International Refereeing Logistics – Nominated Cadet (EFC) and Junior Events

This page is currently being updated for the 21-22 season in accordance with the new international travel procedures and administrative processes in relation to day rates and expenses.

Last Updated: 21/10/2021

Wider context

Please read here: 2021-2022 SEASON – INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL NOTICE – BRITISH FENCING which sets out the responsibilities of BF in relation to travelling to international events. Since this announcement we have taken the decision to allocate referees to EFC events but we are not in a position to resume any travel agent responsibilities in relation to travel/accommodation. We will be publishing information about the EFC locations on the BF website (eg BELGRADE JWC TRAVEL GUIDE – BRITISH FENCING) to facilitate people making independent travel and accommodation bookings.

For Junior World Cups, referee accommodation and (where provided by the organisers) airport transfers will be managed as part of the squad – flights/travel bookings will need to be made independently by the referee.

Expenses – The existing policy is that travel, accommodation and incidental expenses must be in accordance with BF Expenses Policy (which is the same policy used for staff members). Please note the maximum subsistence claims.

New for this season in relation to additional chargeable expenses:

1. COVID tests.
2. COVID Travel insurance contribution – We will also contribute towards the cost of personal travel insurance that includes cover for COVID eg for expenses incurred as a result of testing positive for COVID. 50% of the total cost of a trip specific policy up to a maximum contribution of £15 OR 50% of the total cost of an annual policy up to a maximum contribution of £45 (Not both).

No expenses, or contributions to expenses, will be paid without receipts.

Day Rate

In addition to expenses incurred, we will be offering a day rate to EFC C grade referees and FIE referees. There will be an associated provision of services agreement (to be defined in consultation with referees) which will set out the terms of this payment which will include minimum standards for Safeguarding & Anti-doping training & qualifications.

The day rates:

FIE Junior World Cups – up to £80/day (for FIE qualified referees)

EFC Cadet Events – up to £50/day (for EFC C grade qualified and FIE qualified referees)

It is the referees responsible to declare this as appropriate on their tax return and keep associated records

Tax-free allowances on property and trading income – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

For more information please read here.

Submitting Budgets

Prior to BF confirming final international referee allocations, referees will need to submit an outline budget (including your day rate if you are charging) for approval prior to making bookings. Following this email you will be sent a link by the ADP team to accept your allocation and provide provisional costings.

Maximum Expense Claims

Even if your costs exceeds the 500 euro fine (1000 euro for FIE), please still submit them and we will review and get back to you to confirm.
Please note that arrangements for European and World Championships are different. For these events, Referees are selected by the Competition Organisers and they will be responsible for all arrangements.

Hotels

For nominated Junior World Cups competition hotels will be booked for the whole GBR squad by the GBR administrator based on the agreed arrival and departure dates.

For nominated EFCs, hotels should be booked by the referee for the minimum number of nights practically possible (recognising that travelling back on the Monday may offset the cost of an extra night’s accommodation, or that late travel on the Sunday may not be logistically practical or advisable for personal safety)

In either case, if referees wish to extend their stay for personal reasons at either end they are responsible for making and paying for independent accommodation bookings for the additional nights, and any resultant increase in flight costs will cannot be expensed.

Travel

Step 1. Referees will be responsible for sourcing the best value and most appropriate flights and transfers as early as possible (at least 3 months in advance).

Step 2. Referees complete a travel request form.

Step 3. BF check the travel request and if OK, sends approval/confirmation

Step 4. Referees book travel and upload a copy of their booking confirmation.

Step 5. Referees can then immediately complete and upload an expense form for faster expense processing. The expense form will be provided pre-coded.

Step 6. BF approve and pay expenses.

It is important that referees make their own bookings as if any issues arises insurance companies and airlines prefer to deal with the person that has made the booking. (BF does not be providing 24 hr phone support for travel bookings).

We recommend that referees should apply for credit cards to avoid being out of pocket – the fastest turnaround for BF processing expense claims is 10 working days. This assumes that you have sent in a correct expense form to the correct person and they are not on annual leave (in which case you may need to email an alternative person). Please contact us asap if this is going to cause a significant issue for you. If you have not received payment within 14 working days of submitting a correct form, please contact us.

