Employees working from home during the coronavirus pandemic claimed some outlandish expenses this year, including pricey exercise bikes, facelifts and private jets.
Emburse, an expense management software company, released a compilation Wednesday of some of the craziest expenses it has seen claimed this year, some of which were actually approved. That included $1,895, which was approved as a contribution for an employee's Peloton Bike under the explanation of “for health and wellness.” On the other hand, a $7,600 expense claim for a facelift was submitted under the category of “repairs and maintenance” but was rejected, despite the pressing need to look one’s best during a Zoom meeting.
Karen Hsu is the chief marketing officer at Appdome.
John Grevas is director of product marking at Ohio National Financial Services. A 15-year veteran of the industry, Grevas specializes in life insurance and annuity products and finding ways to make the benefits they offer easier for clients to understand. He holds a master’s degree in journalism and communication.
Ramanan Seshadri manages the professional services business unit for Orion Innovation, where he is responsible for accelerating business growth, client delight, and competency development. He is a global software services leader with an impressive and diverse 25-year track record from individual contributor to leading teams, turning markets and doing business in tough scenarios. He spent more than 12 years in Hexaware Technologies where he held various roles and became a member of the Management Council. As well as managing one of the largest relationships for Hexaware, he also acted as head of the Europe region, and led the health care and insurance verticals. Prior to joining Orion, he held leadership roles in Citiustech and Iris Software. He has a degree in Electronics and Communication Engineering from Madras University and a certificate from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
Some expenses weren’t for working from home, but more about getting out of the house safely. An expense claim for a private jet charter costing over $20,000 was submitted and approved under the explanation of “required to limit COVID exposure for international shoots.” Another travel-related expense claim was $2,500 for a helicopter ride, which was not approved.
The $79 expense claim for a dog crate could perhaps be used for travel at some point when that's safer, but in these times it was more plausibly to provide "crate training [for] a new COVID puppy to not run into Zoom meetings."
Below is an infographic produced by Emburse showing this and several other head-scratching claims:
