blue scooby

hi,

3 years ago i moved company and agreed with the boss that he would give me a company van for use off to and from work,which he did do and at the time he siad you can use it out of work as i myself was paying for the fuel to ryn the van.

then 1 year ago i moved house which was 80 mile away from where i was working and now the boss has siad because of the milage i am putting on the van he is going to take it off me and give me £12 aweek more to get to and from work....

where do i stand with this and what rights do i have.??

cheers

mikef04

iTrader: (7)

was a van in your contract or a verbal agreement??

blue scooby

it was in my contract mate....but i only lived 6 miles away from yard then now i live 80

mikef04

iTrader: (7)

but i'm sure if in your contracts it states you are too have a work van + private usage, you should still have your van. £12 dosen't cover your travel, wera n tear, tax, insurance etc

djuk

It probably depends on what exactly is worded in your written contract. The other side of the coin is do you really want the van given the company car tax implications.. would you be better off making your own way?

blue scooby

im not to bothered about buying my own van and the up keep of it but im pissed that he only offered £12 if it was £12 aday then yes but £12 aweek is a bit naughty i think

blue scooby

i agree mate but he said he is not having it and changing it...what can i do..

Brun

I understand your problem but at the same time i sympathise with your boss to an extent. He will own a van which instead of doing 60 miles a week to a from work it will be doing 740 miles. Assuming that your average van does 12k between services, that means it will need a service every 16 weeks before you actually take it anywhere to do any work. After that of course, you've got tyres, brakes depreciation etc. Assuming that your boss pays for the upkeep of said vehicle, his back pocket is gonna take a fair hit through no fault of his own.
Not a go at you, just an observation

jasey

Did he make you move 80 miles from work ?

Not sure why you think he should pay you extra because you decided to move ?

Sounds like he's being quite reasonable - the £12 a week is probably compensating the fuel you would need for your original journey - not you rnew one.

mamoon2

Agreed! You can't expect to keep the van if you moved 80 miles away

Be lucky you have been given any extra money and that you have a job in the current climate.

If you worked for me and moved 80 miles away, i'd take my van back too. Could be seen as taking the mickey even being cheeky enough questioning him on this issue.

MikeCardiff

iTrader: (2)

Has to be asked - why did you move 80 miles away from where you work ???

I can see the employers point of view as the mileage you are going to put on the vehicle now is huge compared to when you were living 6 miles away, and in essence you will be running his vehicle into the ground at his expense, which does seem like taking the pee a bit.

hodgy0_2

did you pay the tax on this perk?

you have very little rights btw -- we (UK PLC) are moving to a low skilled, low wage economy with little employment rights so we all better get used to it

blue scooby

i pay for all fuel and up keep of van and running cost, i can see where he is coming from but he cant just pay £12 a week..i could not even get a bus to work for that if i lived ^ mile away....

djuk

I think the point you're missing is that he doesn't have to pay for you to get to work - hardly anyone in the world gets this perk

blue scooby

when its in your contract that he will give you a van to get to and from work and then takes it away..thought you could only make a contract equal too or better than...by offering £12 a week i think is a joke! it would cost him more than that if i still lived 6 mile away and had the van.....

djuk

If it's rock solid in your contract that your employer will provide you with a van for the purpose of getting to and from your permenant place of work from your home, wherever that may be, then by all means take professional advice on it.

Have you been paying company car tax on the vehicle?

blue scooby

no i have not...

djuk

Then I'd just keep very quiet and take it on the chin - if HMRC find out you've evaded 3 years of company car tax this whole issue will seem like small fry

blue scooby

he has been paying it

mamoon2

I'm sorry but I can't hold this in!

Are you for real? You had the privillage of a work van which you didn't pay tax on (which you should have if your company doesn't pay the fuel) and then decide to move 80 miles away and expect you boss to pay you to get to work.

If I was your boss i'd send you down the road. You must be stupid if you think you have this right

You shouldn't have moved 80 miles away. I take it you didn't mention you would be moving when you signed the contract? And as your address details have changed so have the terms of the contract.

