Corporates rarely pay for partners

Former "perkbusting" MP Rodney Hide said he took girlfriend Louise Crome on a tour of London and North America because it was "very, very hard" to maintain a relationship when you were a minister of the Crown.

But he would probably have been flying solo if he was one of the corporate sector managers or chief executives politicians' jobs are often compared to.

If you work for Fonterra, you'd better have a good reason why New Zealand's largest company should cover the cost of your partner's travel.

Spokesman Nick Stride said partners did accompany staff members on occasion, "but family travel will not normally be accepted as a business expense". He said a family member's travel would have to be "directly related to the successful outcome of the Fonterra business" before the company paid.

Fisher & Paykel investor relations vice-president Paul Brockett said staff went away on business for up to two weeks at a time, a number of times a year.

Though the company had no problem with staff using airpoints to shout partners to join them overseas, F&P would not pay.

Telecom staff travelling overseas for work must pay for someone else to talk to during their long international flights.

"As a rule, such travel does not generally encompass spousal travel," spokeswoman Katherine Murphy said.

The Warehouse will not pay for partners' travel, though it is happy to allow employees - who often spend up to 26 weeks a year away from home - to use their airpoints to pay for their spouses.

Briscoe Group managing director Rod Duke is happy for partners to join employees when they are abroad "after the work is done" and provided they pay for it themselves.

Briscoe buyers often visit Europe, Asia and the United States on trips of up to three weeks, with some buyers travelling abroad four times a year, he said.

Staff often tacked on leave while they were on buying trips, and Mr Duke thought it was "a bloody brilliant idea" if spouses could go, too.

He said the company never paid for partners' travel but air points could be used.