Employees are Meeting Clients More to Avoid Working From Home Due to High Energy Bills as Entertainment Expenses Surge

Global expenses app, ExpenseOnDemand, has published a new report showing that as the cost-of-living crisis starts to impact millions across the UK, travel expense claims are surging, as employees start to reduce time working at home to keep energy bills down. The data shows that mileage and travel expense and claims have increased by 21% and entertainment claims by 15% showing that employees are spending more time out visiting contacts, clients, and colleagues.

As the cost of living starts to bite, many employees who predominately work remotely are looking to spend more time in the office, if they have a cost-effective commute. Or, as the new data shows meeting clients and contacts for face-to-face meetings, so the cost is covered by their employer. Winter is going to be hard for many employees in the UK as energy bills, and food and fuel costs continue to increase. Since the pandemic, the trend has been for more and more businesses to offer hybrid working with millions of employees now spending more time working from home rather than in the office.

The report from the leading global expenses app shows the trend for working from home is starting to shift as employees are leaving the house to keep energy costs down. For many, the cost of the commute to the office doesn’t make going back to the workplace a viable option. Hence, many employees are focused on meeting and entertaining clients and contacts as a way to spend time away from their home office during the working week. For those with cheaper commutes, many are heading back to the office for the majority of the week and this trend is expected to continue throughout winter.

Employee claims have always been difficult to monitor and manage especially when you have a larger workforce with a manual process and in today’s environment. Many employees also favour using their personal bank and credit cards for expenses to benefit from rewards and Air Miles. Our innovative tech is helping firms automate processes, spot duplicate receipts, and easily authenticate claims often saving them thousands or even millions in costs every year.

Sunil Nigam, Founder at ExpenseOnDemand, commented, “We could be looking at a situation where workers want to spend more time meeting clients or in the office to better manage their domestic energy and electricity costs.

This trend is naturally causing a surge in employee expenses. Companies need to ensure they are equipped to manage claims and also monitor dubious expense claims, as employees may try to increase their income. We use advanced tech solutions to make managing expenses seamless, minimise bogus claims and help our clients ensure they aren’t overpaying on expenses.”

ExpenseOnDemand will allow you to automate all your staff expenses and we pride ourselves on ensuring our tech is market-leading and our costs are not only completely transparent but also very competitive. At ExpenseOnDemand we offer a 30-day free trial, with the option to “pay as you use” model, allowing our clients to have flexibility and reassurance that they aren’t tied into a long-term commitment.