HR Industry News

Survey reveals more than a third are fiddling expenses

— 4 October 2007 —

New research has revealed that more than a third of employees have fiddled their expenses.

Even more alarmingly, the problem seems to be on the increase. The survey conducted by pollster YouGov found that this figure has increased from a quarter in 2001.

It also found that four in 10 respondents who deem it acceptable to exaggerate expense claims will add as much as nine per cent to the claim's value.

An additional 41% of those would inflate expense claims by between 10-25% with a small minority saying they would even double the claim.

GlobalExpense managing director, David Vine, said employees are clearly becoming far more cynical towards their employers and feel entitled to cheat on their expenses if they think the company is not paying them their dues.

He went on to urge businesses to act quickly to stop the problem before it becomes an ingrained culture - not least because the sums can add up to millions of pounds lost to fraud.

This is an interesting study as I was rung by a sales manager 12 months ago who advised me that his sales person had put down 4 trips to me at around £60 petrol per trip and I was asked if this had been the case. In fact the sales person had cancelled twice, had been half way to me when a domestic incident meant a return home, and only made it once. The next I heard was that they had been dismissed and I felt bad that perhaps I was part of that process. The message is simple - do not do it as it is never worth it, and think through the consequences!Paul Avis of Ceridian LifeWorks.

The research also revealed that more than half of respondents believe it is acceptable for employees to exaggerate their expenses if they are not paid a fair salary.

He added that unhappy employees feel justified in making exaggerated expense claims in order to get back what they perceive the company owes them.

Paul Avis added, “It is sad but true that some employees believe that short term financial gain will have no effect on their potential careers and jobs and if those fiddling expenses are found out and dismissed what chance will they ever have of finding employed work again? However rather than concentrate on the stick, organisations should aim for motivated, engaged employees who understand the vision and values of the organisation and are committed to them. In turn this would reduce the incidences of cheating on expenses.”

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