General questions
If you can’t find the answer to your questions below, take a look at the Travel
pages on the intranet as well as the Travel and Expenses policy.
Q: How do I book my travel?
A: All your travel has to be booked through the travel portal managed by Capita, EE’s travel provider. The
portal is available 24/7, accessible from work or home and means that you don’t have to claim your travel
costs back through expenses.
If you have trouble logging onto the portal or have any questions around booking travel, get in touch with
Capita on 0844 2455748 (Option 1) / [email protected]
All employees, including contractors, have to use their EE employee number when making a travel booking.
Bookings made without a valid employee number won’t be processed. Contractors who aren’t sure of their
employee number should check with [email protected]
Q: Can I making a booking over the phone or by email?
A: Only when the travel you’re booking can’t be booked online, e.g. group bookings, Eurostar or ferry
bookings.
Q: How do I book my travel?
A: You can access the travel portal at: www.capitabusinesstravel.co.uk/ee or follow the links on the
Travel Booking pages of the intranet.
Q: Why do we need to book our travel this way?
A: We’ve negotiated the best deals and advanced booking discounts with our travel provider. In order to
get the best rates throughout the organisation over a period of time, we need to channel as much business
as we can through our preferred suppliers.
There are a number of benefits of using Capita:
 Hotel availability and lower rates are secured for the whole year;
 Comprehensive Management Information is used to understand travel patterns and identify
opportunities for further savings;
 Traveller tracking functionality– enabling Capita and EE to identify where employees have travelled
to, in the event of any crisis. This allows us to meet our duty of care for our employees;
 Travel alert system – Capita can also provide travel alerts to notify travellers of travel disruption.
This can be requested through the online booking system.
Q: I can find cheaper tickets online through other websites
A: Capita will offer the best available fare or rate at the time of booking. If you do find any fare
discrepancies please forward evidence of this to [email protected]. Please include a
screenshot showing the date and time of your findings. We’ll check that the fare or rate c omparison was
made at the same time (within 10 minutes) and shows that a lower fare or rate is available via an
alternative, UK-based agent. The comparison must be based on a like-for-like basis
Q: I work from home. Can I still book my travel?
A: Yes - the system is available 24/7 from work or home
Q: I work in a store - can I book my own travel?
A: Only if you’re a store manager. If your store manager isn’t available, then please email your travel
requests to [email protected]
Q: Can everyone book their own travel?
A: Yes, everyone can access and book their own travel apart from in Retail. Teams do vary though and you
may have your own travel administrator within your area, so please check first to make sure that travel
bookings aren’t controlled centrally before booking your own travel.
Q: Can contractors book their Travel through the portal?
A: Yes, contractors should log-in the normal way using their own employee number.
Please note that the payment option for Project (capex) contractors for all travel bookings, including booking
fees, is the ‘Pay on Departure’ (POD) basis. This ensures that all expenses are correctly billed to the Project
budget.
All employees, including contractors, have to use their EE employee number when making a travel booking.
Bookings made without a valid employee number won’t be processed. Contractors who aren’t sure of their
employee number should check with [email protected]
Q: I’m new to EE and my details aren’t recognised on the travel portal.
A: You’ll need to wait until your details have been loaded onto the system (about a week) before you can
create your own profile. If you need to book travel for others as part of your role, you’ll need to be set up as
a booker. Contact Capita on 0845 245 5748 Option 1 or email [email protected]
Approval process
Q: How is my travel approved?
A: For train tickets or car hire, an email is sent to your cost centre manager including the details and cost of
your booking. For flights, an email will be sent to your approver which they’ll need to accept, and for hotel
bookings approval is only needed when the hotel rate is more than the rate cap.
Q: I’m a manager, how do I approve flights?
A: You’ll receive an email asking for your approval, just follow the link and you’ll see the options available.
Q: My flight booking has been sent to my approver but they haven’t been
approved it.
A: Before you select the approver make sure they’re in the business to approve your flights. If they’re out
the office and the approval has been sent to them, contact [email protected].
Trains
EE use Trainline for booking rail travel; please refer to their FAQ for further information to support you in planning
and booking Rail online.
Hotels
Q: What is the EE preferred hotel list?
A: To make sure that we get the best deals from EE’s high volume of hotel stays, there’s a preferred hotel
list with spend limits depending on the region you’re in. The hotel list is available within ‘The Lounge’ area of
the travel portal, and you can see the list of the new spend limits by region within this document. Make sure
you book hotels through the online travel portal, as bookings made directly with the hotel can’t be claimed
back through expenses.