For nominated individual JWC events the travel plans of referees will be published.

Referees are not responsible for the welfare of others travelling on the same flight.

Transfers

For nominated JWC events, if transport from airport to hotel is provided by the competition organisers this will be booked by the Team Manager on request for referees that provide BF with their flight details by a deadline. (This deadline will vary as it will normally be set by the competition organisers).

For nominated individual EFC events, if transport from airport to hotel is provided by the competition organisers this will be booked by the GBR administrator on request for referees that provide BF with their flight details by a deadline. (This deadline will vary as it will normally be set by the competition organisers).

If there is a more efficient or cheaper transfer option, referees are encouraged to use that.

We have noted that there is an increasing tendency not to provide official transfers for events (whether EFC or Senior Europeans) especially when a good/cheap local options exist.

Where no official transfer is provided from the airport to the hotel referees are encouraged to use local transport. Where possible BF will provide advance details on the event page to describe the options for getting from the airport to the hotel, and the hotel to the venue.

Please note all flights and trains are to be booked in advance, (ideally at least 3 months ahead) no “on the day” train tickets will be accepted, unless local, tubes or trams. If you live outside of London and it is cheaper to fly from a local airport, please choose this as an option.

No taxi fare will be reimbursed as per the expense policy unless there is no other means of transport and (unless it is an emergency) this has been agreed in advance.

Likewise, valet parking will not be reimbursed, unless this is cheaper than the standard non valet options.

Registration, Insurance and Applicable Policies

The BF Expenses policy will be strictly adhered to. Please pay close attention to the policies especially with regards to use of taxis as these are only refunded in very rare cases.

International Referees must be on the relevant BF register. This ensures that the BF public liability policy covers the individuals for the activities they are undertaking on behalf of BF.

Referees must have their own personal travel insurance which specifically covers them for the activities they are undertaking. If, after a travel booking is made, an official is no longer able to travel they are expected to claim on their policy and refund BF if an expense claim has already been processed.

All relevant BF policies apply and by agreeing to act as a referee you are automatically agreeing to these policies which are available on the BF website here.

Financials
The standard process is that flights should be booked by the referees and reimbursed.

For referees that have difficultly with this (eg those that do not have credit cards or sufficient credit) BF will advance the cost of your approved flight(s) based on provision of a quotation (eg screenshot). Once the flight is booked, you must email the invoice immediately to the GBR administrator to evidence the cost. If there is a shortfall in the monies advanced and the actual flight cost, this can be claimed via the usual expense form.

Claiming Expenses

The quickest way to get a claim processed is to make sure that all expenses are incurred according to the BF Expenses Policy and receipts are attached. The most frequent issues that delay payment are missing receipts and unexpected claims especially for items that are not within the standard Expense policy (eg taxis/valet parking).

Please remember:
1) keep ALL receipts. BF will only pay expenses on production of receipts.

2) if you do not have all receipts attached (excluding mileage) your full claim will be rejected. On the odd occasion you have a challenge getting a receipt you should contact us to discuss how we will deal with this separately – please don’t just add it into your claim hoping that it will get paid. (We cannot reimburse items paid in cash with no receipt.)

3) Taxis (and valet parking) are not a standard reimbursable method of travel for BF volunteers (or staff). If you put an unauthorised taxi fare/valet parking on your claim this will result in your full claim being rejected. Consider leaving out the unexpected cost whilst we work with you to understand how this cost arose and whether any aspect of it can be reimbursed.

4) Book expenses as soon as you have incurred them – especially pre-booked flights/travel. You can submit multiple expense claims for each competition so you can submit a second claim when returning from the competition with the other items. Please note that delaying expense claims creates an administrative burden for BF as well as leaving you out of pocket so the earlier you can submit your claim the better.

Between September and March, across 2 age groups and six weapons BF manage the logistics for over 50 cadet and junior international (not including Europeans, Worlds or GB based events such as the Eden Cup).  In any one week we will be dealing with the logistics for several events so ensuring that your expense claim is complete (all items properly receipted) and correct (all items incurred in accordance with the BF Expense Policy).