Expense Claims

Water Station

Out-of-pocket expenses incurred by club members in relation to the Club's affairs can be reclaimed on the expense claim form:

Expenses Claims Form (pdf) 

Expenses Claims Form (Word)

This form must be authorised in advance by a committee member up to a limit of £500 per event. All expense claims must be properly documented to show the cost of each item of expenditure and, where relevant, the competition or club activity to which the expenses relate.

A valid invoice or receipt must be attached for each claim made or this will result in the claim being rejected.

For expense claims exceeding the £500 limit, advanced authorisation from at least two of the Honorary Chairman, Honorary Secretary and Honorary Treasurer is always required. Where possible, the proposed expenditure should be discussed by the whole committee. Each member is responsible for making their own claims for expenses on the appropriate form and to supply the appropriate backing documentation. All expense claims will be paid in arrears based on the appropriate form being properly completed and submitted to the Honorary Treasurer. Hence - no claim form or receipts, no payment. The Club reserves the right to determine claims at its own discretion. All expense claims must be submitted either in the month that they are incurred, or at the very latest, the following month, otherwise the expense may not be payable unless prior agreement for late submission has been received from the Honorary Treasurer.

Travel Incentives are available for those members gaining podium positions in county, regional and national competitions. For further details see below.

Travel Expense Policy

All reasonable travel expenses incurred by members while performing duties for the club will be reimbursed, subject to the following policy.

Approval

1a All expenses must be approved in advance by a committee member in accordance with the standard out-of-pocket expenses policy above.

Claims

Travel expenses will be paid in the following instances:

2a To an approved course. e.g. a coaching course or a track and field judges' course.
2b To major club events outside the Greater London area (see exceptions section below).
2c Travel expense claims will not be paid to an individual based outside of London (except where the below exceptions section applies).

Subject to the following caveats:

2d When the club provides transport, expenses for those opting not to use that transport will not generally be paid. In exceptional circumstances the the responsible committee member and the Honorary Treasurer may agree an exception.
2e
Club members must pay the first £15 of any travel expense (or greater at the discretion of the event manager).
2f
For teams travelling by public transport one person (usually the team manager) is expected to submit the claim on behalf of all team members.
2g
Team managers should take advantage, where possible, of discounts through rail cards or advanced booking, and car sharing should be encouraged.
2h
 Where petrol costs are incurred for the purposes of a hire vehicle then this can be claimed in full, subject to submission of appropriate petrol receipts.
2i
 Cost of petrol for personal vehicles will be reimbursed only in exceptional circumstances through agreement with the responsible committee member and the Honorary Treasurer. Reimbursements in those cases will based on petrol costs less the first £15 per 2e.

Exceptions

Teams travelling to certain events outside the Greater London area and representing the club at the request of the club are not expected to pay a contribution i.e. item 2e above is waived. Currently the only events qualifying for this exception are:

  • SEAA Road Relays (4, 6 & 12 stage)
  • ERRA Road Relays (4, 6 & 12 stage)
  • Southern Athletics League T&F meetings
  • National Cross Country Relays

Officials travelling to events to officiate on the club's behalf are not expected to pay a contribution i.e. item 2e above is waived. Officials claiming for travel reimbursement are expected to travel by the cheapest sensible route.

Receipts for all expenses must be presented. Payments will typically be made within 3 weeks of submitting a claim. For questions about expense claims please contact the Club Treasurer.

Travel Incentives

The club encourages all our members who have reached the required standard to compete in county, regional or national championship races, as this increases the profile of our club and should help to improve standards in the longer term. As an incentive towards this, the club will pay the travel costs, subject to the current expenses policy and subject to a cap of £50 per claim, for all members who get onto the podium (1st, 2nd or 3rd male or female) and/or make a scoring team (1st, 2nd or 3rd male or female team) in the following competitions (examples from 2012):

  • County championships (road, track and field) e.g. Middlesex Indoor T&F Championships, Middlesex half-marathon
  • Regional championships (road, track and field) e.g. SEAA T&F Championships
  • RunBritain Grand Prix races e.g. Swansea Bay 10k
  • England Athletics championships (road, track and field) e.g. Boddington 50k ultra, Senior Combined Events Championships, Bristol 10k
  • UKA championships (road, track and field) e.g. McCain Mountain Running Challenge
  • BTF national championships (triathlon and duathlon) e.g. Milton Keynes Sprint, Shropshire Standard Distance Triathlon
  • ITU and ETU championships e.g. World Age-Group Standard Distance Triathlon Championships
  • BMAF vets championships (road, track and field, per age-group) e.g. Ashford 10k, Tiptree 10 mile, National T&F Championships Solihul

Notes

Members must compete in club colours to be eligible, unless required to wear county or home-nation kit to meet competition rules.

Members achieving podium places in the above races should make a claim using the expenses form in the normal way, subject to approval from the Competition Coordinator, who should also be contacted in advance if there is any doubt about the eligibility of any race or competition.

Claims are subject to the current expenses policy sections 2d-2i (see above) e.g. members must pay the first £15, members are expected to travel by the cheapest sensible option.

Medical support for international-level Serpentine athletes

The club is able to provide match-funded support with medical or related treatment for club members at or near to international standard who would otherwise be unable to receive treatment without significant financial outlay, provided certain conditions are met.

Members who have run faster than the following times within the previous 12 months are eligible to apply:

Qualifying time Male Female
5k 14.45 17.10
10k 31.00 36.00
10 mile 51.00 60.00
Half marathon 69.00 79.30
Marathon 2.24 2.48

A member wishing to apply should have a demonstrable medium-long term commitment to the club.  In particular we would expect them to:

  • Have been a club member for at least 2 years;
  • Currently be a first claim Serpentine member; and
  • To have raced for the club in competitive club events at least 10 times.

Funding can cover medical treatment for running-related injuries for which NHS treatment was not available (in sufficient duration or without undue delay).  Members can claim up to £500 each in a financial year (1 April to 31 March) and would need to match-fund, and this would not be open to those with medical insurance or who receive private medical treatment through any kind of athlete-related scheme or support (e.g. from commercial organisations or NGBs).

We would expect a member receiving this funding to:

  • Show reasonable co-operation with the club, for example participate in a seminar to share their knowledge and experience with the wider club membership.
  • Continue their club membership and representation in club events (as athlete or volunteer if injured) for at least two years.

Eligible members should apply to the endurance running committee representative. Initial enquiries prior to application would be particularly welcomed.

Their application should:

  • Confirm their eligibility and agreement to comply with the scheme;
  • State nature of injury and treatment; and
  • Include receipts for treatment received.

This application would then be considered by the endurance running committee representative, and he/she would then consider this with the treasurer.