the original date and time of travel. Some carriers are
more lenient allowing changes to be made up until the last minute.
Failure to follow the time restrictions on ticket changes will result in
forfeiture of the full ticket value which will be charged to the Employee

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if no justifiable reason for the change exists. Missing flights, unless

through extraneous circumstances, will result in the full ticket fare
being recovered from the Employee concerned.
4.1.6 Changes resulting from frequent flyer upgrades are the responsibility
of the Employee and will not be reimbursed. Employees are
responsible for processing their own upgrades. Deliberately causing
the company to pay more than the lowest available airfare for the
purpose of obtaining personal gratuities (e.g., frequent flyer awards,
first/business class upgrades) is strictly prohibited. Under no
circumstances may an employee deviate from the standards set in this
Policy in order to accumulate travel bonuses.
4.2 ACCOMMODATION
4.2.1 In the event that the Travel Desk has not made the arrangements for
accommodation, employees have to seek approval from the Travel
desk if they need to book own accommodation and travel desk can
work on a benchmark to be reimbursed. Reimbursement for hotels and
other lodging will be limited to reasonable amounts and should not
exceed the single occupancy rate. Employees should give due
consideration to location and economy prior to making arrangements
for accommodation.
4.2.2 Employees on long term business travel, which is defined as any stay
above two (02) weeks, is required to verify accommodation with Head
of Human Resources.
4.2.3 Employees on Business Travel are required to stay in hotels unless RA
has specific accommodation in the country visited, or when the
Employee has made private arrangements to stay with family or
friends. Eligibility for accommodation when on business travel will be
arranged to the following guidelines:
Type of Accommodation:
5 Star (down to 4 Star when non-availability of standard or at
Directors:
discretion of RA)
3 Star (Up to 4 Star when non-availability of standard or at
Management:
discretion of RA)
2 Star (Up to 3 Star when non-availability of standard or at
Staff:
discretion of RA)

4.3 DAILY ALLOWANCE

4.3.1 A maximum daily allowance is sanctioned as follows when on short
stay Business Travels up to a maximum stay of two (02) weeks:

Role Max Allowance Breakfast Lunch Evening Meal

Directors $80 $10 $30 $40
Managers $65 $10 $25 $30
Staff $55 $10 $20 $25

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4.3.2 If hotel stay is inclusive of breakfast, allowance for breakfast will not
be provided.
4.3.3 This allowance is allocated on a per day meal basis depending on the
portion of the day the Employee is actually travelling on behalf of the
company. Additionally, this allowance supports other living costs and
is payable in advance or retrospectively and does not need to be
supported by receipts. Transportation TO and FROM airports, entry
and exit visas or inoculations are not included within this allowance
and may be claimed separately providing receipts are provided.
4.3.4 Long stay Business Travels are those travels that are beyond two (02)
weeks where the Employee or Travel Desk will need to verify the daily
allowance with the Head of Human Resources.
4.3.5 Laundry charges are also not included in this allowance but are
payable only where hotel stay, or travel time exceeds three (03) days.
4.3.6 The daily allowance is not payable when employees are hosted in
operational areas where RA operates and provides facilities such as
food, transport, and accommodation.
4.4 ENTERTAINMENT EXPENSES
Directors who incur business-related entertainment expenses, must include full
details of these expenses on their Expense Claim Form, and must fill up Record of
Gifts & Hospitality Form as per Appendix A of Gifts and Hospitality Policy, and will
be required to complete a business meal/entertainment statement upon their return
when requested by the Head of Human Resources. Expense Claim Form must include
justification of this expense and must be clearly within the parameters of Article 7.4
set forth in the Anti-Bribery & Corruption Policy and Gifts and Hospitality Policy.

4.5 TRAVEL ADVANCE

Employees can request a Travel Advance based on the approximate forecasted
expense during the Travel. The travel advance that an Employee can receive is based
on the length of the Travel. Travel Advance is applicable to staff and managers and
submitted to the Travel Desk one (01) week in advance.

5. Procedures for Approval and Reimbursement

To ensure all staff follow the required procedures for approval and subsequent
reimbursement of expenses incurred as a consequence of a Business Travel, a
Expense Claim Form must be completed.

5.1 BUSINESS TRAVEL REQUEST FORM

5.1.1 Obtain prior approval of each Travel from the relevant signing
authorities. It is not acceptable for an Employee to approve his/her
request, or that of his/her supervisor.
5.1.2 When the form is completed and the relevant approvals obtained, the
original is to be submitted to the Travel Desk for release of the Travel

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Advance if required (the Employee is required to keep a copy).

5.1.3 When no cash advance is required the form functions only as an
approval for Business Travel.
5.2 EXPENSE CLAIM FORM FOR BUSINESS TRAVEL
The following steps should be completed within 10 working days of returning from
Business Travel:

5.2.1 Complete Expense Claim Form for expenses incurred outside of the
daily allowance. Include information on the purpose of the Travel and
the destination. Attach original receipts and where original receipts
are not possible then scanned copies of receipts are to be submitted
for approval by the Line Manager.
5.2.2 The employee should be specific on the amount of the advance
required in the correct currency (if required).
5.2.3 Once approved, submit the form along with original receipts to HR to
be included in payroll.
Reimbursement will be paid through payroll within the same month of
travel if the Expense Claim Form is submitted by the 15th of the month.
If submitted after the 15th of the month, reimbursement will be made
in the following month payroll.
Note: The finance department may request further information from
the Employee submitting the Expense Claim Form, or that of his/her
Line Manager/Supervisor in relation to any expense claim.
5.3 MISSING RECEIPTS
Employees submitting an Expense Claim Form without original receipts for expenses
incurred outside of the daily allowance must provide a written statement explaining
why the receipts are missing, which must be approved by the signing authority.

