Pay, Expenses & Pension

Pay

(Contractual.)

Your salary is set out in your contract of employment. You will be paid monthly, normally on or before the last working day of each calendar month, by bank transfer.

Your payslip will show gross pay, tax, National Insurance, pension contributions, and any other deductions. If you think there is an error, raise it promptly so it can be investigated.

Expenses

The company will reimburse expenses that are reasonably and necessarily incurred in the course of your work and that represent a reasonable and economic way of carrying out that work. Significant travel, accommodation, and subsistence costs must be authorised in advance.

Mileage

(Contractual.)

Business travel to client sites, construction sites, and other work locations in your own vehicle is reimbursed at 55 pence per mile for the first 10,000 business miles in a tax year, and 25 pence per mile thereafter (or the HMRC Approved Mileage Allowance Payment rates in force from time to time). These rates — an increase from the long-standing 45 pence per mile — took effect on 6 April 2026. The allowance is in line with the HMRC rate and covers fuel, wear and tear, and insurance. It does not apply when you drive the company van, for which the company pays the fuel — see Company Vehicles.

Mileage is measured by the most direct practicable route from your home address. Ordinary commuting — travel between your home and any permanent workplace — is not reimbursable.

Mileage claims should be submitted monthly, recording the date, destination, purpose, and miles travelled, and are subject to the company’s reasonable verification.

Relocation. The company’s policy is that a voluntary change in your home address should not, of itself, increase the mileage costs the company bears. Where your contract of employment provides for it, mileage following a relocation is calculated from a fixed reference address (your home as at the relevant date) or from the company’s base, whichever is nearer to the destination. The basis that applies to you is set out in your contract of employment, which prevails in the event of any conflict with this policy.

Other Expenses

Other legitimate business expenses — for example, parking charges at a client site, train fares, or overnight accommodation — will be reimbursed on production of receipts. Submit expense claims monthly.

Overnight accommodation and subsistence are reimbursed only where the journey cannot reasonably be completed within the working day and the arrangements have been pre-approved by Mike Wood. The company funds the reasonable and economic means of delivering the work, not the most expensive option; where there is a more economic way to achieve the same result, that is what will be reimbursed.

Company Vehicles

(Non-contractual policy.)

The company provides a van for business use. This section explains how the van may be used and the records you must keep when you drive it. Please follow it carefully: it matters both for keeping the company’s insurance valid and for keeping the van free of a tax charge — for you and for the company.

How This Differs From the Mileage Policy

The Mileage policy (45 pence per mile) applies only when you use your own vehicle for business travel. When you drive the company van, the company pays for the fuel, so that rate does not apply. The rules in this section apply instead.

Permitted Use

The van is provided for business travel and ordinary commuting only. You may:

• Drive the van for business journeys — to client sites, construction sites, suppliers, and other work locations.
• Use the van for ordinary commuting between your home and your workplace.

You must not make any significant private use of the van. HMRC permits only insignificant private use — for example, occasionally stopping at a shop on the way home from a job, or making a rare trip to the tip. It does not include regular private journeys such as the weekly shopping, the school run, social visits, holidays, or using the van as a second family car.

Keeping private use within these limits is what keeps the van free of a taxable benefit-in-kind charge. If your circumstances change and you think you may need to use the van privately, speak to Mike Wood before you do — do not simply start using it, as it can create a tax liability for both you and the company.

Who May Drive

• Only employees authorised by the company, holding a current and valid UK driving licence for the vehicle, may drive the van.
• Tell Mike Wood promptly about any driving convictions, penalty points, or medical conditions that affect your licence.
• The company may ask to see your licence from time to time to keep its insurance valid.
• No one outside the company — including family and friends — may drive the van.

Mileage Logging

You must keep a mileage log for the van and complete it as you go, journey by journey — not from memory at the end of the month. For every journey, record:

• the date;
• the start and end point (postcode or site name);
• the purpose of the journey;
• whether it was business, commuting, or private;
• the odometer reading at the start and end (or the miles travelled).

Record the log online, against the van’s record on the company equipment register at https://equipment.actacoustics.co.uk/equipment/21/detail. The online record is the primary log. The printable sheet provided at the end of this handbook (Appendix — Company Van Mileage Log) is an offline fallback — use it when there is no signal on site, or to jot down journeys and transcribe them to the online record later. Once a year you will be asked to sign a short declaration confirming that your private use of the van has been no more than insignificant.

This log is what demonstrates to HMRC that the van is used for business and commuting only, and it supports the company’s VAT position on fuel. Complete, contemporaneous, and honest logging protects both you and the company.

Fuel

• The company pays for the van’s fuel through a fuel card or company account. Use it only for the company van.
• Keep all fuel and VAT receipts and pass them to the company.
• Because the company pays for the fuel, there is a private element to account for when the company reclaims VAT — even on commuting miles. The mileage log allows the company’s accountant to handle this correctly.
• If any incidental private mileage does occur, tell Mike Wood. As there is no HMRC advisory fuel rate for vans, the company will recover the cost of the fuel for those private miles from you at a fair rate based on the van’s actual running cost.
• Return the van to the lockup with a full tank, ready for the next job. If you use the last of the fuel on a journey, refuel before returning it.

Insurance, Condition and Care

• The van is insured for business use. Do not use it for any purpose the insurance does not cover.
• Keep the van clean, roadworthy, and secure. Carry out basic checks (oil, tyres, lights, washer fluid) and report anything wrong promptly.
• The company arranges and pays for servicing, MOT, and repairs. Report any defect, warning light, or damage to Mike Wood as soon as you notice it.
• Do not smoke in the van, and do not carry anything that would breach the law or invalidate the insurance.

Accidents, Fines and Security

• Report any accident, damage, or theft immediately — however minor — and complete any insurance paperwork promptly.
• You are personally responsible for any driving penalties you incur (for example speeding, parking, congestion, or clean-air charges). The company will pass these on to you.
• When the van is not in use, return it to the lockup, lock it, and leave the keys at the lockup — do not take them home and do not leave them in the van.
• No equipment is to be left in the van overnight. Measuring instruments and other company equipment must be removed at the end of the day and stored securely. Do not leave equipment or valuables on display in the van at any time.

Keeping Records

The company retains the mileage logs, fuel records, and your annual private-use declarations for at least six years, as HMRC may ask to see them.

Pension

(Contractual.)

The company operates a workplace pension scheme in compliance with auto-enrolment legislation. Eligible employees are automatically enrolled.

• Employer contributions and employee contributions are at the minimum rates required by law (currently 3% employer and 5% employee, based on qualifying earnings).
• You have the right to opt out of the pension scheme, but the company will re-enrol you at regular intervals as required by law.
• If you wish to make additional voluntary contributions, speak to Mike Wood.

Details of the pension provider and scheme rules will be provided separately.