Q: How were the hotels on the list selected?
A: We created a range of criteria - including proximity to EE sites, room rates and cancellation policies –
and worked with procurement to decide on the best hotels for our business.
Q: What happens if a hotel isn’t on the list?
A: If the hotel you want to stay at isn’t on the list this means that you can’t stay there. It’s important that you
stay at one of the hotels on the list so that we can get the best rates available and reduce our overall hotel
spend. There are loads of hotels on the list, including those that we use the most already, so there’s bound
to be something to suit
you.
Q: Why is the hotel closest to my office not on the hotel list?
A: Although it’s close to the office it might be that the hotel didn’t meet the rest of criteria in order to be
included on the list. The majority of the hotels on the list are already used by EE and have been selected as
the best fit in the area for our business.
The current hotel list is available within ‘The Lounge’ area of the travel portal, and you can see the list of the new spend
limits by region within this document.
Q: What happens if the hotel (on the list) that I want to stay in isn’t available?
A: If the hotel you’ve chosen is fully booked or unavailable for any reason, the online booking system will
give you alternative, cost effective, hotel options in the area. If you don’t choose the most cost effective
alternative available, your hotel choice will need to go to your cost centre m anager for approval.
Q: Can I negotiate a rate with a hotel and ask for them to be added to the hotel
list?
A: No, as EE have already negotiated room rates with the hotels on the list. If there’s a hotel that you want
to stay at but it isn’t on the list then you can’t stay there.
Q: Is there anything I can do to help manage hotel and travel costs?
A: Yes, you can help reduce hotel and travel costs by booking as far in advance as possible, avoiding
stays/travel around busy periods or popular events and letting Capita know as soon as possible if you’ve
had to cancel any booked travel plans.
Q: Why can I book above the rate cap on hotels?
A: EE have a comprehensive rate programme negotiated based on best value in your key locations. Every
hotel on our preferred listing has a negotiated rate for a standard room which is within rate cap. If hotel
availability is limited you will require approval if a hotel is booked above the capped rate.
Q: I can’t find a hotel in the requested location.
A: The hotel programme is designed to work for all EE locations. However if any are unsuitable please let
Capita know. Their comprehensive database not only includes chain hotels but also some of the best
coverage of independent hotels, and apartments. All of these properties are visible and bookable using the
online tool.
Q: I’ve booked a hotel but don’t need it anymore. What should I do?
A: If you have a hotel booking you don’t need it’s really important you let Capita know straight away – they
work directly with our hotels to get the best cancellation rates.
Car hire
Q: How do I book a hire car?
A: All hire cars must be booked through the Car Hire section of the travel portal. You must provide a copy
of your driving licence to your Cost Centre Manager who will need to keep a copy before approving your
request. Unless your Cost Centre Manager has had a copy of your licence in the last six months, this should
be provided every time you hire a car.
Q: Why do I need to log on separately to Enterprise?
A: Enterprise is currently working on a seamless logon process which will be launched as soon as it is
available.
Q: How do I request a password?
A: On the Enterprise login screen, enter your username as your email address and click on “Forgotten
Password”, you’ll be emailed your temporary password
Q: Why can’t I select the airport I am arriving at to collect the car?
A: If an airport is not listed then please select the outsource office - this will have the airport listed and a
vehicle will be supplied using Enterprise’s outsource provider.
Q: If I need a car at 6am do I need to book it from the day before?
A: Please book the vehicle for the time that you need to commence driving and
Enterprise will make sure the car is ready for you.
Q: What does APU mean?
A: APU stands for automatic pick up; when this box is selected you can enter a pre-determined end of hire
date and time, and then won’t need to enter any further information on your booking. If you don’t select this,
you’ll need to go back into your booking details and change as necessary.
Q: How is the car delivered and collected?
A: Where possible, you should make use of Enterprise's free Pick Up and Return service. Visit the hire car
pages of the intranet for more information.
Otherwise, Enterprise can drop the car off at your place of work, home address or you can collect from one
of their branches.
When the car is delivered, check it for any pre-existing damage which isn't already noted on the Enterprise
paperwork. If you find any damage, report this to Enterprise before you drive the car to make sure EE isn't
charged for any damage repairs in error.
If the car is collected from your home or office address at the end of the hire, under no circumstances
should the keys can’t be left unattended, i.e. under a plant pot or bin. If you’re not going to be around when
the car is collected then you could drop the keys back to the rental branch or take them to work and leave at
reception, just let Enterprise know.
