[Foundation-l] Travel policy

[Ray Saintonge]

Florence Devouard wrote:

>The Uninvited Co., Inc wrote:
>  
>
>>2.  Dependent care expenses are not reimbursed by most other
>>organizations and should no longer be reimbursed by the WMF now that it
>>has matured.
>>    
>>
>Why ?
>And, what does maturity have to do with that ?
>
This is not likely to be a big budget item.  It should also be available 
for staff members when they are required to be away from home for more 
than the normal working day.  If an affected office staff member needs 
to travel to Wikimania it would be perfectly acceptable to reimburse 
additional child care expenses. 

The only way that maturity should be a factor comes when the children 
are old enough to be left at home alone. (I loved that when I was little.) 

>>3.  The airfare policy should specify that advance purchase tickets
>>should be used and that travel should be booked at least 14 days in
>>advance, with exceptions documented and approved as necessary.
>>    
>>
>Correct. We could add this.
>
Some events can have blanket pre-approval, as with the need for Board 
members to attend Board meetings.  There also need to be exceptions when 
there is a real need to act quickly on short notice.

>>5.  The airfare policy should state whether or not and under what
>>circumstances a traveler is expected to take connecting rather than
>>direct flights to save money.  It is usual to require a traveler to
>>utilize a connecting flight if the cost savings exceeds several hundred
>>dollars.
>>    
>>
>Overkill as well imho. The policy already states "The lowest available 
>airfares shall be sought when making bookings."
>
Direct flights are often the cheapest anyway.  When you make stopovers, 
even the ones that you don't want, additional taxes and landing or 
takeoff fees are passed on to you.  Stopovers can also make the flight 
much longer.

>>6.  Ticketing fees should be included among the reimbursable expenses.
>>    
>>
>Sorry, what is "ticketing fees" ?
>
Fees charged by travel agents for selling tickets.  The airline industry 
does not give agents the commissions that they once did.  Nevertheless, 
WMF people are more internet savvy than their counterparts in 
traditional non-profits, and it should be possible for all of them to 
know how to make airline bookings on-line.  When e-tickets are adequate 
extra charges for paper tickets should not be recognized.

>>7.  Payment of necessary itinerary change fees imposed by airlines
>>should be included as a reimbursable expenses.
>>    
>>
>hmmm, right...
>
Yes, but shouldn't the airline accept responsibility for its own screwups?

Ec