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Am i legally entiltaled to essential car usage allowance

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  • Am i legally entiltaled to essential car usage allowance

    I am employed by local government an have been for 9+ years i first started off as a premises manager but we had a revue and my job changed to mobile facilities Supervisor.
    I had to apply for the job and it was between me and one other within the office but as i was the only one with a car and driving licence i got the job.
    I had to buy a new car for the job due to the fact my wife also needed the car to get to and from work as the council refused to supply a work vehicle.
    Now during the 3 years of me doing the job as a Mobile facilities supervisor travelling from numerous sites within the borough i asked for the cost of petrol and wear and tear to be met by the council and was told by the HR department i was not entitled to the essential car usage allowance which i though was unfair as i was doing around 20k miles each year. My manager agreed with the agreement of his line manager to pay me 20 hours of overtime each month to cover the cost of my petrol and mobile phone.
    Now this was agreed with my then department manager with permission of his directorate manager but i constantly asked HR each year to be put on the essential car usage as told by boss to do.
    Now we are being outsourced and during the consultation i kept on brining up the subject of my car and mobile and if this had been taken into account with the new company but kept on getting shrugged off during the meetings. As expressed by HR during the consultation meetings with staff that if we had any issues to come and see them in the office so i did.
    Once in the meeting i explained that i had supplied my own car and mobile phone for the job as i was refused a work phone and a vehicle and i had asked for them to pay me out of my mobile phone contract as i will no longer have any use for this when tupe over to the new company and they where shocked to find this out and agreed immediately to cover the cost with compensation as i should of received a phone with my job. I then told them that it was agreed with my manager and his manager that my cost of petrol and phone bill was covered by an extra 20 hours of overtime per month.
    Upon telling them of the fact that i was claiming over time as instructed by my manager and head of service to cover the cost they informed i had to stop this immediately as this could be classed as fraud and that i should of been issued with mobile and placed on the essential car usage as within the council guidelines for the work and mileage i do.
    I stopped claiming the cost through overtime in July, August, September and provided them with mileage each month as asked by them. They refused to put me on essential mileage put me own occasional user and this covered my petrol cost up until September this year.
    After looking at the council guidelines i should of been paid the essential car usage allowance from the start £960 lump payment each year and 42 pence per mile for the first 10k and then 25 pence after this would cover all wear and tear and car depreciation,Business insurance, tax as stated on council intranet.
    As i no longer need my car as this was only bought for this job as i have a new family car that we use day to day. I was going to sell the car i use only for work to recoup some of the cost only to find out that i have at least £1600 pound worth of work needed on the car and the car is only worth £1500 to begin with due to the high mileage and condition so the garage said its not worth fixing but scrapping.
    I have asked the HR department to at least refund me the cost of the work i had done on the car in May £500 as this would of been covered if i was getting paid the essential car usage allowance and as i have not received what i was entitled to this was only fair but they have refused.
    I am out of pocket with this car and no way of recouping any costs back maintenance i.e tyres, brakes and just the cost of the car for the job is there anything i can do. Can i ask for back dated payment of the £960 lump sum or do i have to swallow that i will not recoup any cost at all??


    iT DOES STATE ON THE COUNCIL INTRANET SITE THAT I COME UNDER THE ESSENTIAL CAR USAGE ALLOWANCE.


    My job is to drive around the borough checking on issues within the council buildings and to check contractual work to insure compliance. So i am virtualy out of the office form start to finish of work each day doing on average 20 site visits.

    Also drive to emergency call outs throughout the day and emergency evening call outs 24/7 everyday of the week all year.

    My car is only used for work and as i am now being outsourced and the new company are supplying a work vehicle i have no use of this vehicle now and have been told due to the high mileage of the vehicle and work need to be done to it the car is worthless and no way of recouping any cost back.
    Just disapointed that the council refused for 2 years not to put me on any of the car usage schemes as entiltled to as described on the intranet site of ours as i do 20k work miles a year.
    Tags: None

  • #2
    Re: Am i legally entiltaled to essential car usage allowance

    When I worked for a local authority it was plain, you either did qualify for essential usage or you didn't - based on the frequency you had to drive and the distance travelled.

    There was a cut off point, though, at which you were better off on casual user rather than essential user as casual users got a higher rate per mile than essential users. The casual user rate was said to be calculated to include wear and tear etc.

    The arrangement you came to is extraordinary (the 20 hours overtime) - I certainly hope you have evidence that this was what he instructed you to do.

    There is no way my local authority would have entertained the type of claim that you now wish to make.

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Am i legally entiltaled to essential car usage allowance

      HR were shocked to find out i was getting paid 20 hrs overtime to cover my petrol costs each month and said that i should of been getting the essential usage allowance. I have emails stating the refusal from HR saying i was not entitled to it and my old manager has given me a letter stating that HR refused when asked and that he was instructed to pay the cost of petrol (not wear and tear, insurance etc) from his manager who has also left through overtime. Also i have proof that i have chased this up every time that a new manager came into the office.

      I just want to know how i stand as i am hugely out of pocket now.

      Comment

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