AIBU re DP's employers pressuring him to get a car?

[violetbunny]

Genuinely not sure if IABU here, so would love to hear your thoughts.

We moved to a new city 5 months ago, and DP started a new job with an agency that provides a professional service (think along the lines of consulting, etc). He got the job before we moved here, so when it came to finding somewhere to live we deliberately chose to live somewhere within walking distance of his office, so he walks to work.

Since he started several months ago, his boss has been putting pressure on him to get a car. The reason is that roughly 4-5 times per month he is required to travel to client's offices within the city in which we live, and twice so far has had to travel 2-3 hours by car outside of our city. So far, when travelling within our city DP has either been taking public transport there or, if there are no public transport links (maybe half the time), then taking a taxi. On the occasions he has had to travel outside the city he's either gotten a lift with a colleague or, on one occasion where that wasn't possible, hired a car. Any taxis or hire cars have been charged back to the company as expenses with the prior agreement of his boss.

His boss however has indicated several times now that the company is unwilling to keep paying for taxis/hire cars, and that DP should look into getting a car. None of this was ever discussed before DP was hired (they never asked if he had or planned to use his own car, nor is anything mentioned in his contract) and it's a small company so there isn't a written travel policy. His boss's argument is that DP is "senior enough that he should be setting an example" and he has gone as far as to say there are plenty of others out there who could do DP's job and have their own car. Taxi rides are usually under 25 pound and a couple of times a month. His boss is a part-owner of the company so has a vested interest in reducing costs.

They haven't gone as far as telling him he must get a car, but keep having "chats" with him about it and are making it out to be real issue. DP thinks he should offer to fund his own transport (as it'll probably be cheaper than buying and running a car) but I think his work are being tightwads. AIBU to think it's a bit cheeky for them to be pressuring him into getting a car?

Sicaq - in hindsight yes it should have been in the job specification but it wasn't
The job Market is really bad st the moment
If the op can afford it then yes I do think they should suck it up & buy one
As a couple they've only got a company car anyway so a car of their own would surely be useful

If he is required to own a car and use it for work (and insure it for work purposes) that should have been in the job description and in his contract.

I'd weigh up the pros & cons of buying a car

The cons are the money side
The pros are keeping his job - his boss is already muttering he's unhappy

@amyhamster There isn't any value in us getting a car, outside of DP using it for work. Agree that getting to keep his job is a definite plus, I guess I am just a bit annoyed they didn't think to mention the car thing before he signed his contract (it's never been an issue with his previous employers).

@GingerBlondecat - If he was driving his own vehicle, his work would only reimburse mileage (which would be less than the cost of a taxi). They would definitely save money if he had a car, which is why they're asking him to get one.

You need to check this but I think travel like this can be claimed through tax either by the employer or by the employee.

Could this be a solution? Obviously you would need to check the rules.

How much do the company pay per mile? I would be insisting on this if your DH does offer to pay his own travel costs.

It is a complete PITA but I can understand your worries over job security.

@sassh - Thanks for the suggestion, will look into it.

@WildFlowers - I'm not 100% sure, but I think it's just the standard rate set by the government here (not in the UK). If he does end up offering to fund his own travel (even if it's just paying for his own taxis), I don't think it would be unreasonable of him to still claim mileage.

I think it's hard to say whether it's unreasonable without knowing what is customary/typical in the country you are in.

@Olga79 We live Down Under. The usual practice here would be for the employer to provide some sort of assistance if travel is required for work (i.e. not just getting to and from work) in the form of company car / access to pool car / car allowance or reimbursement of travel costs. All the jobs I have had here where I've been required to travel for work, I've either been provided with a company car or car allowance.

Basically they want him to fit in, or at least to show that he is willing to fit in. In the present economic climate, it makes sense for him to do that if he wants to keep his job.

Sharing lifts with a colleague doesn't sound that great as it imposes on other members of staff to get a more senior level colleague to appointments.

I'm guessing one of the reasons it wasn't in the job spec is that they probably put something like they expected the person to be a "self starter" or "self motivated" and that would cover it.

I don't know where the line between casual car use and essential would fall.

Once a week and planned in advance could be thought of as casual in the UK and in those circumstances reimbursement of mileage all that is required but I would expect a job description to specify that use of a car is required.

I would imagine in Australia that not having access to a car is more unusual (certainly my sister who lives over there finds people think it strange they have only one small car between them) so wonder if it's just an oversight in the job description.

