Clothing, Pocket Money and Allowances

Pocket money, leisure and clothing allowances provided by the Home can be used to help children develop money management and finance skills and awareness.

• The purpose of this policy is to establish and confirm the guidelines and procedures for the use of Petty Cash and Finances for the service, and the children and young people;
• Children and young people within the service will also have their own funds that are within their allowances, these are identified below, for the purpose of is policy, all funds are considered as ‘Petty Cash’, including the handling of the funds for the children and young people;
• Typical payments made through petty cash include bus fares, stamps, and urgent stationery. Petty cash should not be used to fund private parties, to pay regular suppliers or for casual wages.

• Petty cash funds are small amounts of cash kept on hand for the purpose of making small purchases, reimbursing employees for out-of-pocket expenses, and other miscellaneous expenses.

• The shift leader has overall responsibility of the funds for the home on that shift and is the designated person authorised by the homes manager to manage the finances for the shift.

• The authorised person(s) within the shift is authorised to approve expenditure from the Petty Cash (Including the finances of the children and young people);
• Where funds have been spent, it is the responsibility of the staff member that is utilising the funds to complete the relevant documentation, and the responsibility of the authorised person(s) to sign off and check that all paperwork is completed.

• The Petty Cash (not including the children and young people’s finances) will be stored in the ‘Staff Safe’, which is locked and secured;
• The monies for the children and young people will also be in the ‘Staff Safe’ however these will be stored separately for each young person, and their own allowances;
• It is the responsibility of the authorised person(s) to always ensure the safety and security of the petty cash;
• The Management Petty Cash Tin will be stored separately in the management safe, with the homes management only having access to these funds.

• Petty Cash should only be used for small purchases, to a limit of £80.00. If an employee needs to exceed this limit, approval must be given by the manager, who must also sign the folio slip or make payment via the homes bank card.

• The homes management will conduct weekly checks of the finances for the home, and this will include a reconciliation, of expenses and replenishment as required;
• The petty cash must be audited each shift by the authorised person(s), to ensure that this is calculated correctly, and that all monies and finances are accounted for. Ad-hoc audits will be completed by the management team, to ensure compliance;
• All funds being added or removed from the Petty Cash must be documented on the relevant log sheet.

• When funds are spent from Petty Cash, this must be documented on a Folio Slip with all relevant details and the receipt attached and must be signed and dated by the relevant people;
• All records for the children and young people must be updated accordingly in terms of their allowance forms, this is the responsibility of the authorised person(s) and the staff member spending the finances.

• All staff who handle the Petty Cash are responsible for complying with the provisions of this policy and should raise any discrepancies with the authorised person(s) and / or management of the home;
• Any violation of this policy may result in disciplinary action up to and including termination of employment. If and employee is found to have misused the Petty Cash or mishandled the finances, they may be required to reimburse any losses identified via investigation.

• Any errors that are identified are the responsibility of the authorised person(s) and the person making any expenditures; overall responsibility of funds is with the authorised person(s) for that shift;
• Any errors must be corrected before the authorised person(s) leave the shift and ensure that this has been corrected.

The allowance for each young person will vary depending on their ages, the information is as follows:

• Manager Tin Log: This is the log sheet that will be utilised to keep a running record of the funds within the management Petty Cash Tin;
• Petty Cash Folio: This document must be completed for any expenditure to record and evidence where funds have been spent, all receipts must be stapled to the folio;
• Young Person Folio: This document must be completed for any expenditure for the children and young people to record and evidence where funds have been spent, all receipts must be stapled to the folio;
• Petty Cash Log: This is the log sheet that will be utilised to keep a running record of the funds within the Petty Cash Tin;
• Young Person Activity Log: This is the log sheet that will be utilised to keep a running record of the funds within the Young Person’s Activity funds;
• Young Person Clothing Log: This is the log sheet that will be utilised to keep a running record of the funds within the Young Person’s Clothing funds;
• Young Person Incentives Log: This is the log sheet that will be utilised to keep a running record of the funds within the Young Person’s Incentives funds;
• Young Person Mobile Phone Log: This is the log sheet that will be utilised to keep a running record of the funds within the Young Person’s Top-up funds;
• Young Person Pocket Money Log: This is the log sheet that will be utilised to keep a running record of the funds within the Young Person’s Pocket Money funds;
• Young Person Savings Log: This is the log sheet that will be utilised to keep a running record of the funds within the Young Person’s Savings funds;
• Young Person Toiletries Log: This is the log sheet that will be utilised to keep a running record of the funds within the Young Person’s Toiletries funds.