thewinchester
Established Member
- Joined
- Oct 3, 2006
- Posts
- 1,771
Yep, minimum 10 posts before you can PM other members. Helps to ensure AFF remains spam free.
To answer the question - no, this is not written into my contract. I've also never flown enough to accrue an amount of points that could be used for official travel - so there's not much else could I do with them if they're on offer.
There's been a long discussion on this issue here before, albeit I can't find the post I made to that thread to refer you to.
While travel arrangements in WA Govt. require you to use points earned through official business, there's no adequate system in place to support doing this.
Additionally, as our tickets are purchased through a Corporate Travel Agency (under preferred/mandatory supplier rules), and not a contract direct with an airline - there's no restrictions or prohibition on earning points. Getting the points is as simple as adding in your membership number in the airline's system once the ticket is issued.
Further, while one can argue that 'it's not your money, why should you even put your airline membership number on the booking', that's easily countered with 'do you want me to have to spend an extra $600 plus when the booked flight can't be made, or waste a day somewhere because I can't get home?'
By public service flyers putting in their membership numbers, accruing points and status with airlines, it has the direct benefit of saving agencies money in the long run. If you staff are following the rulebook, they will use accrued points for travel when they can, and they are more likely to receive more efficient service when things do go wrong - ensuring less lost time and wasted wages for the agency.
And let's not forget, this is nothing different to what happens across most, if not all of the corporate sector anyway.
As long as I'm adhering to the State Supply Commission & Government Procurement Office purchasing rules - this is that value for money & preferred supplier rules are followed, and my choice of supplier is not being influenced due to rewards, benefits or inducements, then everything's fine IMHO.
If you follow those rules, I feel it's more than reasonable to accrue points for travel/purchases (specially since most Public Servants get screwed over anyway and never get any decent employer benefits - my circumstances for the last four years in a hard up agency being a case in point).
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