I wouldn't necessarily expect a car allowance for that amount of driving requirement.

I'd look into hiring/car share costs. If the mileage reimbursement rate includes costs for wear and tear you should be able to offset a lot of the cost.

How about you take taxis on the days he needs the car and he pays you back; he'll have some of the money via mileage and will only be slightly out of pocket, certainly cheaper than running a second car.

@Seriouslyffs It wouldn't be practical for him to take my car, as I work on the outskirts of the city so I need to travel further for work than he usually does for his meetings.

I think the practical solution will probably be for him to either take a taxi / share car and claim mileage, I guess I just think it's a bit unfair as they should have made the car requirement clear up front. It would potentially have influenced where we chose to live, as street parking where we live is a nightmare (it's a commercial zone so all metered) and our flat only has 1 car park. The parking is more of an issue than the cost really.

Violet - the treatment your DH is getting from his employer makes my blood boil. I worked in Aust for many years and I can tell you that your DH's employer is being totally unreasonable and almost certainly in breach of employment law. Any job that requires someone to drive (even a company car) would have to say in the job advertisement that having a current driving licence is a requirement for the role; if ownership if a vehicle was required, this would have to be made absolutely clear right up front. What they cannot do is follow the process that they have done - it's completely out of order.

In the short term your DH could try any number of ways of negotiating this with his employers, but this fuss about the car thing may be hiding a deeper issue: it does seem like they are sending him a clear signal with the dark hints about how other people can do his job - is there any possibility they are looking for a reason to edge him out anyway and using the car thing as an excuse? (Could it be like the other poster who was then made redundant in a similar scenario?).

Put it this way; if you go to the hassle and expense of getting another car and they then announce that they are downsizing or restructuring and he is without this job, would you regret getting the car?

Or, is there a strong possiblity that getting the car will smooth things over and the job will be terrific? Only you two can judge that.

So sorry you're going through this. Rest assured, the employer really is being really cheeky and their demands are really inappropriate and they have no right to be pressuring your DH like this.

(BTW if you are in NZ then I have no knowledge of employment law but I'd be really surprised if the situation was wildly different).

Look at the cost of a taxi to/ from work once a week though, or can he take you and/or collect you?

Thanks H20Woe, I really appreciate your comments. It's difficult to judge as I don't think he got off to a great start with them anyway (that's a whole other story which also makes me pretty angry with them, but he is putting in a lot of effort to keep them happy). So he doesn't want to risk making the situation worse. He will definitely go back to them with some suggested solutions.

@Seriouslyffs Thanks for your suggestion, but the cost of a taxi for me to get to work would cost more than a taxi for him to get to his meetings, so in that scenario he would be better off just to offer to pay for his own taxis to meetings and claim mileage. Although they're suggesting he get a car, I think the crux of the issue is that they just don't want to fork out for transport (so whether he drives himself or gets a taxi isn't important).

i'm guessing that ultimately, if you have to pay for his travel (which you shouldn't have to frankly), the cost of buying a new car + insurance + tax + service + parking (not sure what the regulations are in australia) are almost certainly going to be much higher than the costs of taxis / hire car etc

ahh OK.

I'm also in Oz, Since they did nOT state in the job - Own transport required. They cannot force him to get a car.

If he is sacked over this he definitely has a case to go to Fair Employment Standards (or whatever they are called).

Is your husband part of a union ?

@GingerBlondecat He isn't part of a union. If they did sack him over this I doubt they'd cite this as the reason (they've been quite careful so far not to say outright he has to get one).

Is he doing well at the job otherwise? Or are there other areas of concern and are they dropping this as a hint that he isn't fitting in well?

There do seem to be an awful lot of people involved in enabling him to do his job - you, his colleagues, tge taxi firm, the people at work who are encouraging him to get a car - how about he simply keeps his head down and goes about doing his job quietly without creating this aura of slight helplessness?

What's his past employment record like?

And surely Oz and NZ have a minimum qualifying period for claiming unfair dismissal too (and its more than 5 months)?!

Yes, they do pay mileage for employees who are using their own cars.

Why then not suggest that he will claim mileage as if he does have his own car, and make his own way there.

Find out what the mileage rate is compared to the cost of taxis.

Check insurance too, because I think I'm right in saying that 'normal' insurance only covers you for driving to and from work, not using the car for other work activity, e.g. driving to meetings during the day.