Elder reimburses reasonable, cost-effective travel to and from placements. You organise your own travel; Elder covers the costs that fit our guidelines below.
What "reasonable and cost-effective" means
Always use the cheapest sensible route available. This might mean breaking your journey into legs if it saves money.
Example: A non-driving carer travelling from London E8 to Madron, Cornwall could take:
Leg 1: Tube, E8 → London Paddington Station
Leg 2: Train, London Paddington Station → Penzance Station
Leg 3: Taxi, Penzance Station → Madron (final address)
This approach is often cheaper than a single journey option and is exactly what we encourage.
What Elder will reimburse
Standard Class travel only (First and premium class need Elder's approval before you book)
Travel within Great Britain, starting and finishing in GB
The most sensible, cost-effective route
Taxis for the final few miles, or where it's the only available transport
What Elder won't reimburse
Accommodation
First or premium class travel (unless you've asked Elder first and got approval)
Travel costs if you drop out, walk out, or leave a placement early — you fund your own journey home
Cancellation fees or missed-journey charges
Claims without a valid receipt (quotes aren't accepted; proof of payment may be requested)
Taxis: special rules
If you book your own taxi: Taxis for the final few miles only, or where it's the only available transport. For anything more, you'll need Elder's approval beforehand.
If Elder books a taxi for you: We only do this in exceptional circumstances (e.g. you were selected for a placement at the last minute, or the customer requested an urgent start).
If you cancel a booked taxi, you cover the cost
If Elder or the customer cancels, Elder covers the cost
Please arrive on time at the agreed pick-up location — waiting charges are your responsibility
If you're late, Elder may cancel the taxi
Key requirements
Deadlines: Submit your claim within 30 days of travel. Claims received after this date won't be reimbursed.
Receipts: You must provide a clear, legible copy showing the date of travel and cost. Blurry images or receipts without dates will be rejected.
Verification: All claims are checked against these guidelines. If your claim falls outside them, we'll ask you to cover the difference.
Payment timing: Reimbursements appear in your payment summary the Monday after travel. If you claim after placement has ended, they'll appear the Monday after you submit.
How to submit your claim
Head to ElderHub to submit your travel claim. For step-by-step instructions, see How to claim travel reimbursement.
Organising travel
It is your responsibility to organise travel arrangements to and from placements. We encourage you to organise travel as soon as you’re confirmed to attend a placement. Handovers at placements start at 12:30pm, and should typically finish around 2pm, so please plan accordingly. You can read more about the handover here.
All Silver, Gold and Diamond carers can access a variety of 'Perks and Discounts' through Onsi, including access to fuel cards.
Please note: in exceptional circumstances (such as last minute placements), Elder might help you book travel through a third party, Travel Perk.
How is your personal data used by Travel Perk?
TravelPerk provides various travel services including managing travel bookings, processing orders and payments, maintaining user accounts, keeping you updated of cancellations, providing customer support, booking recommendations and service updates. In delivering these services, Elder provides limited personal data of yours to TravelPerk (i.e. your name and email address) and you also directly provide further personal data to TravelPerk (outside of Elder).
If you have any questions or would like to understand how your personal data might be used by TravelPerk in the delivery of these services, we would refer you to their Privacy portal available here:https://www.travelperk.com/legal. Equally, if you have any other questions please refer to our Privacy Notice for more information about how Elder collects and uses your personal data.