As regards car insurance I understand that, once airside, the provisions of the Road Traffic Acts no longer apply and your private vehicle is no longer insured! A mate of mine once had the remains of a JP land on his motorbike. It was parked outside his office, airside, and the insurance company didn't want to know. The RAF paid for the damage.

Probably well out of date now but we were informed by a senior Army pay office official once that a part of the motor mileage allowance was to cover the costs of additional insurance and that it was the individuals reponsibility to ensure that their insurer was aware that the car was not just for private purposes only but also used in connection with ones 'business'. The inference was that if you were involved in an accident you sorted it out.

Incidental Expenses
 

Can't you still claim your £5ish a day ie if you are away for over 24 hours (even if staying at Mil Accom)? If so, does this cover your food & accom charges? It's been while so I'm not too sure.

You may wish to post the question on e-goat under the Shiney's area, where I'm sure there will be someone who can give you the gen you need.

Whenever I've been away at PAYD units (not on a course over 2 weeks) I ask for receipts and claim when I get back, just the same as I would if I had gone to a civvy food joint.

Been audited, no dramas so far.

Whatever's on the mess bill, minus alcohol, laundry charges (covered by IE)etc.

Spoke to accounts first time I did it, they didn't raise any objections. So far have only done it for day visits (PAYD lunch) and single overnighters (again PAYD stuff). Exactly what I would do if I went to a Hotel on actuals.

I should assume that as you're not paying standard meal charges, you're entitled to the full DS rate of £24.53 per day. The JSP'll have the gen!

What are the rules governing MoD Civil Servants?
Are they expected to pay these rates when they are on duty away from their home base?

If they are not, and wholly under a different scheme, then I would argue that as MoD employees as well, we (the military) would have a discrimination case against the MoD on the grounds of preferential treatment for civilian staff over uniformed staff.

What about other Government employees? I bet the NHS Nurses and Police don't have the same draconian penny pinching measures levied against them?

I have asked many corporate orgs and they have all been amazed that uniformed staff are expected to pay for their own accn/food when away on company business (ie course etc)

Just because we are military it doesn't mean we have to bend over and be shafted like this. It's about time someone approached their MP/courts on this distgusting money grabbing miserly tactic!

Well, I only claim back what I spend, i.e. what's on the receipt. I hadn't considered a daily limit though, never needed to so far.

5 Forward 6 Back
Thought DS was £21.90, or has it gone up?

As a full-time employee, I can't really see why anyone sent on a short duration course (5 days or less) should be entitled to anything more than:

• Travel costs (including incidentals) from place of residence to course location and back.
• Accommodation costs whilst on course.
• Incidental expenses whilst on course (e.g. car parking, phone calls, WiFi connection).
• Difference between cost of eating at place of residence (when on duty) and on course.

Is that what you receive in HMFC these days?

Any large organisation or even individual (both civil and MOD) can "self-insure" ie. become an insurer. Some sort of bond is lodged with the central insurance regulators to ensure that the liquid funds are available to cover a large 3rd party claim.

Tescos do it for their fleet and premises (and they suffer on average two total store losses a year - burn down etc.). When I worked for ICL they did it.

And the MOD can supply you with a letter stating the cover they provide in the absence of a proper insurance certificate.

Insurance is a form of betting and the insurance companies have spent a fortune on employing great expertise to determine the likelyhood of claims and setting the premiums to ensure that they make money. Therefore, as a consumer, the odds are against you claiming - which if its good enough for the insurance companies is also good enough for me - go for the minimum insurance required to comply with the law.

Issues with insurance are more relevant to driving your own vehicle. You need business insurance if you are driving for work. Comes with some policies, is extra on others, just check if you are covered or not.

Personally I always use a Service vehicle, the rates of duty mileage are insufficient, even with tax relief. Issue there is what happens if something happens that you might need to claim for yourself (vehicle fault causing accident and injury to yourself for example) and the support with a subsequent claim that you might get. Always best to ensure that you have some sort of legal cover for your subsequent fight with MoD, but there are plenty of 'where there's blame, there's a claim' lawyers out there.

As for the allowances system, someone needs to sort out the barking situation asap. The only equal way of treating singlies and pads is for there to be no charges when deployed away from parent Unit. It is not right that singlies continue to pay food charges while others do not. If I go away from home I am not eating food from my fridge; hence I am not spending money on it. It seems logical that we should all be treated the same way.

This is really not rocket science is it?

Burning Bush,

It has, WEF Apr 08. I was a penny out though, it's £24.52.