Colleague can’t drive I’m doing all the driving!!

[Gisele12]

This may be quite long. I work for a company where we travel for work. The arrangement was that I’d be the one being driven until my old partner left and the only other person who was trained in the role of my old partner cannot drive.

This girl is however taking lessons, I understand they are expensive and she is genuinely doing her best however I am just getting a little of sick of doing all the driving. I get paid probably 5x more per day than what this girl gets paid (my role is higher) so not sure if I am being unreasonable.

I am self employed and my partner is PAYE so I do sometimes feel I have no obgliations to cart this girl around. There is no one else who could replace this girl and in all honesty I love my job and our working days are always fun but I just can’t be sure if I should speak to our boss and see what he thinks?

What does everyone else think?

You feel you have no obligations to cart this girl around?

Maybe she’ll feel the same about you when she passes her test.

I’m desperate to know what sort of work you do btw
anyone else?

If you are self employed you have an agreement to provide a service to the organisation. What does it say about travel/mileage etc. If all you had was an arrangement with your previous partner it may not bind the company at all. If the agreement with the company is that you get driven around then yes you can approach the other party to state that the agreement is being breached. You could try to negotiate if the breach is causing you extra expense (ie if your charges include paying expenses of running a car and the costs are significantly higher.

You do not have a boss. The employee seems to be valuable if she is the only other person trained in the role as your previous partner.

Are you community care workers or something like that? She works for the company and you are an agency worker? That would explain the pay discrepancy.

So you were the one being carted around by your old partner?

Yabu-unless you are driving 3+hours a day out of 7, in which case perhaps you could see if there's any hoe of her having some paid leave to do an intensive course if that's an option.

I'd rather be the driver than passenger of someone just passed their test though. Why do you call her a girl? What age is she?

This is such a wierd thread.

So just to make sure I've understood you correctly..
You used to get driven around everywhere all the time by your colleague, even though you can drive. Now that they've left the shoe is on the other foot- you're having to drive someone else around all the time and you don't like it.
You're considering complaining to your boss about not being driven around anymore, even though the other person you work with literally CANNOT drive and you acknowledge she is doing everything she can to change this.
Once your colleague has passed her test you intend to make her do ALL the driving, even though you really didn't like being in that situation yourself.

Do really need to ask if you're being unreasonable??

Why are you calling her a girl? You have an odd attitude.

Do you work in audit/security?

It's quite common in that field. The head auditor gets driven the length and breadth of the country by someone on NLW.

It really doesn't matter what we think, it matters what your agreement to the company states. Does it say they are to provide you a driver? Does it have any contingencies built in for this scenario?

Why can't she drive while you supervise her? Or do you not have L plates in the UK?

"This girl".

Are you Brendan Cole off Strictly?

Why wouldn't you and the other party (whoever it may be) share the driving? It doesn't seem fair that one does it all.

emmageddon Similar but other healthcare related industry. Company vehicle and mileage paid. Just sick of doing 18+ hours of driving a week.

So you want this inexperienced and probably nervous driver doing 18+ hours a week so you can be paid 5x more than her to relax? Why wouldn't you be splitting the driving when she passed?

So you're sick of doing 18+ hours driving a week... And yet you consider it acceptable for someone else to?

What solution are you hoping your boss will offer? They can't wave a magic wand and have your partner pass her test by next week.

"Just sick of doing 18+ hours of driving a week"

So you share it then

Lead by example.

WTF? You earn 5x more and you drive for fewer hours a day AS YOUR JOB than some folk drive just to get to work. Jeez. I thought you were going to say you drive for 9 hours a day or something.

Now you know how your former colleague probably felt.

"Just sick of doing 18+ hours of driving a week"

Get a new job then, so you can be ferried around in the style you're accustomed to.

Maybe she'll pass and get a job where she doesn't have to chauffeur about a primadonna colleague who doesn't even consider her anything but 'this girl'.

Word of warning: she might not ever pass her test.

If she actually passed her test, would you let her drive anyway?

Word of warning: she might not ever pass her test.

Not just that. Even if she does pass, she'll be inexperienced, potentially nervous, and op may well feel safer driving themselves.

Be careful what you wish for..

But Princess Gizelle will be busy getting on with being a princess in the car, she doesn't care if "the girl" is nervous

I had 7 years of lessons and never passed my test. You need to stop thinking you are better than anyone else it's not an attractive personality trait

There is no way someone can pass a test and hop straight into a heavy driving schedule. You will HAVE to share for a bit. What does you colleague think of this attitude?

Gawd, I would be bricking it at the thought of a newly qualified driver doing all the driving. I think I'd rather pay for my own driver with my 5 x her salary!

I am self employed

Actually, no, your situation doesn't fit right with being self employed. You need to look at the HMRC website and check the criteria for self employment.

Ir35 alarm bells going