Car salary sacrifice payments crippling (complicated issue)

Torry_Quine

Darksparkle wrote: »

Would ESA CB be an option for the OP?

Yes it should be. After 28 weeks of SSP (which may not be realised as getting full pay) they should have got an SSP1 form to claim ESA which presuming enough NI contributions would be contribution based.

FBaby

because pregnancy and illness aren't the same

They are both protected characteristics (well not illness but disability which I expect OP would fall under). would there a case of discrimination if one characteristic is treated differently to another?

tomtontom

FBaby wrote: »

They are both protected characteristics (well not illness but disability which I expect OP would fall under). would there a case of discrimination if one characteristic is treated differently to another?

No, it would be discriminatory if a disabled person was treated differently to a non disabled person. This is not the case here because (presumably) OP would be entitled to clemency if they went on maternity leave. Maternity leave often attracts more benefits than sickness absence, SMP is higher than SSP and payable for longer, there is an automatic right to time for appointments etc.

morrit

They mention life changing events as a reason for returning the vehicle which may mean the clemency is an alternative offered for maternity leave. This may not be the case but if so would it be under the Equality bracket to offer it to maternity as a life changing event rather than a sudden disability? Bare bones of it is the fact that everyone should be treated equally...

sangie595

morrit wrote: »

They mention life changing events as a reason for returning the vehicle which may mean the clemency is an alternative offered for maternity leave. This may not be the case but if so would it be under the Equality bracket to offer it to maternity as a life changing event rather than a sudden disability? Bare bones of it is the fact that everyone should be treated equally...

Actually, there's nothing at all in the law that says everyone must be treated equally. And it certainly doesn't say that people who are sick should be treated the same as people on maternity leave. But I suspect that you are missing the point if what I have seen is the case. It appears that certain things are insured risks and others are not. That insurance will be part of the package - and something that you could have checked before taking on the commitment. In which case it is not "clemency" - it is the terms of the insurance. It could just as easily be argued that you could have taken out PHI yourself to cover you in the event of becoming seriously ill. After all, this is not the only bill you will struggle with, and PHI is the only way to guarantee some level of income if someone is long-term sick. Benefits certainly don't go very far.

I suspect that the circumstances here may depend on precedent. The employer isn't likely to want to create a precedent that they end up with the bill when people become long-term sick, because if they do it for one person they must then do it for everyone. And it would be an open-ended commitment - they have no guarantee of when, or if, you will return. They may, however, be able to be more creative - for example treating the payment as a loan or a deferment. So you would still owe the money, but would repay it at a later stage. Obviously the problem with that may still arise if you do not return you work, as you would still owe the money.

sangie595

FBaby wrote: »

They are both protected characteristics (well not illness but disability which I expect OP would fall under). would there a case of discrimination if one characteristic is treated differently to another?

The answer to that is no.

dippy3103

Your Union (Unison?) may be able to advise on other help they can give .

nimbo

Given the low milage and life changing event would the car firm be more likely to allow a return early? And then maybe allow you to pay back the nicely negotiated payment in instalments that are lower than you're currently paying?

For the price of a phone call of may be worth the stress?

Xxxxx

ohreally

Which union are you in?