Consider the following scenario.
Employee A makes $100 in per diem and stays in a hotel that cost $60 per day. That leaves him making $40 from his per diem pay.
Employee B makes $100 in per diem and stays in a camper trailer that cost $16.67 per day ($500/month). That leaves him making $83.33 from his per diem pay.
Is this just the way it is? Is this fair to my client/employees? If I get all my employees to stay in a camper trailer then I think I would be overcharging my client. If I go with a lower per diem rate then my guys that stay in a hotel aren't making enough to cover their rooms and meals...
Any thoughts on the matter will be appreciated.
It's absolutely fair in my opinion. If an employee decides to "rough it" they can get a little extra cash. Let him have it. Why would I stay in a camper if I can stay in a nice motel, if there is no benefit to it? Give the guy working out of town at least a little more incentive than sleeping @ home on his own bed @ night.
arctan(x), post: 341341, member: 6795 wrote: Employee A makes $100 in per diem and stays in a hotel that cost $60 per day. That leaves him making $40 from his per diem pay.
First of all, he's not "making $40," since he has to spend money to eat. But I'm with Tom on this, per diem is just that -- "per day." You give it to the employee and he decides how to spend it. The alternative is to have your staff keep all their receipts and reimburse them for actual expenses.
I've done it both ways as an employee. One employer got upset because some of us were saving a lot out of our per diem, so he switched us over to actual expenses. We stayed in better places and ate a lot higher on the hog when that happened. The response to that was a return to per diem, and no more complaints.
I think that's just the way it is. If an employee wants to rough it in order to make a few extra bucks so be it. As far as what's fair to the client, I think an amount that would provide comfortable lodgings for the employees and keep them happy while having to be away from home.
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We give ours money and they spend it as they see fit.
We do have a couple of rules.
1. Everyone sleeps in a bed. No sleeping in the truck or on the floor to save money.
2. Every has to actually eat meals. No popcorn for supper in order to save money.
Tommy Young, post: 341351, member: 703 wrote: We give ours money and they spend it as they see fit.
We do have a couple of rules.
1. Everyone sleeps in a bed. No sleeping in the truck or on the floor to save money.
2. Every has to actually eat meals. No popcorn for supper in order to save money.
Ha, those are some pretty basic rules. If they broke those it could affect productivity, right??
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I guess it's up to the individual. His recompense is for his meals and lodging. If he wants to curl up in the back of the truck in the Wal Mart parking lot, more power to him. That's pretty drastic for a few bucks. But in my younger years I was guilty of the same. We would all pool our money and 'one' guy would get a room...then the rest (six, sometimes seven) of us would sneak in after dark and sleep on the floor in our fart-sacks.
We got caught all the time. Guys from India are really funny when they yell.....
Nowadays, I actually reserve and pay for the crews' rooms and give them cash for meals. It seems to work out better that way.
I agree with all of you. Thanks for the replies.
I do have another question.
We have quite a few clients but none of them agree with the per diem rates. So is there a fair way to assign jobs to my employees?
Client A pays 100, Client B pays 200.
Who works for client A and who for B?
When staying in a camper, the guys working for B make close to $6,000(less expenses, of course) a month in per diem.
Some of the employees have expressed their displeasure working for A when they hear from the other guys working for B making more in per diem.
We pay for the room and give x dollars per day for meals. Follow the State per diem rate schedule
Maybe you should set a company wide per diem of $150. Is job B farther away from home?
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paden cash, post: 341356, member: 20 wrote:
Nowadays, I actually reserve and pay for the crews' rooms and give them cash for meals. It seems to work out better that way.
We have 30+ people moving around so often it's pretty hard to keep up with. Any suggestions as to how to track everyone?
Either way it is up to the employees to pay taxes on anything they show receipts for. At least that is what my tax accountant said. Jp
Your first mistake was letting the client "pay" the employee directly. You really should pay all your employees the same rate for their per diem (in the same area). That's a problem...I don't have the slightest idea how you'd fix that without pissing off every one of the guys. Let us know how that works out for you...:whistle:
Per Diem Rates Look-Up
Is this a website that would be kind of an authority on the matter?
Put your city in there and see if you think that is enough money to get quality lodging and meals.
arctan(x), post: 341362, member: 6795 wrote: We have 30+ people moving around so often it's pretty hard to keep up with. Any suggestions as to how to track everyone?
My party chiefs have company credit cards for the rooms, supplies and vehicle expense. They either grab their grub cash when they leave, or I have had them drop by a local bank for their per-diem or wired them money. That is only in emergencies. It costs money to do that.
arctan(x), post: 341362, member: 6795 wrote: We have 30+ people moving around so often it's pretty hard to keep up with. Any suggestions as to how to track everyone?
If you have 30 plus field guys then your company should have an HR or accounting department, let them handle the problem. Just because your the RPLS doenst mean you have to fix every problem the company has. Tell them your to busy fixing the boundary issues.
I agree with Paden charge the Client the most you think they will pay, and then pay all the field guys the same per diem. Tell them if you want to save money and sleep in a trailer go buy or rent a trailer to stay in.
Per Diem rates should be obtained from a reputable published source. http://www.gsa.gov/portal/content/103168&apos ;">GSA for example.
Payment to the employee for Per Diem should be paid by the employer and charged to the client based on the published source, not negotiated with each client. This fact should be written into your contracts with all clients.
arctan(x), post: 341365, member: 6795 wrote: http://www.gsa.gov/portal/category/100120&apos ;">Per Diem Rates Look-Up
Is this a website that would be kind of an authority on the matter?
Put your city in there and see if you think that is enough money to get quality lodging and meals.
All totaled, I pay more than the website indicates.
The real trick is my clients. Two pay the per diem as itemized on their invoice. A couple of others have such a screwed up system, I just wound up (at their suggestion) padding the hourly time totals to cover the cost. I have another client that has separate hourly amounts for the crews, depending on where they're at. That is the one I prefer, and no, I don't make much at all on the "out-of-town" rates.
With the exception of State and Federal government clients, if our clients don't like our per diem rates they are free to find someone else to perform the work.
Tommy Young, post: 341351, member: 703 wrote: We give ours money and they spend it as they see fit.
We do have a couple of rules.
1. Everyone sleeps in a bed. No sleeping in the truck or on the floor to save money.
2. Every has to actually eat meals. No popcorn for supper in order to save money.
In my opinion those rules are seriously crossing the line into personal time. When I'm off the clock, I choose how to sleep and what I will eat. Otherwise it's not my personal time and I should be compensated for having to abide by your rules.
Not that I would want to sleep on the floor and eat popcorn...