Procedure On International Business Visit Allowance (ibva)

Classification: Issue Purpose

Restricted AFU

BM Code: EP.20.03.02.01 January, 2006

Sakhalin Energy Investment Company LTD. Procedure on International Business Visit Allowance (IBVA) Порядок Расчета Компенсации за Международную Деловую Поездку (КМДП)

Document Number: 0000-S-90-01-P-0125-00-E Revision 03

The copyright of this document is vested in Sakhalin Energy Investment Company LTD. All rights reserved. Neither the whole nor any part of this document may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, reprographic, recording or otherwise) without the prior written consent of the copyright owner. The contents of this controlled document shall not be altered without formal approval of the document Custodian.

Procedure on International Business Visit Allowance (IBVA)

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Content: 1

INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 4 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4

PURPOSE.................................................................................................................................... 4 SCOPE........................................................................................................................................ 4 TERMINOLOGY .......................................................................................................................... 4 USER NOTES .............................................................................................................................. 4

2

RISKS AND CONTROLS ............................................................................................................. 5

3

RESPONSIBILITIES..................................................................................................................... 6

4

REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................... 7

5

WORKFLOW................................................................................................................................. 8

6

CONTENT ...................................................................................................................................... 9 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4

7

IBVA RATES ............................................................................................................................. 9 ADMINISTRATIVE ARRANGEMENTS ........................................................................................... 9 EXAMPLES ............................................................................................................................... 10 QUESTIONS .............................................................................................................................. 10

ATTACHMENT 1

EXAMPLE IBVA FORM ........................................................................ 11

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Introduction

1.1

Purpose

The purpose of this procedure is to recognize employees’ disruption to home life caused by high levels of international business travel, including short term and temporary international assignments of up to six months. This includes travel for training purposes.

1.2

Scope

The procedure covers all Shell secondees, SEIC expatriate direct hires and RF permanent and fixed term employees based in the Russian Federation, up to and including Salary Group B who undertake international business travel that involves spending nights away from home. The allowance covers both short business trips and temporary assignments of up to six months. For those undertaking international assignments of six continuous months or longer, expatriate terms should apply. This also includes employees on international training courses. Other aspects of temporary assignment policy, for example the frequency of trips home, are not covered by this procedure and are subject to the relevant business/country policy. The revised procedure is effective from 1 January 2006.

1.3

Terminology

Key terminology in this document is defined at its first appearance.

1.4

User Notes

The requirements of this document are mandatory. Non-compliance must be authorized using the deviation procedure described in Chapter 10 of the Corporate Document Control Procedure (0000-S-90-01-P-0078-00-E). A controlled copy of the current version of this document is located in LiveLink and is available via the SEIC website. Before using this document it is the User’s responsibility to ensure that any hard or electronic copy is current. The Document Custodian should be contacted for assistance and any feedback.

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Risks and Controls

The main risk associated with non-compliance of this procedure is that the number of eligible IBVA nights are not recorded correctly on the IBVA Form. This is mitigated by ensuring that the line manager checks the IBVA form after each international visit. Where necessary, employee timesheets and HR orders can be used to ensure the number of eligible nights has been recorded correctly.

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Responsibilities

Employees are responsible for keeping records of their international business trips, including the number of nights spent away from home per calendar year and for claiming for IBVA. The Line Manager is responsible for approving the number of nights applicable to IBVA each month, recorded on the IBVA form.

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References

Other applicable documents that should be read or referenced in conjunction with this document include: Corporate Document Control Procedure Business Travel Policy

0000-S-90-01-P-0078-00-E 0000-S-90-01-P-0009-00-E

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Workflow

Not applicable to this document.

