Employees have been ramping up expense claims as the recession has taken hold, a new survey claims.

The survey, from expense management provider GlobalExpense, shows that 30% of respondents thought exaggerating expenses was acceptable, while 13% of expense-claiming employees admitted that it is likely or very likely that they will exaggerate their expenses if they find themselves in economic difficulties as a result of a recession and think they can get away with it.
 
David Vine, managing director of GlobalExpense, said: “The writing is on the wall.  The further the country falls into recession and people feel the pinch, the more employees are being tempted to fiddle their expenses.  

“Adding around £14 to an expense claim may not sound much, but with over 3.7m employees in the UK who claim expenses, the amount of money that businesses are losing every day through fraudulent claims will be tens of millions of pounds.  At a time when many businesses are battling with banks over their borrowings, every penny counts.”