Employee Off Site Parking Rights

jimjames

Quick question about parking and rights that an employee has. The company provides limited parking on site but not sufficient to cater for all staff.

As a result staff park in residential roads around the premises and are legally parked in roads with no parking restrictions. The company have now decreed that certain roads around the premises can no longer be used for parking by staff and that disciplinary action will be taken against staff who continue.

While I can understand the residents viewpoint of not wanting parking in their road as far as I can see if as a driver you have paid your car tax and are parked legally there is nothing that can be done to stop you parking on a public road.

Can a company really dictate that to employees that they cannot park a vehicle on a public road that has no restrictions on parking?

dizzyrascal

We have a problem with some big businesses using our residential streets for all their parking and if it gets any worse the council have said it will become residents only parking.
You can't expect residents to put up with this if it takes up all their parking spaces.
If your employer has insufficient parking spaces they should be looking for more spacious premises or encouraging their staff to use alternate transport

butler_helen

dizzyrascal wrote: »

We have a problem with some big businesses using our residential streets for all their parking and if it gets any worse the council have said it will become residents only parking.
You can't expect residents to put up with this if it takes up all their parking spaces.
If your employer has insufficient parking spaces they should be looking for more spacious premises or encouraging their staff to use alternate transport

True but if I was disciplined for parking legally in my own car I'd be pretty peeved. I'd definitely see what my solicitor has to say! (regardless of how it's annoying for residents).

OP I'm interested in this answer so will wait for some more knowledgeable posters to arrive.

Uncertain

jimjames wrote: »

Can a company really dictate that to employees that they cannot park a vehicle on a public road that has no restrictions on parking?

Short answer is yes.

It is a bit like the company could have a dress code. It wouldn't be illegal to wear something different but it would be a breach of the terms of your employment.

Andy_L

jimjames wrote: »

Can a company really dictate that to employees that they cannot park a vehicle on a public road that has no restrictions on parking?

Ultimately yes they can. It would be a change to you contract that says "you can't park on X, Y & Z roads during working hours" You could either accept that change or refuse, resign & claim constructive dismissal. in which case the tribunal would decide if it was a reasonable thing to do. My gut-feeling would be that not pi55ing off the locals & possibly losing their premises would be reasonable grounds.

Uncertain

Andy_L wrote: »

Ultimately yes they can. It would be a change to you contract that says "you can't park on X, Y & Z roads during working hours" You could either accept that change or refuse, resign & claim constructive dismissal. in which case the tribunal would decide if it was a reasonable thing to do. My gut-feeling would be that not pi55ing off the locals & possibly losing their premises would be reasonable grounds.

Technically it would be unfair dismissal, not constructive dismissal under these circumstance despite the fact you resigned.

However, makes little odds.

spacey2012

You would not be parking on them during working hours, you would be parking your car in hours that you are not been paid to work.
The matter that it remains there whilst you are at work, should be of no concern to the firm.
Local councils are responsible for parking restrictions, not employers.
You should all see about joining a union to help with this bullying employer.
If this is not in your contract already, they can not enforce it or make you sign another contract doing so.
I would suggest those not happy join a union and get them on to this and let them that dont want to put up with the bullying outside work .

antrobus

Uncertain wrote: »

Short answer is yes.

It is a bit like the company could have a dress code. It wouldn't be illegal to wear something different but it would be a breach of the terms of your employment.

Depends on what the dress code says, and it would have to be an express term of the contract of employment. Employers can't just make things up as they go along you know, and simply (for example) sending all employees an email stating that you can't do something wouldn't make that a term of the employee's employment.

Uncertain

spacey2012 wrote: »

You would not be parking on them during working hours, you would be parking your car in hours that you are not been paid to work.
The matter that it remains there whilst you are at work, should be of no concern to the firm.
Local councils are responsible for parking restrictions, not employers.
You should all see about joining a union to help with this bullying employer.
If this is not in your contract already, they can not enforce it or make you sign another contract doing so.
I would suggest those not happy join a union and get them on to this and let them that dont want to put up with the bullying outside work .

I'm sorry but that is total nonsense and dangerous advice (apart maybe from joining a union).

An employer can change a contract. Ultimately if the employee can't agree the only option is to resign and claim unfair dismissal.

As Andy L suggested, we could speculate as to whether a tribunal would find such a change unreasonable but but they may well not. Even if the OP won at tribunal they would get some compensation but still have no job.

Uncertain

antrobus wrote: »

Employers can't just make things up as they go along you know, and simply (for example) sending all employees an email stating that you can't do something wouldn't make that a term of the employee's employment.

Virtually all contracts have something in them about following all reasonable management instructions. Even if they don't it is still an implied term so it all comes down to what is reasonable.

We don't know the circumstances or reasoning in this case but I certainly wouldn't want to stake my job on it.

jimjames

Uncertain wrote: »

Short answer is yes.

It is a bit like the company could have a dress code. It wouldn't be illegal to wear something different but it would be a breach of the terms of your employment.

Thanks for the feedback.

But presumably only after a revised contract. Not just an email sent out by HR saying "you cannot do this" when "this" refers to a perfectly legal parking outside of your working hours and not on company premises. The only parking policies I can find online relate solely to parking on employers premises.