Claiming travel expenses for field trips

Requests for field trip approval must be submitted using the “University trip approval request” form to Department 4 (Travel Department) in good time before the start of the trip by all employees travelling with the group (not students, lecturers or PhD students with no employment contract). The name of the field trip leader must be specified on the “University trip approval request” form, as only this person is able to claim booking costs for the group.

Key information to be provided on the “University trip approval request” form includes the following:

Accounting office, personnel financing accounting object (not professors), name of field trip leader, signed approval of the dean. In addition, a declaration (no official form required) stating that the field trip is a mandatory requirement for the participating students as part of their respective course must also be enclosed.

If there is already a list of participants at this stage, please also enclose this. If the list of participants has not yet been drawn up, an up-to-date list must be drawn up at the latest by the beginning of the field trip and enclosed with the subsequent claim for expenses (the list of participants is particularly important for insurance coverage purposes).

Please submit the risk assessment with the business trip application.

Participants are

• The field trip leader
• Other accompanying persons
• Students (no university trip approval is required for students)

To ensure adequate academic supervision of students, the number of accompanying persons should be proportionate to the number of students, whereby the principles of economy and efficiency must also be observed here.

• On the basis of the relevant approval and list of participants, all field trip participants are in principle legally insured through the accident insurance provider for the public sector, “Unfallkasse NRW” (not civil servants, as civil servants are insured directly through Paderborn University).
• Approval of the trip and a list of participants are also mandatory for field trips that do not involve any costs, as insurance coverage is provided only on the basis of the relevant approval.

Further details on insurance coverage can be found in the “Landesunfallkasse NRW” brochure (in particular pages 6 and 7), which you can find here.

a) Please contact the Procurement Department!
Field trips are excluded from direct purchase and must therefore always be dealt with via Division 1.4!
The responsible staff members will be more than happy to assist you:
Division 1.4: Mr Spischak, Ext. 2546
Division 1.4: Mr Fuest, Ext. 2521 (E-mail: beschaffung(at)zv.upb(dot)de)

b) Please prepare already now all verifiable documents for the subsequent claim for expenses (lists of expenses for travel, overnight stays, entrance fees etc.), as well as all verifiable documents pertaining to the financial contributions of the individual participating students. If subsidies are to be provided from other AOs, please also enclose the pertaining documentation.

c) Bookings: When making bookings, please always observe the principles of economy and efficiency, as laid down in the State Law on Travel Expenses (RKG-NRW). Please also keep an eye out for favourable cancellation options!

Expenses incurred by the field trip leader and accompanying persons will be reimbursed in accordance with the State Law on Travel Expenses (RKG-NRW) or, in the case of trips abroad, in accordance with the regulations for the reimbursement of costs incurred abroad (AKEVO), and must be claimed by means of submission of a travel expenses claim form.

Where any travel expenses or accommodation costs have already been claimed through the field trip group’s expenses, no further travel expenses or accommodation costs may be reimbursed. This must be stated on the travel expenses claim form.

5.1 Travel expenses/airfares

Public transport should be used for journeys wherever possible. The semester ticket must be used insofar as possible.

Coach:
Quotes must be obtained from three different bus companies prior to the start of the trip. As mentioned above, Division 1.4 must be involved in the awarding of tenders and contracts for field trips.

Airfares:
In exceptional cases, airfares may also be reimbursed, where this is economical. Only the costs for the cheapest travel class available are reimbursable. In the case of domestic flights, however, the maximum amount reimbursed will be the amount that would be reimbursable for the journey by land. For climate protection reasons, air travel should not be used for domestic journeys.

5.2 Accommodation costs (excluding food and drink)

Proof of accommodation costs must be provided (by the field trip leader) by means of an invoice. Alternatively, in the case of private accommodation, accommodation costs are reimbursable at €20.00 per participant per night in Germany or €30.00 per participant per night abroad.

Accommodation in youth hostels:
Paderborn University is a member of the German Youth Hostel Association (DJH); you can find more information here. If you require a youth hostelling card, please contact the Travel Office.

5.3 Additional costs

Necessary additional costs will be reimbursed; these include:

• Entrance fees
• Costs for guided tours
• Travel expenses at the field trip location
• Photocopying costs for field trip documentation (trip description, maps etc.)
• Loan charges
• Rent
• Reservation, booking and cancellation fees

Non-reimbursable additional costs include:

• Private insurance
• Expenses for leisure activities during the field trip
• Cleaning/maintenance costs
• Expenses for social and entertainment obligations (e.g. hospitality expenses for other persons, guest gifts, tips)

6.1 For expenses paid in advance by the field trip leader:

Please submit a request for reimbursement of an advance payment to the Travel Office, together with the original payment receipts and original university trip approval for the field trip leader. Requests for reimbursement of further advance payments can also be submitted at a later stage.

6.2 For invoices for bookings:

Where invoices (e.g. invoices from travel agencies for flights, bus companies, youth hostels, hotel bills etc.) need to be paid directly, please submit these invoices to the Travel Office, together with the original university trip approval for the field trip leader and this assignment sheet. Don’t forget to specify the Procurement Department’s purchase order number on the assignment sheet!

7.1 Claims for field trip expenses must be submitted by the field trip leader within a cut-off period of six months after the end of the field trip.

7.2 When submitting a claim for field trip expenses, only those expenses that were necessary in relation to undertaking the field trip may be claimed.

For field trip expenses, please use the travel expenses claim form and specify the G/L account option 6851 (Field trips). The accounting object specified must be countersigned with the name and signature of the person responsible for the budget.

By signing the form, the field trip leader confirms the accuracy of the information provided.

The claim for expenses must be submitted to the Travel Office, together with the following documents:

• If students are required to pay their own contributions, this must be stated in the invoice.
• Business trip authorisation and list of participants
• Original receipts for all expenses. If costs have already been paid, a copy of the invoice is sufficient
• Reimbursement of costs by students with proof of the account assignment sheet "Erstattung verauslagter Kosten"

Any subsidies from third parties (e.g. DAAD grants) must be credited against the reimbursable expenses. These must be declared and pertaining documentation provided by the field trip leader.