6. Staff Expenses and Entitlements

It is recognized that a variety of expenses may be incurred by Employee who may
be representing the best interests of RA, which are not necessarily covered in the
Business Travel elements above. In those instances, all claims by an Employee must
be authorized by their Head of Department or an authorized signatory, the signatory
must have the appropriate managerial responsibility. The certification by the
manager or authorized signatory (who should not be junior to the claimant) shall be
taken to mean that:

• The Travels were authorized.

• The expenses were properly and necessarily incurred.
• The allowances are properly payable by RA.
• The expense should be within the boundaries of all RA compliance policies
(No Bribes, No Gift offered to RA Customers/Client unless permitted as per
Article 7.4 of Anti-Bribery and Corruption Policy, and documented as per
Appendix A of Gifts & Hospitality Policy).

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6.1 TRAVELLING EXPENSES

All employees with RA do so in full knowledge of our business location.
Transportation to and from the business location is the responsibility of the
Employee unless agreed otherwise. Public transport costs, when company transport
is not provided relating to RA business, will be reimbursed in full. All travel expense
claims must be supported by receipts/tickets.

Use of a personal vehicle in Dubai, Somalia, CAR, Mozambique, Nairobi, Uganda, or

any other location where the company has business interests for commuting TO and
FROM the office is not a reimbursable expense (e.g., parking & mileage). However, if
a personal vehicle is used to travel to a destination other than the office in Dubai,
Somalia, CAR, Mozambique, or Nairobi for business purposes, then the expenses are
reimbursable at the rates stated below:

Country Measure Value

UAE FILS/KM 60
Kenya SHILLING/KM 40
UK PENCE/MILE 45

7. International Travel
To ensure the highest level of safety while on international assignments, employees
should ensure they have available the name and telephone number of the in-country
business contact prior to departure. When travelling, employees are always required
to provide Head of Department and the HR Department with an itinerary and contact
numbers. When travelling, employees are encouraged to keep additional copies of
their itinerary and passport pages containing vital information in a safe luggage
compartment, separate from the actual documents. These measures will facilitate
speedier replacement procedures in case original documents are lost or stolen.

An entry and exit visa may be required for international business travels. Employees
should ensure timely arrangements to apply for any required visa prior to departure
date. It is advisable that passport sized photographs are carried/kept should they be
required.

7.1 EXCESS BAGGAGE

Employees are advised that airline baggage restrictions and load limits must be
adhered to. Excess baggage over and above the permitted restriction is a personal
expense and is not reimbursable from RA. Operating area personnel, who have been
relocated by RA to an area outside of their allocated operating area, may claim up
to 20kg excess baggage over the airline limit if approved by their Line Manager.

7.2 PASSPORTS
Renewal of passports is the responsibility of the employee and not a reimbursable
expense. Employees who represent the interests of RA abroad or in operational
areas on a regular basis (more than 10 times per year) may have renewed and/or
second passports funded at company expense in accordance with relevant clause in
their employee contract or with approval from a Director.

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7.3 INOCULATIONS
RA will normally make arrangements for inoculations for employees travelling on
business to various areas of the world, on behalf of RA. Inoculations approved will
be in accordance with the World Health Organization (WHO) Immunization
Recommended Vaccine List. Employees are advised to check this list and any
inoculations they have not received should be brought to the attention of the HR
Department. Inoculations on the WHO list will be funded by RA.

7.4 RA EMPLOYEE RESPONSIBILITIES

7.4.1 Exercise good judgment with respect to expenses.
7.4.2 Some countries we operate in require the appropriate inoculations.
Ensure you are covered.
7.4.3 Security is paramount. Adhere to country requirements at all times.
7.4.4 Visa applications can be a lengthy process. Plan accordingly.
7.4.5 Ensure validity of passport and that it remains in date for the duration
of stay.
7.4.6 Spend the company’s money as carefully and judiciously as you would
your own.
7.4.7 Report all expense promptly and accurately with the required
documentation.
7.4.8 Claim reimbursement for business expenditures only. If a Business
Travel includes both business and personal expenditures, only the
business expenditures will be reimbursed.
7.4.9 Ensure all planned Business Travels are discussed with the HR
Department.

8. Summary
RA is a business, and as such will reimburse employees for expenses incurred as a
result of representing our interests. We will not repay employees for expenses that
have not been incurred in the best interests of the company or are outside the remit
of this Policy. The HR Department will monitor this Policy continually to ensure it
remains current.

Policy
Next Policy Review
Implementation/
Date
Review Date

Judy Cunningham
July-2022 October-2024
Head of Human Resources

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