Revised Laws of Saint Lucia (2021)

Travelling and subsistence allowances regulations

(Statutory Instrument 39/1946)

(Statutory Instrument 39/1946, 77/1946, 23/1950, 16/1955, 28/1956 and 12/1957)

Amended by S.I. 77/1946, 23/1950, 16/1955, 28/1956 and 12/1957

ARRANGEMENT OF REGULATIONS

TRAVELLING AND SUBSISTENCE ALLOWANCES REGULATIONS

1.   Citation

These Regulations may be cited as the Travelling and Subsistence Allowances Regulations.

2.   Construction

In construing these Regulations, Heads of Departments, Financial Officers and officers submitting claims for travelling expenses and subsistence allowance shall be guided by the following principles:

1.  

   (a)     that no officer shall be out of pocket as the result of having to travel on duty; and

1.  

   (b)     that no officer shall derive any pecuniary benefit in connection with travelling on duty.

3.   Variation of allowances

1.  

   Any allowance under these Regulations may be discontinued or varied at any time without any compensation to the officer to whom it may be payable.

4.   Discretion of Governor General

1.  

   Any contingency not provided for in these Regulations shall be dealt with by the Governor General in his or her discretion.

5.   Officer acting in a higher officer

Any officer appointed to act in a higher officer shall for the purposes of these Regulations, be deemed to be the holder of the higher office and shall be paid subsistence allowance accordingly.

6.   Hours of departure and arrival

The hours of departure and arrival, as the case may be, shall be determined by the hour of departure from or arrival at the officer's station.

7.   Form of voucher and certificate of Head of Department

(1)   All claims for subsistence allowance and travelling expenses shall be made out in the form from time to time approved by the Treasurer. The certificate to be given on the form shall be regarded, in every particular, as an honour certificate that the whole expenditure has been necessarily incurred in the interest of the public service, and that the various items of travelling or transportation expenses have been actually disbursed.

(2)   The certificate of the Head of Department concerned shall imply that he or she has personally satisfied himself that the claim is reasonable and that the claimant was travelling on duty during the time specified. The certificate shall be in the form prescribed in Schedule 1 to these Regulations.

8.   Hire of transport

Where an officer is permitted to hire his or her means of transport instead of owning the same, he or she shall draw such allowance, under such conditions as the Governor General may, from time to time, approve.

9.   Assistance by government

An officer who has received assistance from Government towards the purchase of a motor vehicle shall be expected to use such vehicle whenever practicable. Expenditure (in excess of Government allowance) on the hire of a vehicle for such an officer shall only be admitted in special circumstances when approved by the Governor General.

10.   Temporary appointment to district where use of motor vehicles is not necessary

If an officer who has been required to keep a motor vehicle for the performance of his or her duties is temporarily assigned duties in a station where the use of such motor vehicle is not possible or necessary he or she may, with the approval of the Governor General, be allowed such portion of the travelling allowance drawn by him or her in his or her substantive office as may, in the circumstances, be considered reasonable.

11.   Additional travelling

If an officer who is in respect of a travelling allowance is assigned other duties either permanently or temporarily within or without his or her station, requiring additional travelling, or is called upon occasionally so to travel, he or she may receive such additional travelling allowance as the Governor General may consider reasonable.

11.   Additional travelling

If an officer who is in respect of a travelling allowance is assigned other duties either permanently or temporarily within or without his or her station, requiring additional travelling, or is called upon occasionally so to travel, he or she may receive such additional travelling allowance as the Governor General may consider reasonable.

11.   Additional travelling

If an officer who is in respect of a travelling allowance is assigned other duties either permanently or temporarily within or without his or her station, requiring additional travelling, or is called upon occasionally so to travel, he or she may receive such additional travelling allowance as the Governor General may consider reasonable.

11.   Additional travelling

If an officer who is in respect of a travelling allowance is assigned other duties either permanently or temporarily within or without his or her station, requiring additional travelling, or is called upon occasionally so to travel, he or she may receive such additional travelling allowance as the Governor General may consider reasonable.

11.   Additional travelling

If an officer who is in respect of a travelling allowance is assigned other duties either permanently or temporarily within or without his or her station, requiring additional travelling, or is called upon occasionally so to travel, he or she may receive such additional travelling allowance as the Governor General may consider reasonable.

