The following is an extract from the 2013/14 Contrib manual of guidance. Not aware that it has changed since then ...
Every effort must be made to keep travelling expenses to a minimum and all Match Officials have a part to play in that quest. The overall responsibility lies with the Match Referee for ensuring the most cost effective and practical joint travel arrangements.
When travelling by private car, you must claim for the journey, calculating the mileage by the shortest route. It is appreciated that, despite this instruction, you may still choose to use another route, which, although providing a quicker journey, is not necessarily the shortest. With the modern development of orbital motorway routes, especially around large conurbations, it is often easier to circumvent these areas, rather than travel through them. That is your choice, but even in these cases, it is imperative that the shortest journey is claimed.
You should be aware that joint travelling arrangements are not always designed on a “pick up on the way” basis. There may be occasions where all three Officials are expected to a meet at a mutually agreed point and then all travel together. In these cases, each individual Official is entitled to claim for the short journey to the meeting point.
When arranging for joint travel, every Match Official has an individual responsibility to ensure that the arrangements are made in good time ahead of the match day. It is not acceptable to leave the making of arrangements until the day before the game. If, when making arrangements, it transpires that there has been a replacement to any of the Officials, the remaining Match Official(s) must contact the appropriate Appointments Officer to establish the replacement and whether joint travel is required with that replacement Official.
There will be no dispensation from joint travel on a Saturday. If a Match Official wishes to withdraw from the joint travel arrangement on a Saturday, permission must firstly be sought, but he will do so at his own expense. It is accepted that – for midweek games – many Officials travel direct to the ground from work and that joint travel arrangements under those circumstances are not practical. To be released from any possible joint travel arrangements in these situations, contact your Appointments Officer (preferably by e-mail). If no authority is sought to be released from midweek joint travel, that Official will not be entitled to claim travelling expenses.
If a Match Official travels to a game by public transport, that Official may claim the appropriate second class rail fare or any costs incurred by using bus, tram or ferry. In all cases of public transport being used, a receipt must be requested and must be submitted with the Official’s expenses claim card. Costs incurred in using toll tunnels, bridges and roads may also be claimed. The non provision of a receipt may negate the paying of travelling expenses. If a Match Official travels part way to a match and receives a call to state that the game has been postponed, he will be entitled to claim the distance travelled to and from the point where he received the call. To do so, he should e-mail the Home Club Secretary with the details.
If a Match Official actually arrives at a ground, where the match is subsequently postponed, he will be entitled to claim his travelling expenses and half the match fee.
No Match Official will be entitled to clam loss of earnings from a regular employment in the event of a postponed game.
Prior to the commencement of the season, each Match Official will be issued with cards, to be used for claiming expenses for each game. A completed expenses card must be submitted to the Home Club Secretary prior to the match and should be supported with the necessary receipts, where appropriate. These cards will be retained by individual Clubs and The Football Association reserves the right to inspect them from time to time to check the claims submitted by Match Officials.
If it is established that any Match Official has misclaimed or over claimed travelling expenses, the Football Association also has the right to ensure that these expenses are repaid to the Home Club. In addition, disciplinary sanctions may also be imposed.