Q: How long can I hire a car for?
A: You can hire a car for up to seven days at a time, for anything longer you’ll need to get authorisation
from your Cost Centre Manager and [email protected]. Hiring cars back to back, i.e. one car for seven
days and then another directly after for three days, will be classed as continuous use and will need
additional authorisation. If you have a hire car for over 28 days, including back to back hire cars, this, under
HMRC rules, will be a taxable benefit and reported on your P11D. We’ll let you know if this is the case.
Q: Can I use the hire car for private use?
A: No. You’re only insured while you’re doing business mileage, so if the car is delivered on a Saturday
morning for use on a Monday morning, you aren’t insured to drive it until Monday morning.
Q: Do I need to return the hire car with a full tank of fuel?
A: Yes. Hire cars are provided with a full tank of fuel, less the fuel used for delivery. You must return the
car with a full tank otherwise we’re charged an additional 20% on top of the cost of filling up the car by the
car hire company. If you don’t return the car with a full tank, the 20% additional charge will be deducted from
your pay. For example, if the refill of fuel costs £1 00, you'll incur a £20 charge.
To reclaim fuel costs, raise an expense claim for ‘fuel for hire car’ through the expenses system, including
details of the business travel completed. This must be accompanied by a valid VAT fuel receipt (called a
Tax Receipt on the expenses system). Claims will be checked to ensure they comply with this policy. The
miles travelled multiplied by the cost of fuel reimbursed must calculate to a ‘pence per mile rate’ that’s
within the limits set by HMRC, around 18p per mile as a guide. No private mileage can be included in
the claim.
Q: What should I do if the hire car is damaged?
A: If the hire car gets damaged in any way during the time you’ve had it, you need to contact the
emergency number given on the paperwork you received from Enterprise with the hire car as soon as
possible. You must also tell your manager and you’ll also need to report the incident to Allianz on 0800 587
5858, quoting Policy No: BV14275942.
If you’re asked to complete an accident damage report you need to do this as quickly as you can, otherwise
it’s likely that your cost centre will be charged for any costs incurred.
If any damage happens to the car, you're responsible for the insurance excess in the result of an 'at fault'
incident, where an insurance excess relating to your hire car is passed to EE. The cost of repairs up to
the £250 excess amount will be deducted from your salary.
Flights
Q: Can I book all my flights online?
A: Yes, but if you need to book international flights or flights with multiple connections/destinations then
contact Capita on [email protected] or 0844 245 5748, Option 5.
Q: Can I book budget airlines using the online system?
A: Yes, you will need to use the CVV number at the end of the booking process for budget airlines, which is
displayed on the flight system.
Q: What class of flight can I book?
A: Please see the Travel policy.
Meetings
Q: I need to book a meeting room. What should I do?
A: Take a look at the ‘book a hot desk or meeting room’ pages on the intranet for all the information you
need. Internal meeting space should be sourced first before booking any external venues.
Q: If I need to book an external venue what do I do?
A: First of all you’ll need to obtain a reference number from internal meeting space, and then email it to
Capita or call the meetings and events team to arrange.
Online
Q: How do I login to the travel portal?
A: Login using your employee number.
Q: I don’t have a password for the site.
A: The first time you use the portal you’ll need to click on “Register New Users”. You’ll then be emailed a
link to follow where you can add your password.
Q: When I login, it doesn’t recognise my employee number
A: Contact [email protected] or 0844 245 5748, Option 1
Q: I’ve not received my password email
A: Please contact [email protected] or 0844 245 5748 Option 1.
Q: I’ve got a certificate error when I access the site.
A: If this does happen, please click on “proceed to website, not recommended”
Q: When I try to access the rail booking tool it asks for a username and password.
A: Close out of the rail tool and go to the rail booking section of the travel portal. If you still can’t log-on,
contact Capita.
Q: I book for various managers. Can I access their profile online?
A: Yes you can, if this is the agreement between yourself and them. Login to the travel portal as yourself
and then access Profile, and login as them using their employee number.
Q: Are there any user guides for using the travel site?
A: Yes, they’re on the travel site under the support tab. Please read these first before contacting the Travel
Support Desk.
Q: Do I need to update my profile?
A: Capita hold basic information including your name, email address, employee number and cost centre.
You can update your profile adding in your frequent flyer numbers, passport information etc if you want to
though.
Help I’m stuck
You can call our online support team using the details below, or drop them an email.
T. 0871 224 6403
E. [email protected]