Workshop v Site

[Zenfo]

Hi i just wanted to ask a question regarding fairness, i drive 12 miles to work using my own car and get paid when i get there until i leave (7.30-4.00)

The fitters who have company vans incurring no fuel/repair costs, work on site get paid from the moment they leave home to the time they get back home, so all in all they get travelling time and i don't, even if they need to drive to the workshop first thing they still get paid that half an hour.

Also into the equation is that my employer won't pay me overtime rate of time and a half from 4pm to 5pm because he said "i can't because they (fitters) get expenses" but i should have asked instead of finding out about the travelling time a few years later.

Only in the last year have i asked for a rise and got an extra 50p an hour to cover petrol, but i still feel i get a raw deal and i've not been getting along with people causing me resentment

 

What should i do ?

[the_shadow]

Hi and welcome to CAG,

 

I know it certainly doesnt sound fair but I suspect they've done everything according to terms and conditions of employment that you all agreed to. Have you got a copy of yours to see what it states you should be getting?

 

S.

[assisted blonde]

Is your job the same or similar to the work the fitters do? To be fair most people do have to pay their own way to work unless they have a company vehicle.

[Zenfo]

Hi and welcome to CAG,

 

I know it certainly doesnt sound fair but I suspect they've done everything according to terms and conditions of employment that you all agreed to. Have you got a copy of yours to see what it states you should be getting?

 

S.

 

I left it under my bench for a long time, now it's been thrown out

[Zenfo]

Is your job the same or similar to the work the fitters do? To be fair most people do have to pay their own way to work unless they have a company vehicle.

True, it's the travelling time that really gets me.

[the_shadow]

I left it under my bench for a long time, now it's been thrown out

 

If the company has an HR dept than you could request a copy from them, if its a small firm they'll still be required to keep them which you can request a copy of.

 

S.

[the_shadow]

True, it's the travelling time that really gets me.

 

Is that to get around the tax implications of them having the vehicles at home? are they on lesser wages because of this?

[Sidewinder]

Is that to get around the tax implications of them having the vehicles at home? are they on lesser wages because of this?

 

Of course there would only be a tax element to this if the vans are used for 'significant' personal use.

 

I agree - this is rather unfair, but is undoubtedly tied up in the fact that the fitters have an indeterminable journey to work - one presumes that they may have a 5 minute drive, or a 2 hour drive depending on the location of the work, whereas you (again, I am assuming), work at the same location for most of the time. Mobile workers tend a lot more to be paid for travelling time than one who is based in the same place.

[assisted blonde]

To be honest 12 miles is not really a long journey and if you are based at the same place of work all the time then i cant really see the problem, I would guess that your job is not the same as the fitters in which case they would have different pay and conditions to yourself. If however they are doing the same job as you then it could be a different matter if you are being discriminated against.

[Gbarbm]

From a tax point of view, home to office travel is classed as ordinary commuting. If your employer were to pay for that, it would be a benefit in kind and would be subjected to PAYE income tax. If you use your own car for business purposes, you can receive authorised mileage allowance payments (AMAPS) of 45 pence for the first 10,000 business miles per year and 25 pence per mile thereafter. The AMAPS cover business fuel, wear and tear etc.

It is possible that the van drivers could be classed as working temporarily at the various sites.... The 24 month/40% rule; if the temporary work is done for less than 24 months and they expect to spend 40% or more of their working time at the temporary location then expenses including home to site can be paid ( see booklet 490 employee travel on HMRC website)

[becky2585]

I suspect there is a valid reason similar to that mentioned earlier in the thread. My commute is a 40 mile round trip and it would be lovely if I was paid

 

I would ask the company why your terms seem to be less favourable, but short of it being discrimination or an equal pay (gender linked) issue, it's probably not going to change!