Does anyone know whether there is a standard 'Away from Home' subsistence rate.
I would hope that accomodation is included and that the rate must only be for eating.
Is there one for London as well?
I am asking on behalf of an enquirer who will be getting ?8 over the normal pay to cover expenses of London.
Any advice?
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I've heard of units refusing to pay anything when people are in self catered accommodation and then only paying ?5 a night for people in B&Bs. Other places i've heard of pay ?10 a night. But I don't know what the bigger units pay.
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The company that i've been working for have a strange formula for subsistance payments. i'll see if i can excavate a copy and post it here.
deep
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I know of three extremely contrasting amounts: one small contracting unit who pays ?35 a week, one very large unit who pay ?60 a week and one extremely large gov organisation who allow up to ?90 a day!
Although the last is including accomodation, but still even if your hotel costs ?50 a night, thats about ?200 a week by my calculations...grrr.
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I always feel a fair rate (if you are getting a B and B) is ?10 a day... covers Dinner and a nice glass of Chardonanay...
If you are having to find your own accomodation... or if the accomodation is self catering... then that is different.
Self Catering is little different from being at home... you can eat exactly the same as a home and so there is no appreciable additional cost.
the London Question is interesting... as I am unsure how much extra a dinner might cost or a pint of milk.
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The ones I've worked for had an ?8 a night for B&B, and nothing for self catering...which suited me fine. Found a nice cheap pub when we were staying at B&B's, get a massive pub meal (cheap!) and a pint...sorted
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I think deciding on a fair subsistence rate is actually difficult question.
The notion that self catering accomodation means you donot spend more than if you were at home is out of touch with the realities of life on the road. (Sorry David) odds on you will be buying food from expensive shops until you get to know the area. For example on Saturday night, being disorganised, I had to buy four bottles of beer from a corner shop costing me twice at much as I normally spend. It will only cost the same if you take all the ingrediants with you and there is no waste.
On this two day trip I spent about 20 quid just on bits and pieces odd cups of coffee and similar.
Similarly on one overnight stay in Hereford the only place I could find to eat was a hotel at UKP 18 for roast chicken. (There was a curry house but as I had one the previous night ....) Worse still after five hour none stop driving (the joys of the M25) I found that the hotel had stopped selling food at 18.30. It was a very cold stormy night and all I could find was a Italian with a Christmas special menu for ?28. Nice meal.
In another places I found a carvery eat as much as you like for UKP 6.
The point is that if you in somewhere you donot know there is no garantuee that you will find somewhere suitable. If you are a vegan or need a gluten free diet it is very difficult if not impossible. If you are forced to stop at a motorway service station or a little chef you can pay UKP6 for a bacon butty and a cup of coffee.
Staying in good hotels means that you end up eating too much rich food.
I find eating a half balanced sensible edible diet with variety on the road difficult without worrying about cost. On a budget it is impossible.
Then there is the issue of quality of the food served. I reckon on between UKP 60-120 for a hotel it all depends on what is available and UKP 25 for a meal and bits and pieces per night plus beer.
If you are working in South Oxfordshire for example you will be paying UKP 2.70 for a pint or 3.10 for a lager. Somebody working here will be paying UKP 500 -600 a year more for the beer ration of 4 pints a night compared to the Midlands or East Anglia or similar.
Peter
BTW London is relatively cheap for eating out on a like with like basis than the South East.
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I have only ever been paid subsistence twice, I thnk around ?10 a week the first time and the second time it was towards rent, and only if we lived in the B&B the company arranged for us. I've also found that some companies seem unwilling ot help organise accomodation - which would be helpful if you are expected to relocate to the middle of nowhere at a moments notice when the only available places are holiday cottages that charge more per week than I get paid....
Lucy
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I have recently returned from working away from base, staying in self catering accomodation and being paid ?8.00 per night.
I'm about to start work in the central London, well the Wimbledon area at least, again self catering accomodation. Is it reasonable, do you think, to expect ?20.00 per night?
If that is too much what does anyone think a reasonable amount would be?
It's possible that there are employment guidelines/advice on this sort of issue, but I'm not sure where to look. Any ideas?
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For those following this, I've just been offered ?15.00 subsistence per night to be in London. That is ?15.00 per night away, in other words four nights a week. The property we are staying in, self catering flats, is available to us over the weekends, free of charge, but we don't get the subsistence payment for those days.
