In some organizations, often employees travel outside their regular place of work to resolve various issues related to the company. Such trips are called business trips. Those who rarely travel on business have a number of questions related to their working trip. How is travel time paid? Are weekend days paid on a business trip?
What is a business trip?
A business trip is a business trip of an organization employee with whom he has an employment agreement to a place remote from his permanent place of work and residence. Traveling for work, which are permanent, are not considered business trips. The duration, purpose and scope of the trip is determined by the employer.
What is the difference between a business trip and a regular trip?
It was noted above that traveling work or performed on the way is not considered a business trip. This implies work that requires moving from one locality to another. This type of activity includes the profession of a courier, a specialist who works on call (taxi driver, repair technician), sales agent. When concluding an employment contract with such specialists, a separate clause stipulates that his work is of a traveling nature.
Types of business trip
The following types of business trips are described in regulatory documents:
- territorial - in Russia and outside the country;
- temporary - long and short term;
- by the number of participants - single and group;
- organization - planned and unscheduled.
In this article, we consider the features of short-term, one-day and single-player trips. A one-day trip should be understood as a business trip, the duration of which does not exceed 24 hours, after which the employee returns to his place of permanent residence and work.
Who should not be sent on a business trip?
An employer may send on a business trip only those employees with whom he has an employment contract. But among such workers there may be a category of people who cannot be sent on a business trip:
- employees working under a student agreement, but if the business trip is related to training, they can go;
- pregnant women;
- candidates who run for election;
- employees who cannot travel due to poor health;
- Persons under the age of 18, with the exception of employees who have a creative profession.
Who can go on a business trip?
The category of employees who can go on a business trip with a written agreement include:
- women who have a child under 3 years old;
- employees who bring up children up to 5 years old without a spouse;
- employees who are guardians of children under the age of majority;
- workers caring for a disabled child or a seriously ill relative who needs constant care.
This category of employees has the right to refuse a business trip by submitting a statement to the head.
Can freelance and part-time workers be sent on business trips?
There is a category of employees who work in the organization, but are not on the staff. These include employees who work:
- out of state;
- concurrently.
Can I send them on business trips? How is a trip paid in their case?
A freelance employee is an employee who works in the organization at the invitation or demand. His work is not permanent and a civil legal contract is concluded between him and the organization, not a labor contract. Therefore, their labor relations are regulated not by the Labor Code, but by the Civil Code. Is the trip paid in this case? Yes, it is paid, but not under an employment contract, but under civil law. The person is compensated for the costs associated with:
- travel and rental housing;
- other expenses prescribed in the contract.
They can be paid in the following ways:
- All expenses are included in the amount of remuneration established by the contract.
- Contract remuneration and expenses are paid separately.
- The organization itself pays for all or part of the costs associated with the trip without the participation of a seconded employee.
Part-time work It is carried out in free time from the main work and therefore the part-time employee cannot be seconded if he is involved in another organization during a business trip. In this case, written permission is required to travel the employer from the main place of work.
If during the business trip the employee is free from activities at the main place of work, then the permission of the employer is not required.
If both employers send the employee on a business trip, then they will distribute among themselves the costs associated with the business trip, as agreed.
How is a trip arranged?
Before a business trip, an employee gets acquainted with the purpose and job assignments and agrees or refuses a business trip in writing. With the consent, the following documents are needed to complete the trip:
- an order (order) of the employer to send an employee on a business trip;
- progress report;
- expense report.
This list of documents is a simplified form, which was introduced in 2016. But along with the new one, the old form of processing a business trip can be applied, which, in addition to the above documents, includes:
- travel certificate;
- job assignment.
The order is drawn up according to forms No. T-9, if one employee is traveling, and T-9a, if a group.
Progress Report is an employee in a special column in the document "Job assignment", which was sent on a business trip. It should be drawn up no more than 3 days after returning from a business trip to a permanent place of residence and work.
Expense report needed to confirm the advance payment or receipt of funds to reimburse travel expenses. To confirm expenses, receipts, tickets and receipts are attached to the report.
