Loan from employer meaning possible change of contract

Arabellanya

Hello,
Really need some advice please as currently stuck between a rock and a hard place.
My car requires £700+ of work doing and is only worth around £800 and dont have the cash to repair or replace it.
I work for a small company and need a car for my job but my current contract doesn't state this. It does state I may be given a job description. My JD does state that I need a full driving licence and access to a car and I have business insurance and receive mileage at the rate of 60p per mile which I know is generous.
My manager has looked into the possibility of providing me with a loan to pay back through my wages. So far it seems that if it's paid over a longer period than 12mths then they can only charge 1% above the base rate which is all fine.
The issue is that my employer is concerned that they cannot state what the loan is for and have to pay it directly to me rather than a car sales company so have been advised to cover themselves to consider making me sign a new contract which notes that I am an essential car user.
Firstly I would have no issue with the loan being paid directly to car sales company.
I consider my JD and the fact that I have business cover on my car insurance enough to show that I accept I require car to do my job.
18mths ago my current contract was part of a TUPE process so is slightly different to newer employees. I have a flexible working hours agreement and although I generally stick to working to the standard office hours it does give me a safety net if I need to leave work for an emergency or my child is unwell etc. I am a single parent with no family around for support. I also have different rules around sick pay giving me up to 6 months full pay rather than 3 months and an increase of 5 days for annual leave after 5 years service.
My worry is that I would loose all this my signing a new contract and could regret it in the future if I needed to utilise any of these benefits of my contract.
I am also worried that i sign a new contract stating that I am an essential car user and the car I buy breaks down or I am unable to drive for a period of time due to a medical problem etc my employer could look at taking action against me or even end my employment if I can't produce a car or drive for work for any length of time.
Am I over thinking this?
Any advice would be great
Thanks

Undervalued

Arabellanya wrote: »

Hello,
Really need some advice please as currently stuck between a rock and a hard place.
My car requires £700+ of work doing and is only worth around £800 and dont have the cash to repair or replace it.
I work for a small company and need a car for my job but my current contract doesn't state this. It does state I may be given a job description. My JD does state that I need a full driving licence and access to a car and I have business insurance and receive mileage at the rate of 60p per mile which I know is generous.
My manager has looked into the possibility of providing me with a loan to pay back through my wages. So far it seems that if it's paid over a longer period than 12mths then they can only charge 1% above the base rate which is all fine.
The issue is that my employer is concerned that they cannot state what the loan is for and have to pay it directly to me rather than a car sales company so have been advised to cover themselves to consider making me sign a new contract which notes that I am an essential car user.
Firstly I would have no issue with the loan being paid directly to car sales company.
I consider my JD and the fact that I have business cover on my car insurance enough to show that I accept I require car to do my job.
18mths ago my current contract was part of a TUPE process so is slightly different to newer employees. I have a flexible working hours agreement and although I generally stick to working to the standard office hours it does give me a safety net if I need to leave work for an emergency or my child is unwell etc. I am a single parent with no family around for support. I also have different rules around sick pay giving me up to 6 months full pay rather than 3 months and an increase of 5 days for annual leave after 5 years service.
My worry is that I would loose all this my signing a new contract and could regret it in the future if I needed to utilise any of these benefits of my contract.
I am also worried that i sign a new contract stating that I am an essential car user and the car I buy breaks down or I am unable to drive for a period of time due to a medical problem etc my employer could look at taking action against me or even end my employment if I can't produce a car or drive for work for any length of time.
Am I over thinking this?
Any advice would be great
Thanks

Your "contract" of employment is far more than just a piece of paper with the word contract on it. It can include job descriptions, verbal agreements, policies and procedures and even established custom and practice.

So, almost certainly the requirement to have a car is part of your contract. In effect that means that many of the worries expressed later in your post actually apply now.

One problem with borrowing money from your employer (as people often do for season ticket loans) is that if your employment ends for any reason they can simply deduct the whole amount owing from your final pay.

However, unless you can borrow elsewhere without paying through the nose you may have little alternative.

Arabellanya

Hi Undervalued

Thanks for your reply.
That's exactly what I have tried to explain to my manager that without having to sign a new contract I already consider it part of my "contract" so feeling a little pressured as think it would be unfair to demand I sign a new one.

sangie595

I think your problem is not that you have a need for a car in your job, but that nothing contractually says that the employer must provide that car or the finance for it. So you are stuck with their conditions, or get your own loan for a car. I doubt your manager doesn't understand that, but they are simply not obliged to help you out, so you must decide what you do.

To be honest, unless you can't get a loan anywhere else, I'd recommend keeping your terms, even if it means paying interest elsewhere. But if you can't obtain a loan elsewhere, you may be out of options.

If you were unable to drive as a result of a disability, different interpretations may apply, in that requiring you to drive if there are other alternatives may beer possible to negotiate. But that's not a guarantee that they must allow other alternatives, just that they must consider other options.

Genuineguy03

I don't see what the problem is here tbh. They willing to give you the loan, they want to change the contract to make clear that your an essential car driver, which is what your current one makes clear in regards to you being required to have a car. Yes there's tupe, but the new JD is no less favourable than the old one, unless it imposes extra duties on you on top of your current duties. Therefore Tupe would not come into effect here, from what I understand of your situation (wish I may not understand clearly).

In any case you would have to sign a separate contract agreeing to the loan, and the amount and frequency of repayments and means if repayments being via deduction from wage or salary, which itself forms new terms of your contract in addition to you current employment contract terms.

Genuineguy03

P.s. any change to JD wouldn't be a new contract, it known as variation of contract.

Couldn't edit my post above to add this, not sure if it cos I using my mobile or due to being new on this forum and not having many posts.

ACG

Why not get your own loan/credit card and pay for the car on that? You can get some 0% credit cards or low rate loans at the minute.

gettingtheresometime

ACG wrote: »

Why not get your own loan/credit card and pay for the car on that? You can get some 0% credit cards or low rate loans at the minute.

I would imagine that very dealers would accept a payment from a cc for the full cost of a vehicle due to the charges that that the CC companies levy...the dealer I worked for wouldn't although they would accept a deposit paid on a cc.


If the OP wanted a brand new car then I guess there are some 0% deals around but the brand new car option opens up a whole new debate.