Returning company car for private use

Strige

Morning everyone

I hope I am posting in the right place.

I have a small issue and I don't know who to ask.

Since I start to work with my current company, 4 years ago, in my contract has always been written "to be supplied with a company car for business and personal use" and I am paying taxes on it (my code is changed) around 1000 pound per year.

Now, my employee told me he is planning to sell my company car and is planning to give me a van (instead of a car). For sure, in the next month I will have a meeting with him to discuss the matter and I would like to know my options. In case I opt for a van, can I ask for a compensation or increase of salary? How to quantify it? I tried to look on gov.uk but I couldn't find any information.

In my mind I have three options:
1) Accept the van with no increase of salary.
2) Accept the van and ask an increase of salary (how much I could ask?).
3) Refuse the van and ask for another company car.

If I could, I would like to give up the car and have an increase of salary, especially in this challenging times.

Am I miss something? 

In case this matter is not possible to discuss on this forum, who I can contact? solicitor? someone else?

Thank You

SiliconChip

You definitely won't find any official guidance because this is entirely a contractual matter between you and your employer.

If they want you to have a van then I don't think your option 3 is a starter. So the question is, do you still get private use of the van as you did with the car, or is it only for business use? If it's the former then I'm not sure that a salary increase would be justified, so option 1, but if it's the latter then you might want to make the case for option 2 to your employer (although I suspect that if it is a business use only van then there probably wouldn't be any BIK so you wouldn't be taxed on it any more so you'd be better off anyway).

Car_54

Your employer cannot unilaterally change your conditions. If you don't agree, you could resign and make a claim for constructive dismissal.

Assuming you don't want to do that, the present BIK figure would be a good starting point  to negotiate compensation. If private use of the van is to be allowed, that too will have a BIK figure and you could argue for compo based on the difference.

Strige

Thank you both for your answer.

So, the van would be only for business use. I will put the fuel, then I will claim it back monthly as expenses depending of what is the mileage rate decide by the government quarterly.

The small problem is, if my employer takes the car, I don't have any other way to go around. So I have to buy a car. This is why I would ask a compensation or an increase of salary. I know the taxes (BIK) I am paying now would cover the normal expenses for a car (insurance, mot, road tax, etc) but still need a loan to buy the car, which would be 100-150 per month.

Is there any way to quantify how much I could ask in case we decide to go in this way?

Grey_Critic

You do not say what exactly is your job. For example if you are a service engineer it may be that at present you carry your tools/equipment in the boot.

Has you job changed - perhaps you need to carry larger or more equipment that makes it impractical and so you should use a van? How much choice have you had as far as a company car is concerned?

Strige

I didn't know i need to say what is my job. I am an engineer surveyor. The amount of kit didn't change, the reason is the car starts to get to old and my employee want to get rid of it before it is too late. 

How I said at the beginning, I just want to know what are my options. If my employer can decide unilaterally to change my contract, I will accept it. If I can ask an increase of salary I will ask for an increase i will try. Unfortunately I don't know the rules in the UK. My plan is to see if in exchange to have a van, I can have a bit more money. 

Usually my employer is a nice person but I can't ask him something if I am not allowed to have it.

Grumpy_chap

What is the reason the employer wants to change you from a car to a van?
Does the job require a van to perform the duties fully?
Does the employer have a van on lease remaining beyond the end of the car lease and cannot afford a vehicle in the yard?
Does the employer think they are doing you a favour if van BIK is lower than car BIK?
Does the employer think they are doing you a favour, for example, have you ever grumbled that a van would be better?
All these factors may influence the willingness of the employer to show flexibility.

Strige

Grumpy_chap said:

What is the reason the employer wants to change you from a car to a van?
Does the job require a van to perform the duties fully?
Does the employer have a van on lease remaining beyond the end of the car lease and cannot afford a vehicle in the yard?
Does the employer think they are doing you a favour if van BIK is lower than car BIK?
Does the employer think they are doing you a favour, for example, have you ever grumbled that a van would be better?
All these factors may influence the willingness of the employer to show flexibility.

I understand all these questions, so you are telling me my employer can change my contract unilaterally. Am I correct?

If so, I accept it.

Herzlos

It all very much depends. On why your boss wants you to get a van, and whether you can use the van for personal use.

You can certainly make the case that having a van for business use only puts you in a worse position - that you've no longer got use of a vehicle for personal use, and some consideration is needed. Whether that's allowing you to get another car with personal mileage or whether that's giving you more money.

Grumpy_chap

Strige said:

I understand all these questions, so you are telling me my employer can change my contract unilaterally. Am I correct?

NO - that is definitely not what I am saying.
If there is a change to your contract, that is subject to the requirements for agreement (which implies negotiation) and @Car_54 has put in basic terms how that works if there is not agreement.

What I was trying to say, is that having some understanding for the reasons may indicate whether it is a battle you can win (or not).

If this were me, changing from a car to a van would be a big loss of benefit and I'd be inclined to fight.

It may be, though, that this is not a change to the contract.  I once had a contract that entitled me to a "Grade D Company Car".  That was always a Mondeo LX renewed every three years.  The company was acquired by a French owner and the car policy was aligned with the French policy - the new "Grade D Company Car" became a Citroen ZX renewed every five years.  I, like many colleagues, did not think this was equivalent.  Regardless, any kind of push back would have been fruitless - the choice was really to accept it or move on.

What does your contract say about the provision of a company car?  Does it allow for the type of change that is being proposed?
Either way, how successful will any push-back be?

MalMonroe

Strige said:

I didn't know i need to say what is my job. I am an engineer surveyor. The amount of kit didn't change, the reason is the car starts to get to old and my employee want to get rid of it before it is too late. 

How I said at the beginning, I just want to know what are my options. If my employer can decide unilaterally to change my contract, I will accept it. If I can ask an increase of salary I will ask for an increase i will try. Unfortunately I don't know the rules in the UK. My plan is to see if in exchange to have a van, I can have a bit more money. 

Usually my employer is a nice person but I can't ask him something if I am not allowed to have it.

Hi,

People wanted to know what your job is so that they can understand whether of not you will need a car or some other vehicle for your job. For example, a plumber will need a van. Some business executives have cars. We didn't know what your job entailed and so that's why people asked.

Is there any reason you cannot discuss the matter thoroughly when you meet with your employer next month? You say he is usually a nice person, so I assume that he is approachable and to be honest, it's not unusual for an employee such as yourself to ask relevant questions when changes happen and they don't know why.

You can ask him anything you like. Why would you think you can't? And why do you think you won't be allowed to have anything? Your boss is the only person who is able to let you know whether or not you are allowed to have something or not and hopefully you and he can have a civil conversation when you meet up with him.

If I were you I'd write down the questions in a notebook so you know exactly what you want to ask. He may have already thought about giving you extra money to compensate for the loss of a car, you don't really know at this point because your meeting hasn't happened.

I don't think you should panic or worry but instead wait until you meet with your employer. Then ask questions, as you are entitled to do. If you don't like his answers then you will know which steps to take next.

If you have any queries you could contact acas - https://www.acas.org.uk/contact

But I wouldn't do that yet until you find out what your boss has planned. It may actually turn out to be good for you, you just don't know.