As if he's gonna put 38,000 miles on his vehicle so you can get to work

jasey

No he hasn't.

You've been getting a benefit in kind and you haven't declared it to the taxman.

Knowing this fcuked up country you're probably looking at a two stretch .

Keep stchum if I were you and take the £12

blue scooby

i forgot to say i was happy in a job and he wanted me to go work for him and to get me there he had to offer me these deals and i can tell you i have made him many many ££££s....every one can speak up so thanks for your thoughts

Lisawrx

iTrader: (1)

I certainly don't know the ins and outs of this in terms of your actual rights, but I think you are being a bit unfair on your employer.

You have had a perk (to a point) for a good while, which I suspect you were only given when taken on, due to your location. Your boss is obviously no longer happy to uphold this, as you have chosen to move so far away. I don't think that is totally unreasonable as he will have to pull out so much more to maintain the van doing such mileage.

If you had come here saying the business had moved further away, and he was doing this, I would say you had been hard done by, and may have a case. As you have moved, I'm not so sure, but I guess it really depends exactly what your contract says, and you'd be better off getting proper advice, rather than what will mainly be opinions.

Gordo

why did you move 80 miles from work???

blue scooby

thank you lisa i do see his point and i have told him i will pay all up keep on the van all i want him to do was to tax mot and insure it....which he will not do, he will give me £12 aweek to make up for this..which i think is wrong i could not even get the bus to work if i still lived 6 miles away for that much..the min he should do i think is pay me what it would cost me to get to work if i still lived 6 mile away

Steve vRS

As has been said, you have not been paying benefit in kind on your perk. Keep quiet, leave the van at the factory/office/ lock-up and buy a cheap car to get to work in.

Steve

Puff The Magic Wagon!

iTrader: (2)

That is the first sensible post.

It's all about "reasonableness"..

Is is reasonable for you to have moved 80 miles away & still expect him to foot the bill? No

It is reasonable for him to not pay you the equivalent as if you were still living 6 miles away? No

On both parties it's the "spirit" of the agreement.

Forgetting the tax implications for a moment, it's the fact that there is/has been an established perk at a rate which is quantifiable. To remove that perk & to pay you at a rate that is substantially less than the previous rate is a breach of contract & potentially a cause for constructive dismissal. Unless your contract states that you can have your wages varied downwards, which I doubt or hope you don't!

If you want to go that route...


My suggestion would be to write it all up on paper & go and have a beer with the chap to show him what it's worth to you and to him and to come to a deal which will be around the value of the previous package. Yes, you may not get it all, but then he also won't lose a valued member of staff.

Simillar happened to me recently & it sticks in my throat, believe me and I went from 70 miles away to 3!!

Steve vRS

3500 posts and my first sensible one

Steve

Puff The Magic Wagon!

iTrader: (2)

Sorry m8 - wasn't you I was referring to, it was the OPs!! I just wrote more than you did & took longer

Adrian F

The tax on vans isnt the same as cars, if you didnt have any personal use of the van i believe you wouldnt have any tax to pay, with personal use but you paying for fuel etc you might have a small tax liability but you employer would have put this on your P11D each year for you to submit with a tax return so he could have checked for you and found your not liable. Speak to an accountant

The firm i work for supplies vans as part of our package and people frequently move say a further 40 miles away from their normal area of work and we dont do any thing about it.

I would say £12 isnt fair compensation for the loss of the van but as others have mentioned in the current jobs market he has you over a barrel and like my firm is using this situation to change T&C's

I would suggest if it is in your contract then either challange him with the possible side effect of having to change jobs or put up whilst looking for another job near where you have moved to, if he was keen to head hunt you he might be more help full when you hand your notice into leave equally in the current climate he might fill your post for less.

At the end of the day unless you have an effective union to look after you in the current climate the Bosses can pretty much do what they like and they know it.