Businesses in the UK are losing an estimated £1 billion every year through fraudulent employee expense claims, a new report has said.
More than a fifth of employees admit that they regularly fiddle the books when claiming for personal expenditure, the survey for Travelodge found.
The average claim was 'rounded up' an additional £14.60, equivalent to £175.20 every year.
More than a quarter of men admitted claiming back more than they spent compared to just 18 per cent of women.
Across both sexes, 46 per cent said that adding a little extra to their claims was a "legitimate" source of cash and just seven per cent said that they felt guilty about it.
"Our research highlights some outrageous flouting of expenses policies but it is everyday claims that are being manipulated on regular basis," said Guy Parsons of Travelodge.
"Extra mileage claims or the odd bottle of wine whilst entertaining can really rack up a business' bill over the year."