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Content

A certain amount of international business travel is covered by normal compensation. This is defined as 40 nights per calendar year. IBVA becomes payable for each night away from home on international business above 40 nights. Continuous trips of seven nights or more are an exception. In this case payment of IBVA commences on the seventh night, with the first six nights (but not the nights paid) counting towards the 40-night threshold. Once the 40-night threshold is reached, all nights after that are payable. A standard rate of IBVA applies for 41 to 99 nights away per year. A higher rate of IBVA applies for 100 nights or more per year. This will be double the standard IBVA rate set for each country. The IBVA rates for both RF and expatriate employees are based on common pay levels in the country in which the employee is employed. For Russian Federation staff, these net rates will be grossed up for tax to set the actual gross rates. The net rates will apply directly for expatriates employed under net pay terms, i.e. EBAS, US Balance Sheet programs or expatriate direct hires, since they will be grossed up at the time of payment.

6.1

IBVA Rates

Rates are given below for Russia. The gross rates are applicable to Russian Federation employees, while the net rates are applicable to those employed in the country under EBAS, US balance sheet or expatriate direct hire arrangements. The higher IBVA rate applicable for 100 nights or more is double the standard rate shown.

IBVA Standard Nightly Rates Effective 1 January 2006 until 31 December 2006

COUNTRY RUSSIA

6.2

CURRENCY CODE

RF Rate (gross amount)

Expat Rate (net amount)

USD

79

72

Administrative Arrangements

Claims for IBVA made by employees according to the procedure should be submitted to, and authorized by, line management. Payment of IBVA is via payroll and not through expenses, since it is a remuneration item. Employees are personally responsible for keeping records of their international business trips, including the number of nights spent away from home. For tracking IBVA, the IBVA form has been provided which must be used to track international business trips for the purposes of IBVA payment. When using the IBVA form always enable macros. An example IBVA form is attached to demonstrate how the spreadsheet works. See Attachment 1 Example IBVA Form. 0000-S-90-01-P-0125-00-E

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•

On completion of each international business trip the employee must submit the IBVA Form to their Line Manager. This can be an electronic or hard copy. The Line Manager is then responsible for checking that the correct number of nights has been entered by the employee. No further action is required at this point. The Line Manager is not required to initiate payment of the IBVA until 31 December.

•

At the end of each year, the employee must provide a hard copy of the IBVA Form to their Line Manager if they qualify for payment of the IBVA. The employee must print and sign their name at the bottom of the form. The Line Manager must then print and sign their name at the bottom of the form and submit to HR Business Services for payroll processing. If an employee leaves the company during the year, the steps above must be followed before departure from the company to ensure payment can be made.

6.3

•

Forms that are not signed by both the employee and the Line Manager will not be processed.

•

From 1 January, the IBVA ‘clock’ starts again. Nights accrued in the previous year are not carried over to the next year – the number of international nights spent away starts at zero.

•

Payment will be made with the employee’s salary early in the following year, either through SEIC Payroll or Expatriate Central Payroll.

Examples

The following example may be useful in ensuring that the procedure is applied correctly in respect of banking nights towards the threshold: a) b)

Away from 1-31 Jan; 30 nights. 1st 6 nights go into bank, 7th to 30th night paid IBVA Away from 1-25 Mar; 24 nights. 1st 6 nights go into bank, so total now 12 nights, 7th to 24th night paid IBVA; Away from 31 Mar-5 Apr; 5 nights. All 5 nights go into bank, so bank total is now 17 nights Away 15 Apr to 22 Apr; 7 nights. 1st 6 nights go into bank, so bank total is now 23 nights, 7th night paid IBVA

c) d)

6.4 •

Questions What happens if I spend more than 40 nights a year away from home on domestic, or a mixture of domestic/international travel? Will I be compensated for this as well? The policy would apply for those nights spent on the international leg of the travel itinerary. Domestic nights would not apply. For example, if you are traveling to Rijswijk and overnight in Moscow during the visit, this night would not be counted.

•

If my line manager is not familiar with IBVA, whom should I contact for approval? You still need line management approval before processing. Your line manager should contact HR for instructions.

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Attachment 1

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Example IBVA Form

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