Parking charges in lockdown

Mareland6

Thank you for the responses - I'm editing my original post to remove some information

My employer offers an optional car parking permit. There is a waiting list for a permit. The alternative is using pay and display car parks which is more expensive. Throughout lockdown they have continued to charge for this car parking permit, but have had a policy that no one is allowed to work in the office. They have said that we can cancel the permit - but we would go back on the waiting list and there is no guarantee we would get a space on return.

Are they in the right to act this way?

oh_really

Mareland6 said:

The union agrees but says that it is a senior leadership decision so nothing can be done. 

I'm just wondering if there's anything that can be done?

Elect new shop stewards. I'd have high expectations of the stewards getting management to engage with them and obtaining a reasonable resolution to the situation.

Thrugelmir

Does the company rent this facility from a third party? 

Mareland6

Thrugelmir said:

Does the company rent this facility from a third party? 

Good question. I am fairly certain it is owned by the company itself.

lincroft1710

If you save money by renting a space from the employer, it may not be advisable to upset the apple cart. Although you may have been paying £35 per month for a facility you couldn't use, your monthly commuting costs are probably more than that so you may have not lost any money.


There is no obligation for an employer to provide parking, whether free or paid for, so any outcome can only be the result of employer/employee negotiation. The worst outcome would be if the employer becomes disgruntled and offers the spaces to employees of neighbouring businesses (probably at a higher rate than you are paying).

Martin_the_Unjust

Find a new employer that values you more.

Sandtree

Given there is a pay and display near by I assume this is a city centre type location... are you only allowed to park there during your shifts or is your permit at all times so you can use it for your personal trips too?

It does feel harsh but covid has been very though on a lot of companies. Depending on how good their systems are and how many staff they have etc it may not be a 2 minute job to turn off the billing. Plus we were all told this was a short duration thing so probably too late for the first month, month 2.. well itll end soon... month 3... month 4... heck theres now a fair amount to have to reimburse if we reverse our decision.

In the last job I used to drive to I would have certainly continued paying the monies had I had the opportunity rather than pay for the £12/day for local parking but never got to the front of the waiting list.

Thrugelmir

Mareland6 said:

Thrugelmir said:

Does the company rent this facility from a third party? 

Good question. I am fairly certain it is owned by the company itself.

Companies rarely own these days. Majority of commercial premises are rented. Reduction in number of available spaces suggest that they don't own. 

From purely a financial perspective in these troubled times. Cost recovery seems appropriate. As the Company is under no obligation to provide car parking at all. The £35 monthly charge is no doubt far cheaper than a council pay and display car park is. 

Jillanddy

Mareland6 said:

Thank you for the responses - I'm editing my original post to remove some information

My employer offers an optional car parking permit. There is a waiting list for a permit. The alternative is using pay and display car parks which is more expensive. Throughout lockdown they have continued to charge for this car parking permit, but have had a policy that no one is allowed to work in the office. They have said that we can cancel the permit - but we would go back on the waiting list and there is no guarantee we would get a space on return.

Are they in the right to act this way?

It's an optional perk, so the applicable rules are up to them. I do think that there is some validity to the point that it may seem unfair that you've had to pay for a perk you haven't been able to use, but equally you haven't had the costs of commuting either. But in the end, there is no legal requirement for them to offer you anything, so they can set any rules they like and you accept that or not.