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.
Neira Jones is an evangelist at ZeroRisk.
Mike Hicks is chief marketing officer at Beezy.
Heath Shackleford is the founder of Good.Must.Grow. a socially responsible marketing consultancy and Certified B Corp. He is a two-decade veteran of the wellness industry and a social entrepreneur who has led national research on conscious consumerism and purpose-driven behaviors. Over the course of his career, he has worked with leaders in healthcare, nonprofits and socially conscious businesses to innovate for a better world. He is also a frequent contributor to Fast Company and active with a variety of charitable causes, ranging from addiction to homelessness to social justice.
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:
