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Can i be made to use my own car for business use?

JustAnotherSaver
Posts: 6,709 Forumite


Short story-
I'm a driver as my job. Today i forgot something off a picking list so when i was multi-drop delivering, one of the drops had say 5 of their items instead of 6. Ok i shouldn't have missed it off but people make mistakes.
I was made to clock off & deliver the item in my own car. Not that i suppose it matters, as right is right & wrong is wrong regardless of miles, but instead of travelling say 10 miles west to home, i had to travel 10 miles east, then 20 miles west back home.
I'm not actually insured on my own policy for using my car for anything to do with work other than commuting, but i don't know if my employer would have some sort of insurance that'd cover me in my own car.
Then again if i had an accident they'd probably deny all knowledge & not help in any way.
So can they make me clock off & take it in my own car?
If not could they make me clock off & take it in one of the company cars (& probably bill me for fuel)?
Or is the only one to have me stay clocked on & go in a company vehicle?
Of course by "can they make me" i don't mean in the literal sense, as in could i kill the next man, because yes it's possible. The question is more could they get away with it, what's the insurance implications or would i be in a strong position to refuse?
I'm a driver as my job. Today i forgot something off a picking list so when i was multi-drop delivering, one of the drops had say 5 of their items instead of 6. Ok i shouldn't have missed it off but people make mistakes.
I was made to clock off & deliver the item in my own car. Not that i suppose it matters, as right is right & wrong is wrong regardless of miles, but instead of travelling say 10 miles west to home, i had to travel 10 miles east, then 20 miles west back home.
I'm not actually insured on my own policy for using my car for anything to do with work other than commuting, but i don't know if my employer would have some sort of insurance that'd cover me in my own car.
Then again if i had an accident they'd probably deny all knowledge & not help in any way.
So can they make me clock off & take it in my own car?
If not could they make me clock off & take it in one of the company cars (& probably bill me for fuel)?
Or is the only one to have me stay clocked on & go in a company vehicle?
Of course by "can they make me" i don't mean in the literal sense, as in could i kill the next man, because yes it's possible. The question is more could they get away with it, what's the insurance implications or would i be in a strong position to refuse?
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Comments
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I doubt they will have insurance to cover employees in their own cars on company business.
If you are stopped, or have an accident doing a drop-off as described then the police will scrutinise your insurance position as a matter of routine and you are likely to be prosecuted for No Insurance if you don't have insurance cover for business purposes.
You will be the one to carry the can in terms of increased insurance premiums for 5 years or more. It is possible they would also be prosecuted for causing No Insurance but in reality I suspect the police wouldn't bother.
Your employer should understand the concept of your not having insurance cover to do the trip so should provide the means for you to make the trip legally.
And that's ignoring any travel & subsistence issues about the additional miles you did in your own vehicle!
Edit to add: it is possible that an employer might make it a condition of a contract of employment that a person has business cover on their personal insurance policy so they can use their vehicle for work purposes, but if it isn't in your contract already I'm not sure they can insist on it in the future.0 -
JustAnotherSaver wrote: »S
I'm not actually insured on my own policy for using my car for anything to do with work other than commuting, but i don't know if my employer would have some sort of insurance that'd cover me in my own car.
As driver it's your responsibility to make sure your vehicle is insured, so before relying on their insurance you should ask for sight of their insurance policy covering you.
If you or they don't have insurance then you must refuse to drive.
You should also check what happens about goods in transit insurance if the goods get damaged or lost whilst in your car.A kind word lasts a minute, a skelped erse is sair for a day.0 -
no they can't make you work for free, either start looking for a new job, or refuse next tiem, and be ready for them sacking you are backing down.
fact is, you made a mistake when working for them, so the mistake has to be fixed when you are working, as you say, you are only human, mistakes are all part of the job.
they sound a bad employer, best start looking elsewhere.
just to say I agree with the above, driving without the correct insurance, will mean you get in trouble not them, so best not do it, even if you were not to have an accident whilst delivering the parcel but had one after you delivered it, your insurance can still disallow the claim, as you have not told them you are using the car for work, it doesn't matter if the accident happens whilst on works business or not, you still need to tell your insurance comany, even if the accident whist working would be covered with someone else, they will still refuse to pay out all other accidends too if they find out.0 -
Your employer runs the risk of a serious corporate charge if you had an accident whilst uninsured and using your car for business use.
It's a really serious charge that they would not take lightly if they realised the implications0 -
Out of interest, could they just say - sorry officer, we have nothing to do with this. We know nothing about why he's heading that way at all or with that item?
Because it's not like the deny all knowledge approach is a new thing.0 -
Each company will have a different way of dealing with it.
You made a mistake which will cost the company money and could potentially lose them a client.
The goods themselves are usually covered for theft or damage.
At my husbands company, you would have been docked from your wage the cost of paying someone else to deliver the item. Depending on size this could be a motorbike or a van etc. This person would have been a courier or if using the company van, the cost per hour to get that person to drive the item to the customer.
The customer would also have been given the option of collecting it for free from the depot if that was more convenient for them.
Yes, everyone makes mistakes at work, but if every driver did that everyday with 1 job, the company would be seriously out of pocket and the drivers out of a job.
If you do it again then politely refuse to take it and offer to pay for someone else to correct your mistake.0 -
I'm not saying it's a valid excuse when i say everyone makes mistakes, but equally anyone with half an ounce needs to realise that inevitably, as we are human, as much as we try not to, we WILL make mistakes, always.
I don#t agree with the policy whereby a mistake is made, so a manager flips his lid, gives the employee a royal dressing down with all the effs & jeffs in the world. I think it should be looked into WHY the mistake was made & go from there but in my experience this rarely (almost never) happens.
Anyway, i appreciate it's not the point, but the location where this item was going, we go there/pass there every day of the week. If it'd been to the bottom of the country which we may go to once every decade then fair enough.0 -
I'm by no means an expert on this but I'd say that they can't at all. I work in a role that is advertised as an "essential car user" post. Fine, I have my car and you get the essential car user payment. Upon starting, my car broke down and I spoke to the manager as I was terrified they would fire me. Turns out the job spec has changed since my employment and it's no longer an essential car user post and therefore, I do not need to have a car for work purposes and there's nothing they can do really (and that was the manager that said it)- although how I'd do the job without a car I don't know. It sounds like awful treatment of you by them! Everybody makes mistakes- that's human nature.0
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