Employer says we have to pay for Business Insurance!

joaries

Hi All!

My colleagues and I work for a small independent charity that provides support to families. Some of our work involves transporting the people we support to various meetings or appointments.

Some of us are fully insured for this through class 1 business insurance that hasn't cost the driver anything extra to add to their insurance cover. However some of us, (new drivers, dodgy postcode etc) have been advised by insurers that to add class 1 business cover to our insurance cover would cost anything from £15.00 per year through to an extra £75 per month! :eek:

The Chief Exec has stated that each employee must pay for these extra costs out of our own pocket. We're extremely concerned about this as it doesn't seem fair that we are out of pocket for a business expense.

We would be extremely grateful if any moneysaving experts can tell us if this is correct or if the company should pay for the extra cover?

Any help and advice greatly appreciated!

Thanks all

Jo

getmore4less

Tell them you no longer have a vehicle available for business use.

what expences are they prepared to cover?

System

Do they pay you mileage? If so at what rate?

Andy_L

If they are paying milage then the cost should cover the extra insurance costs. If it doesn't then see post #2 by getmore4less.

"Some of our work involves transporting the people we support to various meetings or appointments" I would personally be concerend about this bit as business use classification is gnerally vague about the carriage of non-colleage passengers.

ali-t

Did the job spec or contract state that you had to have a car for business use? If so you might just have to do it as without it you are not able to fulfil your contractual obligations.

Are there others doing your job without a car? If So you have a stronger position to argue your case from.

Your insurance is likely to be invalid if you transport service users but are not insured to do so.

joaries

Thanks for your replies everyone.

@Getmore4less and @!!!!!! we get 40p per mile mileage costs whilst undertaking travel for work, eg taking service users to appointments, meetings, events, training etc.

Thanks @AndyT for pointing that out about concern for transporting non-colleague passengers, we will highlight that when we continue our discussions.

@Ali-t our most recent recruitment documents have stated that the successful candidates need to have clean licences and use of a car. I don't think we've adequately addressed the insurance issue though.

emg

I'm not sure this is so unusual. I work in the NHS and we have to pay our own business insurance and use our own cars for community and home visits. We are told it is covered by the mileage allowance (although of course the allowance has increased very slowly whereas the price of petrol has rocketed). My contract says I must have access to a car or alternative means of transport so I guess refusing to use my car would put me in breach of contract. Costs me £18 a year, feel a bit miffed at subsidising the NHS but ultimately happy to have a job!

Notmyrealname

joaries wrote: »

Thanks for your replies everyone.

@Getmore4less and @!!!!!! we get 40p per mile mileage costs whilst undertaking travel for work, eg taking service users to appointments, meetings, events, training etc.

So that reimburses you for the extra cost.

Be aware that if you currently don't have business use on your insurance or your colleagues on theirs then when undertaking travel for work you/they are uninsured.

CFC

40p per mile isn't a nice little perk, it's to cover the car costs. You're not out of pocket. Of course you have to insure your own car, your employer isn't going to do it for you!
Also recall - if you drive around without valid insurance and you have a prang, it will also become an extremely serious disciplinary offence if work property is damaged/ a colleague/service user needs to make a claim.

Savvy_Sue

Obviously when insurance comes due for renewal people need to make sure that their new quotes give the cover they need. £75 pm sounds excessive ... and I can't see many employers being willing to pay that much! We've paid when new members of staff have had to increase their cover, but it's never been as much as that!

getmore4less

joaries wrote: »

Thanks for your replies everyone.

@Getmore4less and @!!!!!! we get 40p per mile mileage costs whilst undertaking travel for work, eg taking service users to appointments, meetings, events, training etc.

hmrc rules allow 45p for the first 10k so people can claim the extra tax relief onthe 5p per mile, and may also qualify for the passenger rate

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/rates/travel.htm

Thanks @AndyT for pointing that out about concern for transporting non-colleague passengers, we will highlight that when we continue our discussions.

Check insurance and HMRC

@Ali-t our most recent recruitment documents have stated that the successful candidates need to have clean licences and use of a car. I don't think we've adequately addressed the insurance issue though.

For employees and volunteers the insurance and expences need clarifying before people start.

Suprised this is not allready well understood by those running the charity.

This guide for voluteers might be usefull many of the points also apply to paid workers

http://www.volunteernow.co.uk/fs/doc/publications/volunteer-drivers-information-sheet-nl.pdf

like do they check insurance and MOTS.

do they provide breakdown cover while in use for business.

H&S issues like the visibily vests

appropriate expereince to be safe driver for the service user
...