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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To expect to keep my full car allowance even though I'm part time?

95 replies

PoppyBlunt · 06/10/2022 20:52

I know most companies pro rata car allowance for PT employees.

I went PT (4 days a week) 4 years ago. When I did so my car allowance remained in full and was not pro rata.

I have recently been promoted and with the grade change have an increased car allowance. The grade I was at has an allowance of 5.5k pa and the new grade allowance is 7.5k pa.

HR have taken an age to send my contract and I was paid before receiving it. I was paid the 7k car allowance in full rather than pro rata.

My contract (yet to sign) is saying it is pro rata i.e. 6k.

AIBU to push back on my contract and state there is a precedent (as I was paid it in full for 4 years) and also that I've been paid for the full amount with my new package?

Anyone got any HR insight on this?

OP posts:
Original poster
PoppyBlunt · 07/10/2022 08:19

Hotandbothereds · 06/10/2022 23:29

If you accept they made a mistake why on earth do you think they’ll go back to continuing to make it now it’s been corrected?

Show quote history

I think you're missing the point. I'm assuming it was a mistake based on the fact that my new contract sets out pro rata and the old one didn't.

I'm hoping they'll amend new contract on the basis of what most other posters are saying here.

OP posts:
countrygirl99 · 07/10/2022 08:20

It really depends on why you get a car allowance. If you need one to do your job absolutely you should get the full allowance. But most "car allowances" are a hangover from.when it was a tax efficient way of paying someone and nothing to do with need. These days it's mostly a way of not having part of the salary included in redundancy/pension contribution calculations. So then you needy to look at it as partof the overall benefit package that you would usually expect to be pro-rata for part time.

Original poster
PoppyBlunt · 07/10/2022 08:22

Subaru4336 · 06/10/2022 22:13

I'd be careful, my employer mistakenly paid me full car allowance, despite being p/t...and then noticed and I had to pay it back. Somewhat naively, I hadn't actually noticed, so hadn't been trying to get one over on them or anything.

Show quote history

I'll be doing everything above board.

OP posts:
massistar · 07/10/2022 08:27

Mine was pro rated when I was PT. Always seemed a bit unfair to me. I'd push back if I was you. You've nothing to lose by questioning it?

Original poster
PoppyBlunt · 07/10/2022 08:29

Thank you for all the comments and input. It's genuinely really helpful to get lots of different thoughts and experiences. I'm going to negotiate and see what they say.

I work in a very male dominated industry and the significant majority of us that are PT are women. So hopefully I'll be advocate for others too.

I'll report back...

OP posts:
Brunonono · 07/10/2022 08:35

You should definitely bring it up and I'm amazed how many people are saying not to!

In my view, this is a benefit of employment not a salary for hours worked. Part time staff should get the same benefits of employment. If it were private health cover, would everyone say a part time member of staff should get lesser cover or top it up? Either it's a benefit for people at a certain grade or it's not. Similarly benefits continue during periods of salary (e.g. maternity) as the benefits are separated from salary and salary is linked to hours worked.

As others said - what would a man do?!

Brunonono · 07/10/2022 08:35

*lower salary that should say

Weirdlynormal · 07/10/2022 08:37

@PoppyBlunt if it’s male dominated I’d put good money on you already earning less than many of the men.

All of this is a conversation.

Jackienory · 07/10/2022 08:39

boogiejive · 06/10/2022 21:30

While it's delightful reading some of this drivel, you should expect the full car allowance. As PP says a company car would be wholly yours. The cash allowance is to provide you for a car - the garage won't charge you 90% of the value because you work 90%.

Raise it with them.

But it’s a car allowance, that’s the point. And the value of that “allowance” is specified in the new contract. If you want the reduced hours then thems the terms of the contract. If you don’t sign the contract then, presumably, you are back to your original job/hours or possibly redundant. The over payment is at their discretion. They can either let it go , claw the difference back or you own them a days pay but playing the barrack room lawyer never goes down well. No one is indispensable. Just be careful.

Zilla1 · 07/10/2022 08:56

I wouldn't expect FT pension or salary if PT but would expect a full company car or car allowance if essential for the role, an entire laptop and mobile phone and all the tools of the job not to be pro rata. Am genuinely surprised by the 'entitled' PPs and those who would expect to be grateful for a promotion. The employer would only offer a promotion if it were in their interests.

TheStoop · 07/10/2022 09:06

This reply has been deleted

This has been deleted by MNHQ for breaking our Talk Guidelines.

UnderCoverFieldAgent · 07/10/2022 09:09

You CFer!! I dare you to ask for full holiday entitlement too…go on, I bet you would 😂

ShipwreckSunset · 07/10/2022 09:14

Genuinely amazed by some of the posts on here saying OP is ‘lucky’ and entitled… women can be their own worst advocates sometimes.

