Can my employer force me to have a company car?

andyhofer

I currently have a company car and I wish to give it back. The car is only used for private use and in the last year no business use was done.

My employer does not offer any alternative and I'm not looking for one, and therefore I just want to give them the car back, I don't want cash as an alternative.

As I do not do any business mileage, can my employer say that I must have the car.

I'm getting rid of it so I can buy a car I like, as the company has a very limited selection, and the tax saved by not having the company car will go towards my own purchase.

I know that from a tax point of view that if the car is made available for private use then I must pay tax on it. I have requested that they make it only available for business use, which currently means it would just sit in the employers car park for a whole year, but the employer says that if everyone did that then the car park would be full of cars that never moved. They also seem reluctant to just take the car off me, admin work being the reason.

Hope that makes sense, and look forward to any legal eagles with some advice.

silentkiller

I'm not a legal eagle but a bit confused - are you worried that the company will say you need a company car to carry out your duties? Or are you worried they will make you keep the car they previously supplied to you?

Undervalued

andyhofer wrote: »

As I do not do any business mileage, can my employer say that I must have the car.

Possibly. It depends on the terms of your contract.

I know you say you are not looking for extra money instead of the car but you would, in effect, be taking a cut in salary. In hard cash terms, even allowing for the tax position, the provision of such a car must have some value to most employees?

All you can do is ask them and see what they say. They may jump at the chance or they may be concerned about the wider implications on other staff.

Takeaway_Addict

As Undervalued says, if it is contractual then yes OP you have to have the car unless they allow you to negotiate the contract. If not in paper it probably is an implied contractual point.

The OP has another thread on the motoring board regarding this as well btw.

andyhofer

I am aware that I will in effect be taking a pay cut, but I'm happy with that so that I can choose the car I have rather than picking from a very limited list of cars.

The contract states that I will be supplied with a car and no other conditions exist other than valid driving licence and no health issues.

Takeaway_Addict

andyhofer wrote: »

I am aware that I will in effect be taking a pay cut, but I'm happy with that so that I can choose the car I have rather than picking from a very limited list of cars.

The contract states that I will be supplied with a car and no other conditions exist other than valid driving licence and no health issues.

then it seems clear cut...start negotiating with them

Derwent

It may well be something as simple as they have entered a lease contract for the car for a fixed period (e.g. 3 years) and won't do anything until the lease period expires, otherwise they will be left with a car parked permanantly in their car park which may be against the lease terms or may have to pay a substantial amount to buy themselves out of the lease. I'd ask how long is left on the lease and if they're prepared to reconsider once it expires.

andyhofer

The car is one of a fleet of 900 cars, so with such a large company, the car would be reallocated quite quickly. Re parking, we have a secure parking, with security guards so parking it shouldn't be an issue.

All I am trying to do is remove the car and fuel from my tax position, so I don't care how they do it. They might take the car off me and reallocate, let me just use the car for business use, but what I, trying to do is remove the private use element.

Just wondered if you can be forced to take a benefit when it doesn't feel like a benefit to me.

If I did business travel, then I can understand their position, but as it's all private mileage then handing the car over shouldn't be a problem, or so I thought.

Takeaway_Addict

andyhofer wrote: »

The car is one of a fleet of 900 cars, so with such a large company, the car would be reallocated quite quickly. Re parking, we have a secure parking, with security guards so parking it shouldn't be an issue.

All I am trying to do is remove the car and fuel from my tax position, so I don't care how they do it. They might take the car off me and reallocate, let me just use the car for business use, but what I, trying to do is remove the private use element.

Just wondered if you can be forced to take a benefit when it doesn't feel like a benefit to me.

If I did business travel, then I can understand their position, but as it's all private mileage then handing the car over shouldn't be a problem, or so I thought.

You are asking to change your contract, there is no obligation for the employer to agree to this.

DKLS

How long have you had the car? I suspect that the lease is tied up to a specific length of time, especially with the size of fleet. With that fleet I would imagine there is a fleet manager, might be worth having a word with them to see if they are going to introduce a cash alternative to a company car.

I do feel for you, I once turned down a good job because the company car was a VX Vectra.

Other than that last resorts would be feigning some neurological condition so your can't drive for a short period, or leave the car parked up in a rough area of town with the keys in, but either of those have pretty substantial drawbacks.

OhReally_2

andyhofer wrote: »

I currently have a company car and I wish to give it back. The car is only used for private use and in the last year no business use was done.

My employer does not offer any alternative and I'm not looking for one, and therefore I just want to give them the car back, I don't want cash as an alternative.

As I do not do any business mileage, can my employer say that I must have the car.

I'm getting rid of it so I can buy a car I like, as the company has a very limited selection, and the tax saved by not having the company car will go towards my own purchase.

I know that from a tax point of view that if the car is made available for private use then I must pay tax on it. I have requested that they make it only available for business use, which currently means it would just sit in the employers car park for a whole year, but the employer says that if everyone did that then the car park would be full of cars that never moved. They also seem reluctant to just take the car off me, admin work being the reason.

Hope that makes sense, and look forward to any legal eagles with some advice.

So you don't want the car, but expect to dictate to the employer how and when the car may be used? :cool: