23 April, 2021

Email Send to All Staff 23/04/2021

Colleagues,

We hope you are keeping well.  As you may be aware, we have recently merged our HR, Payroll & Expenses system into a single instance of Core and you would already have been provided with your new ID and link to log onto this system.   Prior to the merger a considerable body of work was undertaken to draft new policies and today we specifically wish to draw your attention to changes to the University’s Expense Policy (link below) and changes in processing expenses.

Both former Institutes used Core’s Online Expenses and the policies and processing were broadly similar, however there are a number of small changes outlined below.


1. Changes to Expense Allowances
Staff in Cork: Motor Allowances (Km’s) for travel to approved courses of education and to attend a courses or conferences will now be paid at the Reduced Rate
Staff in Kerry: The ‘Sandwich’ and ‘Lunch’ deductions have been removed.  Where a lunch (hot meal or cold plate etc.) is provided then a 5 hour subsistence deduction will apply.  Where a small sandwiches are provided, no deduction will apply.

2. Changes to Processing
The requirement for Pre Approval has been removed from the system, this approval can be agreed with your manager verbally or by email, without the need to input it in advance on Core.  This simplifies and speeds up the processing of expense claims. (Advance approval on Core is still required for foreign travel).  Travel and any reimbursable expenses such as conference fees etc. can now be processed via the online expenses.

3. Payment Dates
Expense payment runs are processed weekly on a Tuesday at noon, with payments lodged directly into your bank account by the Wednesday.

4. Changes to Approval
There is a two stage approval process.  The first is your manager which in most case is the cost centre budget holder, but for some research and other projects, this may not be the budget holder.  It is the person your report to that approves your annual leave and expenses.  The Manager approves the Expense for payment.  The second stage is the Expenses Office who will carry our normal checks for compliance with our policy and procedures.  To limit unnecessary emails, you will only be notified if your Manager or the Expense office returns your claim, which usually includes a reason and will require you to log on to the online expense system to update and resubmit if necessary.  You will also be notified when the payment is processed

5. Scholarship Students
Students in receipt of monthly stipends are processed via Core Expenses for students in Cork & Kerry.  Since our merger these student should have access to Core Portal using their Student ID and should be able to check payslips for payments made and input expenses or reimbursements (if available) on their funded scholarship.

6. Queries
In the first instance our website (link below) has a lot of information including rates and allowances, guides to assist you in inputting claims etc available.  If you have a query or need advice on an expense claims, please contact your local expense office staff, or any of the staff in our expenses office

Best regards,

Niall Cremin
John Fox

Finance Office
Munster Technological University

USEFUL LINKS:

Staff Travel Information
travel

Online Expenses System Support
online-expense-project

Finance Policies
policies