Policy on Employee Related Expenses and Reimbursements

Effective Date: October 26, 2016
Responsibility: Executive Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer

This policy outlines the general policy statements for each topic. Follow the links at the end of each section for detailed rules, procedures, and directives.

APPLICATION

This Policy applies to all CBC/Radio-Canada employees with respect to the following topics:

  1. Events
  2. Duty Entertainment
  3. Business Travel
  4. Conferences and Other Events Organized by External Parties
  5. Individual Memberships to Professional or Trade Organizations
  6. Personal Services
  7. Employee Related Gifts, Donations and Awards
  8. Gifts to Third Parties
  9. Gifts from Business Partners and/or Suppliers

This Policy also applies to all non-employees who travel and/or incur expenses on CBC/Radio-Canada business.

Governing Policies and Procedures for unionized employees found in the applicable collective agreements apply if they differ from this Policy and its related rules, procedures, and directives.

DEFINITIONS

External Guest: A non CBC/Radio-Canada employee who is invited to an event. Excludes consultants, trainers or speakers who are facilitating a CBC/Radio-Canada only event.

Manager: The person an employee reports to in the organizational hierarchy. The manager must have a Delegation of Financial Authority (DFA).

Hospitality: Cost of food and beverages provided at events.

OBJECTIVE

To ensure that employee related expenses paid by CBC/Radio-Canada or expenses reimbursed to employees reflect good business practices. Good business practices require that all expenses:

  • Be directly related to business activities;
  • Be managed with prudence;
  • Represent the most economic and efficient use of funds; and
  • Be able to withstand public scrutiny.

STATEMENT OF POLICY

Incurring and approving expenses on behalf of the Corporation requires compliance with this Policy. For all expense claims, employees are accountable to the Corporation for submitting expenses in accordance with this Policy; managers are accountable for approving the expenses for reimbursement in accordance with this Policy.

Submission or approval of any employee reimbursement claim in violation of this Policy may be viewed as defrauding the Corporation and will be subject to investigation under policy 2.3.11 Fraud and Theft.

The Component Vice-President must approve his/her respective budgets for each of: Travel, Hospitality and Conferences as part of the annual business plan.

I. Events

Event: Any formal gathering of CBC/Radio-Canada employees (in which external guests may also participate). Events include: planning meetings, departmental management meetings, staff retreats, staff functions, receptions, and meals on or off CBC/Radio-Canada premises. Excludes events where the primary purpose is to generate revenue and develop business for CBC/Radio-Canada (which falls under the Directive on Duty Entertainment). Event costs include hospitality, space rental, travel, and any other costs directly linked to the event.

Under certain circumstances there is a benefit to CBC/Radio-Canada when individuals from outside the Corporation are entertained at CBC/Radio-Canada expense, and when the Corporation provides travel and/or hospitality to CBC/Radio-Canada staff.

The benefits from these types of expenditures are expected to contribute to improving the overall status of the Corporation in the community or enhancing relationships. As representatives of the Corporation, all employees participating in events and hospitality are expected to perform their duties in a manner that serves to preserve or enhance CBC/Radio-Canada’s reputation (see 2.2.21 Code of Conduct).

For more information, see Rules and Procedures on Events. Where events require travel, the Rules and Procedures on Business Travel must also be applied.

II. Duty Entertainment

Duty entertainment: Events, hospitality and/or travel costs, involving external guest, where the primary purpose is to generate revenue and develop business for CBC/Radio-Canada.

Where the purpose is the facilitation of revenue generation and business development, there is a benefit to CBC/Radio-Canada when individuals from outside the Corporation are entertained at CBC/Radio-Canada’s expense. As representatives of the Corporation, all employees participating in duty entertainment are expected to perform their duties in a manner that serves to preserve or enhance CBC/Radio-Canada’s reputation (see 2.2.21 Code of Conduct).

For more information, see Directive on Duty Entertainment. Where Duty Entertainment requires travel, the Rules and Procedures on Business Travel must also be applied.

III. Business Travel

Business Travel: Travel required for CBC/Radio-Canada business outside of an employee’s normal office and working environment.

Local Travel: Travel within the normal office location and working environment of an employee using means such as taxis, public transit, personal vehicle or fleet vehicle for the conduct of the Corporation’s day-to-day business. (e.g., travel within the Greater Toronto Area/Greater Montreal Area and adjacent suburbs).

Traveller: A CBC/Radio-Canada employee or any other person who is authorized for CBC/Radio-Canada business travel or local travel.

Travellers must be treated consistently and fairly, and are reimbursed for legitimate, necessary and reasonable travel expenses when travel is directly connected with or pertaining to CBC/Radio-Canada business.

For more information, see Rules and Procedures on Business Travel.

IV. Conferences and Other Events Organized by External Parties

Conference: A convention, seminar, symposium or other formal gathering, usually organized by a third party external to CBC/Radio-Canada, where participants debate or are informed of the status of a discipline related to CBC/Radio-Canada business (e.g. journalism, technology, management). Business meetings and training seminars or courses are not considered conferences.

Other events organized by an external party might include events such as galas, screenings, award ceremonies etc.

Conferences and other external events provide unique opportunities for exchange, debates or discussion of specialized or professional information, or recognition within an industry and benefits include establishing or maintaining relationships necessary to conduct the business of the Corporation.

CBC/Radio-Canada pays for or reimburses conference or other event costs when an employee’s attendance is a requirement of the position he/she occupies, or is beneficial in carrying out the employee’s duties.

For more information, see Rules and Procedures on Attending Conferences and Other Events Organized by External Parties. Where travel is required, the Rules and Procedures on Business Travel must also be applied.

V. Memberships to Professional or Trade Organizations

The Corporation pays for or reimburses employees for the cost of individual memberships in professional, trade and other organizations when membership to the organization is a requirement of the position they occupy, or is critical in carrying out the employee’s duties.

Membership costs are reimbursed if:

  • They are directly related to the employee’s role, enable the employee to carry out role responsibilities, and must be retained to maintain professional membership/standing in associations; or
  • They are required to facilitate research for program material, program ratings and audience research for marketing and sales planning and promotion; or
  • They are required to provide journalists access to training and news gathering facilities.

Wherever practical, corporate memberships are used to obtain the required benefits at lower overall costs.

The Corporation will not pay for, or reimburse, any rewards memberships (e.g. credit cards, airlines).

VI. Personal Services

CBC/Radio-Canada does not pay for, or reimburse, any goods or services provided to employees in their personal residences or vehicles, including but not limited to:

  • Personal or home internet, cable, satellite, streaming services, satellite radio, telephone or similar services;
  • Printers for use at home;
  • Personal subscriptions to, or purchase of, books, newspapers, magazines.

VII. Employee Related Gifts, Donations and Awards

The Corporation provides gifts to employees for long service (25 and 35 years), or awards to employees for outstanding service.

The Corporation provides flowers to the families of employees or donations, in lieu of flowers, to charitable organizations designated by them, to show respect in the death or serious illness of an employee.

For more information, see Rules and Procedures on Employee Related Gifts, Donations and Awards.

VIII. Gifts to Third Parties

Under certain circumstances there is a benefit to CBC/Radio-Canada when gifts or tokens of appreciation are given to third party business partners from outside the Corporation at CBC/Radio-Canada’s expense. These gifts are limited to CBC/Radio-Canada branded materials or goods with a value under $100.

Excludes gifts to third parties where the primary purpose is to generate revenue and develop business for CBC/Radio-Canada (which falls under the Directive on Duty Entertainment).

IX. Gifts from Business Partners and/or Suppliers

CBC/Radio-Canada employees must not accept free travel, meals, accommodations or other gifts from business partners and/or suppliers in excess of $200. No gift can be accepted from a business partner and/or supplier involved in an active or imminent request for proposal.

There may be other circumstances where it is not acceptable to accept any gifts. Therefore, employees must always consult 2.2.3 Conflict of Interest and Ethics Policy and 1.1.12 Free Travel Policy and their manager whenever a potential conflict of interest arises, whether real or perceived.

Use of Corporate Credit Cards

Whenever possible, all expenses must be charged to an employee’s corporate credit card.

For more information, see Rules and Procedures on Employee Individual Corporate Credit Cards.

Monitoring

All expense claims submitted under this Policy and its related Rules, Procedures and Directives are subject to random verification of compliance on a quarterly basis.

Disclosure

The total annual expenditures, for each of Travel (excluding Programming Travel), Hospitality, and Conference fees for CBC/Radio-Canada is disclosed annually on the external website as a component of proactive disclosure.

Exceptions

Any exceptions to this Policy and its related Rules, Procedures, and Directives must be pre-approved by a Component Vice-President using the Employee Expense Reimbursement Exception formwhich must be attached to the expense claim.

In rare cases, exceptions are not known in advance and cannot be pre-approved. These exceptions must be approved after the fact by the Component Vice-President using the Employee Expense Reimbursement Exception form, which must be attached to the expense claim.

The office of each Vice-President must have establish an appropriate exception monitoring system where the following information is gathered and retained:

  1. Name of employee with exception
  2. Nature and details of the exception
  3. Business reason for the exception;
  4. Amount of expenditure
  5. Vice-President who approved the exception

On a quarterly basis, the office of each Vice-President must provide all completed Employee Expense Reimbursement Exception forms to their local Finance Officer for review and retention. Each local Finance Officer must then submit the exception forms to the Executive Vice-President and CFO and the Controller’s office.

RELATED SUBSIDIARY POLICY INSTRUMENTS

TOOLS

REFERENCES

HISTORY

This Policy replaces the Policy on Employee Related Expenses and Reimbursements (April 1, 2016).

INQUIRIES

All questions pertaining to the interpretation or application of this Policy should be referred to the Office of the Controller or politique.finance.policy@cbc.ca.

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