Our FAQs section is designed to answer any questions that you may have relating to the various areas involved in subcontracting with Crest Plus. It has been developed using questions that have been raised by subcontractors/employees like you. We have broken it up into sections in order to make it easier to find what you are looking for; however, if you cannot find an answer to your question, please contact us or request a call back.
Where can I get more expense claim forms?
Do you charge for expenses?
Where can I find my start date?
How do expenses work?
How are Expense Claims Processed?
Why do you need receipts?
Will you accept Credit or Debit card receipts?
Why do I have to provide fuel receipts?
Why is the amount you pay for mileage different to the fuel receipt?
What qualifies as a temporary workplace?
What expenses can I claim under Umbrella Plus?
Why can my left over expenses not be paid to me when I am no longer getting paid through Crest?
Where can I get more expense claim forms?
Expenses Claim Forms can be downloaded from the subcontractor login area, or you can contact us and we will provide one.
Do you charge for expenses?
No, we do not. Processing expense claims is included in the retained income.
Where can I find my start date?
You can log in to the subcontractor area and check your project/assignment confirmation details, or you can contact us.
How do expenses work?
Umbrella Plus
We can pay travel, accommodation and subsistence expenses without deducting tax if they are incurred wholly, exclusively and necessarily in the performance of your duties and if the site where you are conducting your assignment is considered to be a temporary workplace. A site will qualify as a temporary workplace if:
- You are expected to work there for less than 24 months. If at any time it becomes clear that you will work at a particular site for more than 24 months, you will have to stop claiming expenses from that time. Any time that you worked at the site before you started to work for Crest Plus Exchange Limited is included in the 24-month period.
- You are expected to work at more than one site whilst employed by Crest Plus Exchange Limited. A workplace would be deemed to be permanent if it is the only site where you work whilst employed by Crest Plus Exchange Limited.
Freelance Plus & CIS Plus
If you are a self-employed subcontractor, you are entitled to claim for legitimate business expenses incurred while working on projects for either Crest Plus Contracting or C G Construction Services, which are trading names of Crest Plus Operations Limited.
You should retain detailed records of all expenses that you incur in pursuing your business, together with all original receipts to prove your business expenditure. This is particularly relevant to your travel costs. Legitimate expenses will reduce the amount of tax payable, or even form the basis for a tax refund at the end of the year.
How are Expense Claims Processed?
- In order for your expenses to be processed on time, your completed form and all necessary supporting receipts must reach us by the Wednesday after the week in which they were incurred.
- These then become a company cost, meaning that we deduct them from the contract sum received from your agency.
- Once we have calculated your net pay, we pay the expenses to you.
The form must be completed correctly, include all relevant receipts and be signed and dated by you, the employee. If the forms are incorrectly completed, they will be returned to you for amendment.
You must endeavour to submit Expense Claim Forms on a weekly basis. If you send in a backlog of expense claims, we will be unable to process them in a single week.
Why do you need receipts?
We require all expense claims to be supported by receipts (proof of purchase), and in the case of mileage claims these must be VAT receipts as specified by HM Revenue & Customs. We do this in order to ensure that claims are legitimate and to protect you.
HM Revenue & Customs are entitled to randomly select expenses to audit. If they chose yours, the receipts would already be attached and you would not have to worry about finding them. If we allowed you to claim for expenses without a receipt and HM Revenue & Customs deemed that the claim was invalid, you could be personally liable for PAYE tax and National Insurance contributions on the value of that expense claim, and could face further investigations into your expense claims.
The form must be completed correctly, include all relevant receipts and be signed and dated by you, the employee. If the forms are incorrectly completed, they will be returned to you for amendment.
Will you accept Credit or Debit card receipts?
Unfortunately, Credit and Debit card receipts are not itemised, and we therefore require itemised receipts to match the items on your Expenses Claim Form. We also need the merchant’s details and VAT number. Please remember to ask for itemised VAT receipts.
Why do I have to provide fuel receipts?
HM Revenue & Customs require any mileage claims to be supported by an original VAT receipt. As with other expense claims, this is for your protection. If we allowed you to claim for expenses without a receipt and HM Revenue & Customs deemed that the claim was invalid, you could be personally liable for PAYE tax and National Insurance contributions on the value of that expense claim, and could face further investigations into your expense claims.
Why is the amount you pay for mileage different to the fuel receipt?
The amount that we pay for mileage is based on guidance from HM Revenue & Customs. They review their mileage allowances and expense rates from time to time, and the value allowed takes into account not just the fuel used, but also general wear and tear to the vehicle.
What qualifies as a temporary workplace?
A site will qualify as a temporary workplace if:
- You are expected to work there for less than 24 months. If at any time it becomes clear that you will work at a particular site for more than 24 months, you will have to stop claiming expenses from that time. Any time that you worked at the site before you started to work for Crest Plus Exchange Limited is included in the 24-month period.
- You are expected to work at more than one site whilst employed by Crest Plus Exchange Limited. A workplace would be deemed to be permanent if it is the only site where you work whilst employed by Crest Plus Exchange Limited.
What expenses can I claim under Umbrella Plus?
We can pay travel, accommodation and subsistence expenses without deducting tax if they are incurred wholly, exclusively and necessarily in the performance of your duties and if the site where you are conducting your assignment is considered to be a temporary workplace. A site will qualify as a temporary workplace if:
- You are expected to work there for less than 24 months. If at any time it becomes clear that you will work at a particular site for more than 24 months, you will have to stop claiming expenses from that time. Any time that you worked at the site before you started to work for Crest Plus Exchange Limited is included in the 24-month period.
- You are expected to work at more than one site whilst employed by Crest Plus Exchange Limited. A workplace would be deemed to be permanent if it is the only site where you work whilst employed by Crest Plus Exchange Limited.
For more information, please contact us, request a call back or refer to our Expenses Policy in the Log In section.
Why can my left over expenses not be paid to me when I am no longer getting paid through Crest?
Expenses are paid from the contract sum that we receive from the agency for the services you have provided, and are reimbursed to you once your net pay has been calculated. Therefore, if you are no longer an employee of Crest Plus Exchange Limited, we will not receive a contract sum from which to pay the expenses.
If you have claimed expenses which have not yet been reimbursed to you, these may be paid out on receipt of a further contract sum for your services. However, please contact us or request a call back so that we can look at your records in more detail.