Being made to use my car at work?

lufcgirl

elsien wrote: »

And stop driving for work until you get it sorted, because you're effectively driving uninsured for the business trips.

I shall, like I said before the incident this week is what has prompted this concern.

Basically being told to drive your colleague around, waste your day when you have your own work to do all because she doesn't have her own car isn't the best scenario! Especially when figure wise they are always on your case...and I'm expected to just skip a day and be a taxi driver.

prowla

elsien wrote: »

And stop driving for work until you get it sorted, because you're effectively driving uninsured for the business trips.

Yes, really!!!

TELLIT01

Putting it bluntly, you need to grow a pair and say you will not use your own car for business purposes because it isn't insured. The law won't take into account that you were told to by your boss if you are stopped and are found to be using it for business purposes without business insurance.
The 6 points and the fine will come to you, along with having the car impounded and the costs for retrieval.

Marktheshark

Business cover often only covers you for use for your own business.
If the car is to be used in connection with an employers business then I would ask them to quote on that basis.

Bella73

Of course you appreciate you have no insurance whilst driving said colleague around as you are using your car for business your insurance is null and void.

Can you afford a claim from your personal property should you crash and injure your colleague as it would be you they would make a claim from.

My former colleague had a small accident whilst not insured for business use was driving between our two work premises and her insurance refused her claim. Luckily nobody was hurt but quite expensive fixing her car.

We then all got business insurance added and have to show this every year to be out in our personal files.

KingS6

Would you rather lose your job and be able to find another as you're a top biller?

Or bow down to their demands, your car becomes defective due to the increased wear & tear and you plough into and kill the sole breadwinner of a family of five who did not have life insurance?

That's one of the scenarios you face if you're uninsured. I tell you if that happens it will follow you for the rest of your life.

I also have an incline that you won't see your employer for dust in the event of an accident. They'll leave you to it.

silverwhistle

As I see it you can a number of choices:

1) Be blunt and just say no.
2) Pay the £200 for insurance and make sure you get your 40p for all the miles going. You said your car is only worth £1500 - although I appreciate it's worth more to you.
3) Be a bit devious but more or less honest. Get a 50cc moped to get you to work and to your sport. (I train and play a team sport and venues can be awkward to get to). Or fix your car so that it breaks down when you take colleague out (via a hidden switch): wasting a few of their hours as well by the side of the road might change their minds. Or get a really tatty old banger which doesn't suit their image - a £100 pound job, soon paid off at 40p a mile, although you'd still have that flaming business insurance cost, which you must get.

Oh, and make sure your backside is covered by emails so that they can't say you didn't communicate your position and land you in the lurch if anything did happen..

agrinnall

elsien wrote: »

If you have less than 2 years service then they can let you go for very little reason.

I think it's likely that the length of service won't matter (although obviously simpler if less than 2 years). It sounds to me like use of a car is essential to the job, and whether it's a good thing or not the company's policy is that employees use their own car and are responsible for insuring it appropriately. If the OP refuses to comply with that I'd say that will be grounds to fire her. And whatever her own high opinion is of her abilities the company may take umbrage at being challenged and think that they would be better off with someone else doing the job (and let's face it, anyone who has been in the workforce for a while knows that there is no such thing as irreplaceable).

dickydonkin

lufcgirl wrote: »

Alas no, they wouldn't fire me. I'm their highest billing consultant in the North-East and Scotland so there is no chance of that happening.

Nobody - but nobody is indispensable - believe me.

However, if you feel so confident that you are such a valuable asset to the company, then I would have thought you were in the ideal bargaining position.

But just don't count on it.

missbiggles1

I'd just pay the £200 extra for the business usage and get on with it.