11.   Additional travelling

If an officer who is in respect of a travelling allowance is assigned other duties either permanently or temporarily within or without his or her station, requiring additional travelling, or is called upon occasionally so to travel, he or she may receive such additional travelling allowance as the Governor General may consider reasonable.

11.   Additional travelling

If an officer who is in respect of a travelling allowance is assigned other duties either permanently or temporarily within or without his or her station, requiring additional travelling, or is called upon occasionally so to travel, he or she may receive such additional travelling allowance as the Governor General may consider reasonable.

12.   No travelling allowance to office on leave

An officer absent on leave for any period exceeding one month shall not draw any part of his or her travelling allowance unless specially authorised by the Governor General to do so.

13.   Motor car allowance

Officers required to keep a motor car for the performance of their duties will be paid a fixed allowance of $192 per annum and a mileage allowance of 10¢ per mile while travelling on duty.

14.   Allowance for use of car

An officer who is not required to keep a car for the performance of his or her duties but who having a car uses it for the purposes of Government business with the approval of Government may receive mileage allowance at the rate of 24¢ per mile.

15.   Minimum journey

Mileage allowance will not be paid for

1.  

   (a)     a journey of less than 2 miles;

1.  

   (b)     journeys between an officer's home and his or her office.

16.   Record of journeys to be kept

Every officer to whom mileage allowance may be payable must keep a log-book showing in a clear and legible form every journey performed on Government service and the distance covered. The log-book must be produced on demand to the Head of the Officer's Department or to an officer of the Treasury or Audit.

17.   Other forms of transport

An officer not required to keep a car, but required to keep other means of transport enumerated below for the performance of his or her duties may receive transport allowance at the following rates:

1.  

   (a)     for a horse an allowance of $240 per annum;

1.  

   (b)     for a bicycle an allowance of $21.60 per annum;

1.  

   (c)     for a motor cycle an allowance of $144 per annum.

18.   Claims for transport and mileage allowances

Claims for transport and mileage allowances shall be submitted at the end of each month to the Treasury and shall be accompanied by the following certificate from the officer claiming the allowance:

“I certify that I have during the month of ................................................ kept as my own private property a .......................................... in respect of which this allowance is claimed and that it has been available for use on Government service throughout the month .............................. for ........................ days during .......................................

I further certify that I have been on duty during the whole period in respect of which the allowance is claimed and that all travelling on private business and pleasure has been excluded from the total mileage making up this claim.

19.   Rate of subsistence allowances

(1)   Officers travelling on duty in Saint Lucia outside their stations, unless otherwise specially provided for, shall be paid in addition to their travelling expenses, subsistence allowance at the rates set out in Schedule 2 to these Regulations

(2)   Officers travelling on duty to any place outside Saint Lucia shall be paid over and above their travelling expenses, subsistence allowance at the rates set out in Schedule 3 to these Regulations.

20.   Method of calculating periods of absence

(1)   When the duty whereon an officer may be engaged in travelling allows of his or her return to his or her station within 24 hours but more than 12 hours after the commencement of the performance of such duty he or she shall, if such duty necessitates his or her remaining for a night away from his or her station, be allowed to receive the full rate fixed for 24 hours absence. If, in such case, he or she is not required to remain away from his or her station for a night, he or she shall be allowed the proportionate part of the rate for 24 hours for each hour of his or her absence.

(2)   Where an officer's absence in travelling exceeds 24 hours, and is continuous, he or she shall be allowed the proportionate part of the rate of 24 hours for each hour of his or her absence in excess in the first 24 hours.

(3)   No officer shall receive subsistence allowance in respect of an absence from his or her station of less than 6 consecutive hours.

(4)   For the purposes of this regulation, the expression “night” means the period between the hours of 6 p.m. and 6 a.m.

21.   Removal expenses

(1)   The actual reasonable out of pocket expenses of an officer who is removed from one station to another, whether on promotion or otherwise, unless the removal is due to misconduct on his or her part or to his or her own request, shall be paid by the Government.

(2)   The above expenses may include the transport expenses of an officer's wife and children, and the transport of furniture and other reasonable household effects.