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.
Jennifer Sumiec is a Licensed Professional Counselor and Certified Employee Assistance Professional and has a Master’s degree in Health Psychology. She is a seasoned Employee Assistance professional with 20 years of experience working for Empathia. and as an independent consultant. Empathia has been helping organizations and individuals to be their best for over 35 years. The company began in 1982 as an internal employee assistance program (EAP) for a regional medical center and now provides highly customized and successful behavioral health, student support and crisis management programs to companies across the globe. For more information, visit www.empathia.com.
Ray Baumruk is vice president of employee experience research & insights at Alight Solutions.
Bill Santos is president and COO of Cerberus Sentinel.
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:
