Operating Policy and Procedure
HSC OP: 79.07, Travel Expenses Incurred by Prospective Employees
PURPOSE: The purpose of this Health Sciences Center Operating Policy and Procedure (HSC OP) is to establish the guidelines for reimbursement of travel expenses by prospective employees.
REVIEW: This HSC OP will be reviewed on December 1 of each odd-numbered year (ONY) by the Managing Director of Procurement Services, with recommendations for revisions forwarded to the Executive Vice President for Finance and Operations.
POLICY/PROCEDURE:
1. Definition.
A prospective employee is an individual who has been requested to visit TTUHSC for the purpose of being interviewed and evaluated for employment. This includes employees at other state agencies being considered for employment at TTUHSC.
2. Reimbursement for Travel Expenses.
a. Prospective employees are to be reimbursed in the same manner as other TTUHSC employees except that they may not receive a travel advance. (See HSC OP 79.06.)
b. Prospective employees should be informed that reimbursement of travel expenses incurred will be forwarded after the recruitment visit.
c. A prospective employee is not exempt from hotel occupancy taxes. Those taxes may be reimbursed as an incidental expense.
d. A prospective employee’s airfare may be requested with TTUHSC’s Business Travel Account (BTA) as part of an online travel application (see HSC OP 79.02).
3. Travel Expenses for Spouse/Family.
Travel expenses for the spouse or family of a prospective employee will be allowed only on local funds. If state funds will be used for the prospective employee’s expenses, the expenses of the spouse or family must be processed on local funds.
4. Direct Bill for Lodging.
A department may request the hotel to bill directly to them the official travel expenses only. Official reimbursable hotel expenses include room rate, all taxes, food charges, and local phone calls made for official business purposes. Long distance phone calls are not allowed for prospective employees. The prospective employee should be informed in advance to pay all non-reimbursable expenses upon checkout.
Invoices/folios which are directly billed to TTUHSC from lodging establishments are processed using the direct pay form in TechBuy – Lodging Direct Bill for Non-Employee. If using state funds for the prospective employee’s expenses, the state limitations must be followed as stated in OP 79.06. Any limitations and prohibited expenses (i.e., tips) must be paid on a local account. The payment option of direct billing is to be used for prospective employee expenses ONLY; not allowed for employee expenses.