Good luck with the negotiation OP, there are plenty of examples where PT are paid full car allowance and rightly so. If they make a fuss I’d be tempted to take the car instead. The whole car that is 😉

Mademoiselle14 · 07/10/2022 09:15

YANBU its a benefit in kind so you should get the full allowance, if you had a company car you would still be allowed to drive it on the day you didn’t work.

Weirdlynormal · 07/10/2022 09:17

UnderCoverFieldAgent · 07/10/2022 09:09

You CFer!! I dare you to ask for full holiday entitlement too…go on, I bet you would 😂

Staggering

dolorsit · 07/10/2022 09:33

I used to deal with setting up company car usage (more on dealing with organising the lease side)

The email we would send to the employee would tell them the value of the car they were entitled to or the car allowance they could receive.

This was based on job role or employee grade (eg some got it as they needed the vehicle to do their job, others because it was a management perk)

The number of hours they worked was irrelevant in both cases.

PurpleBananas22 · 07/10/2022 09:41

The over payment is at their discretion. They can either let it go , claw the difference back or you own them a days pay but playing the barrack room lawyer never goes down well. No one is indispensable. Just be careful.

This is so disappointing and sad to read. 'Just be careful'?? Why? Would you even think about saying that to a man? OP has gained a promotion because she is good at her job. They're not going to demote her because she asks a question about her employment contract! Good grief.

It wasn't an overpayment - it was a term of OP's previous contract.

They can't claw back the difference as there is nothing to claw back.

And she certainty doesn't owe them a days pay! Honestly this advice would be funny if it wasn't such a serious issue.

for those of you struggling to understand why OP should receive the full car allowance... the easiest way is to think of it as a car. Can you get half a car? No. She would get a whole car.

For those of you saying 'but it's not a car it's an allowance'.... yes, but the allowance is in lieu of the car, so again, she could ask for a car instead of the allowance and they would give her a full car

Same with other benefits. You get a whole laptop and mobile phone. You get the same level of health insurance, dental insurance etc. these are paid for by the company and don't get reduced to a lower or less funding from the employer.

The other part of this conversation is that part time workers are overwhelmingly female. So reducing part timers car allowance is potentially discrimination.

A car allowance is not treated the same way as salary, pension and annual leave. The PP who had a snipe at OP about asking for more annual leave clearly doesn't understand the issue here.

WireSkills · 07/10/2022 10:13

I can see both sides of this as, as an employee, it's not like you can lease a car for 3/5 days per week.

On the other hand, if you had 2 people job sharing over a 5 day week, if the employer paid for all of the car, they would be funding 2 car allowances, so that's not fair on them either.

Ultimately there is no regulation or requirement to do it one way or the other - it just comes down to negotiation.

PurpleBananas22 · 07/10/2022 10:24

WireSkills · 07/10/2022 10:13

I can see both sides of this as, as an employee, it's not like you can lease a car for 3/5 days per week.

On the other hand, if you had 2 people job sharing over a 5 day week, if the employer paid for all of the car, they would be funding 2 car allowances, so that's not fair on them either.

Ultimately there is no regulation or requirement to do it one way or the other - it just comes down to negotiation.

But this isn't about a job share so that doesn't apply here.

It's a fact that part time employees do cost an employer more than full time... the employer has to pay full car allowance, full health insurance, life insurance premiums and other benefits like training courses etc at the full rate, for 2 people.

So 2 part timers at 50% will cost the employer more than 1 full timer.

To most organisations this is just factored in to the budget.

rwalker · 07/10/2022 10:27

Why not go ok the full way and ask for full wages on pt hours while your at it

Loachworks · 07/10/2022 10:30

As long as they definitely can't come at you for the last four years I would push for it. If they say no would can you get a car?

Weirdlynormal · 07/10/2022 10:35

so that's not fair on them either

We are talking about a business. The business has a balance sheet and P&L not feelings.

I'm repeatedly posting as I'm just so staggered at the emotion here and the acceptance that the employer just calls the shots.

mewkins · 07/10/2022 10:35

phishy · 06/10/2022 22:08

YANBU. You don’t ask, you don’t get.

If this we’re a man, he would expect the full allowance as his due.

It’s only women who are told to be grateful for what they get.

You're not wrong! See also threads on here about acting 'entitled' if you ask for cost of living payrise etc 😂some people seem to think that employers are doing us a favour by allowing us to.work for them.

Dreikanter · 07/10/2022 10:51

Your company is required to treat you equally to comparable FT workers, but when it comes to contractual benefits then the company has the right pro rata them for PT workers.

It’s not directly comparable to a company car, because the company could choose to change the car to a car allowance or a cheaper model in order to pro rata the benefit.

Having said that, I would absolutely be having the conversation with HR about having the full car allowance in your contract rather than 4/5ths.

MrsMinted · 07/10/2022 11:31

A car allowance is not just "additional pay". It is a thing in its own right. It is typically pay that doesnt attract pension contributions. In fact it SHOULD continue to be paid when you are on maternity leave (little know freakish fact).

So it isnt clear cut it should be prorated.

Question it OP. I think you are right to expect the full amount.