Employer won't claim on insurance for work van damage

Victia

Last year (2015) I had an accident in the work van with another car. Today my employer told me that he expects me to pay for the £2000 worth of damage as he refused to claim on the insurance as it would raise his premium. He said that 'I could do some free jobs for him to pay it off over a year' if i struggled to afford it (which i know to be illegal) The police at the time found it was an accident, no ones fault but I was willing to caugh up the £250 excess for the damage. My contract says if i damage a work van i may be liable for a contribution towards repairs. So my question is, is there anything the law has to say on it? Is there any comeback i have that he should have claimed on the insurance? Any help or advice would be very much appreciated thanks.

Quentin

You probably will be better posting this in the employment forum.


(There's no legal reason why the boss should have made a claim)

Silver-Surfer_2

Victia wrote: »

Last year (2015) I had an accident in the work van with another car. Today my employer told me that he expects me to pay for the £2000 worth of damage as he refused to claim on the insurance as it would raise his premium. He said that 'I could do some free jobs for him to pay it off over a year' if i struggled to afford it (which i know to be illegal) The police at the time found it was an accident, no ones fault but I was willing to caugh up the £250 excess for the damage. My contract says if i damage a work van i may be liable for a contribution towards repairs. So my question is, is there anything the law has to say on it? Is there any comeback i have that he should have claimed on the insurance? Any help or advice would be very much appreciated thanks.

Someone must have done something wrong else how did it happen?

Most likely it was not in the public interest to prosecute. Police deal in criminal law and not civil, so they are not experts in deciding liability.

Are you in a union who maybe able to help? I bet you're not.

bod1467

Nobody's fault likely means both at fault ... a 50:50. E.g. 2 vehicles both entering the middle lane of a 3-lane road at the same time (1 from left lane, 1 from right lane) and not realising until too late about the other vehicle.

caprikid1

At the time of the accident was it Dark ? or does that not Matter ?

agrinnall

The rights and wrongs of the accident are likely to have little relevance, as Quentin says this is an employment issue, i.e. does the employer have the contractual right to require an employee to pay for damage to a company vehicle? So, the answer for now is indeed to repost on the Employment board.

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.php?f=141

AdrianC

Victia wrote: »

My contract says if i damage a work van i may be liable for a contribution towards repairs.

But doesn't say anything about a cap on the amount?

So my question is, is there anything the law has to say on it?

It says he's under a duty to mitigate his losses. That does not mean he has to claim, and you only have to pay the £250 excess. It means that he could decide NOT to claim, if the total cost of doing so will exceed the cost of repair, due to subsequent increases in the premium.

Any ... advice would be very much appreciated thanks.

Pay the bill for the damage you caused, look where you're going in future, and don't drive in to other cars. When you thank him kindly for offering to let you work extra shifts to help pay off your bill without hitting your take-home pay, don't forget to remind him that it will still count as taxable income, and it should be reflected on your P60.

arcon5

He's taking to pi55.

If it was 50:50 offer to pay half the excess.

If you was at fault tell him you'll pay the sum of the excess.

But why you should have to fork out £2k is beyond me! There are risks to running a business and employing staff, this is one of them, also why insurance exists. If he doesn't want to claim that's his problem.

I think he'd struggle to enforce such a term in a court, especially since the term is ambiguous at best.

There are also rules and regs about what deductions can be made from your wage and if he breaks employment law you have options.


Problem is of course, how secure is your employment if he refuses to negotiate?

arcon5

AdrianC wrote: »

Pay the bill for the damage you caused, look where you're going in future, and don't drive in to other cars. When you thank him kindly for offering to let you work extra shifts to help pay off your bill without hitting your take-home pay, don't forget to remind him that it will still count as taxable income, and it should be reflected on your P60.

I'd ignore this op. Acting like the employers doing you a favor! He's trying to bend you over just so he doesn't have to claim!! So what's the point of him even having insurance beyond road risks?!!

There's a risk reward ratio when it comes to running a business and employing staff, why should you bare the risks !!