Just before Xmas we all got trackers on our vans so our boss could charge us for personal mileage. None of us do any mileage outside of work because we all got nice cars and the boss was miffed at that.
So Mr. Big Cheese comes down to our little office for a chat this afternoon. We all have vans because we're out on site a lot and visit a whole bunch of customers all over the country. Some days we stop at the office first, some days we're straight out to customer sites. At the moment we just fill the van up, pay it on the company card and bob's your uncle.
So anyways, Mr Big Cheese comes down and starts moaning to our newbies that paying them 40p a mile to use their own cars is getting expensive, (even though the company makes f**k loads of money) but the newbies can't help that because they're too young to go on van insurance.
Then he turns to me and the other older guys and says we need to start paying 13p per mile for travel to and from the office and if we're out on site at home time we need to pay 13p from that site back to home.
That may or may not be kosher but the big wtf is that when we did the maths afterwards that 13p a mile pretty much exactly cancels out the payrises we all had a few months back. wtf
He cant do that, even if your leaving, do something about it & dont let this prick walk over everyone else.
For starters.. He cant charge 'personal mileage' for after work unless he has declared (& you agree) to having the van available for personal use. This obviously means its a perk & means
you will get taxed (approx £600 on a van a year (£3000 / tax bracket) + approx £50 a month for private fuel - which he doesnt offer by the sounds of it).
Company vans & personal mileage - ie travel to & from the office can be classed as personal mileage or it can be classed as non personal mileage - If you drove to work & dropped your kids off on the way, then thats not personal mileage as long as its on the route.. but going the opposite direction & to drop them off & then going to work, would be personal use. Your allowed to use your van for personal use on your lunch hour within reason. The wording they use is insignificant use.
What does your contract say for location? If it says your place of work is the registered office, then it can be classed as personal mileage. So its possible he can charge for that. If nothing is mentioned or its different sites, etc. then he cant charge anything. The place of work is an interesting statement in a contract. If it says your home based & your start time is 9am, then legally you start work at 9am - so you leave the house at 9am. Lots of it is contractual law & a big grey area as somethings can cancel each other out.
Its all about proving what is personal mileage & what is business mileage. Speak to ACAS (they will even get a mediator involved if its affecting a few people) and read your contract.
If the boss is doing anything illegal, then you have a right to whistleblow on him.
