The situation around Christmas gifts Reeves purchased for PAs and more was more complicated.
That’s because, according to the internal bank guidance we saw, these are small gifts under £25 and can be purchased at the expense as they were not purchased using a motivation card.
The £25 limit was based on tax advice as more substantial things attracted taxes.
It seemed to her colleague that Reeves had broken these rules.
However, there appears to be some confusion about the policy. I’ve also seen emails showing that Reeves bought more expensive Christmas presents from her boss and was encouraged to pay them with her motivation card.
In late October 2008, Reeves’ manager wrote, “It appears that the standard practice of purchasing direct report Christmas gifts using Motivation Bank will continue this year after checking with other departments.” It writes:
She suggested spending between £50 and £75 per person on presents.
A reminder titled “Additional Clarity” about how to purchase and how much to spend Christmas presents was distributed in early December by another HBO employee, the email says.
Reeves and all other managers investigated later were among the recipients of this email reviewing rules regarding Christmas gifts.
Although seasonal gifts such as Christmas were allowed, managers were explicitly told they could not use their motivation cards for these purchases. The cost of these “trivial” gifts was also not permitted to exceed £25 in line with HMRC guidance, the email said.
This is because rewards for workplace performance are taxable, while seasonal gifts given at Christmas are exempt to the extent that they are too costly.
In reply to the email, Reeves wrote that he doesn’t understand why “the goal post is shifting” and claimed “Motivation Bank/Thank you, and I’m not going to cancel them.” , said he had already ordered a present and paid for it. This will cost more time and money.
A finance colleague admitted that the message about paying Christmas presents was not always clear, but said, “I don’t think the goal post is moving.”
The receipts say the gifts purchased by Reeves for Christmas 2008 include a PA £49 handbag, indicating that she herself received £55 worth of wine from her boss .