How is a trip paid?
One of the important questions for those who go on a business trip is whether the trip is paid. The answer is yes. The employer incurs a number of expenses related to the work trip. How is a trip paid? Consider below.
- Average earnings. If an employee goes on a business trip, then he has guarantees to maintain average earnings, for the determination of which they use the formula - the salary accrued for the days worked is divided by the number of days worked.
- Taxes. All income of individuals is taxed, and therefore the personal income tax is taxed and the average earnings of an employee going on a business trip.
- Insurance. Average earnings are taxed by the insurance premium, since it is a payment or remuneration accrued to the payer of insurance premiums in favor of individuals under employment contracts.
- Contributions to injuries. Average earnings are assessed for injuries.
- Income tax. The amount of average earnings is taken into account in labor costs.
- Per diem. The amount of money that covers the personal expenses of an employee on a business trip during a trip with which he can return to his place of work and permanent residence is not paid if the business trip is less than 24 hours. An exception is a trip abroad, on which the traveler departs and returns on the same day. How is a trip abroad paid if it does not exceed 24 hours? The answer is 50% of the amount specified in the collective agreement and local regulatory act.
If you have a question about whether these provisions apply if the trip is for one day? How is it paid in this case? The answer is that the payment rules are the same.
Are travel and other expenses paid?
We examined how a business trip is paid and the expenses associated with it, which are prescribed in regulatory documents and are taxable and insurance premiums. But there are a number of expenses that the employer is also obliged to pay to the employee, but they are not taxed and paid. This is the payment of travel, housing and other expenses agreed or inconsistent with management. All such expenses must be documented.
How are travel expenses paid? If there are documents confirming the cost of the trip, then the expenses are compensated based on the amount indicated on the check or ticket.
If there are no documents, but there is a trip, then based on the minimum tariff plan of economy class in airplanes, trains and the price of a two-way ticket on the bus.
The remaining expenses are recorded in the accompanying documents, according to which the employee goes on a business trip.
How is a trip paid on weekends and holidays?
Above, we examined how business trips are paid on business days. And if the business trip was on a weekend or holiday? In this case, travel expenses are compensated differently. Consider how a trip is paid on a day off.
According to the Labor Code, the work of a seconded employee on a weekend or holiday is paid at least twice. The amount of payment depends on the type of work. So if the job:
- piecework, then the payment is in double piecework rate;
- daily or hourly, then at least double daily and hourly tariff rates;
- salary - in a single amount from the hourly or daily rate, if the work was performed within the monthly norm, and in double size from the daily or hourly rate, if the work exceeded the monthly rate.
Please note that the double wage does not apply to all 24 hours during which the employee is on a business trip. How is travel time paid on weekends and holidays? Increased labor remuneration for work on a weekend or holiday is calculated taking into account those hours during which the employee will fulfill his duties. The number of hours is prescribed in advance in the order on a business trip. Let's consider in more detail not an example. Suppose there is an organization called “Plastic Windows and Doors Plus,” and its employee Ivanov Ivan Ivanovich was sent to a neighboring city on a business trip to the exhibition “New Technologies in the Field of Plastic Windows and Doors.” The exhibition will be held from 10:00 to 20:00. This means that the working hours of Ivanov Ivan Ivanovich will be from 10:00 to 20:00, and the organization will pay in double size only those 10 hours that it will be at the exhibition.
Recommendations for the employee
We examined how a trip is paid on a weekend and decided the financial side of the issue. Below we will consider how to avoid problems on a business trip that may arise after arrival.
- Familiarize yourself with the criminal situation in the city in advance and find out safe routes from the airport or train station to the hotel and organization to which you are sent.
- Before the trip, read the documents that you need to fill out and check their availability before departure.
- Use the goods and services of those organizations that use cash registers and are credible.
We examined what a one-day trip is, how such a business trip is paid, and what should be followed when leaving. Therefore, this article will help to avoid misunderstandings before, during and after a business trip.
