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

[PoppyBlunt]

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?

It's a contractual benefit,

What is your organisation's policy? We are in a long tradition of moving from a. Old car policy to a new one. New starters and anyone voluntarily changing their permanent contract (ie applied for a promotion or sideways move) goes on the new one, which could be considered lesser. I recently applied for a promotion and lost my "legacy driver" status, but the promotion more than offsets this.

Yes 100% agree with this!!

A business doesn't have feelings and can't feel hard done by.

Agree with @Weirdlynormal, some of the views on here are staggering and seem to think women should be grateful to be paid a fair wage and full benefits for the job they do! All this talk of ‘be careful’ and general don’t question anything are part of the overall problem women are up against!

In me experience, trying to argue the point that if they gave you a car you’d get a whole one is not helpful. In most businesses I know there are two types of car allowance - 1) a car - for people who do a lot of travel, sales team etc; and 2) a car allowance as part of your package due to seniority in role, for you to put towards a car. It is not in place of a car. The two should not be confused. Based on the fact that your allowance has gone up with a promotion, I assume your allowance is the second type. Would you be free to say you would rather have a car and they would give you one?

In that situation, it’s purely a cash part of your package and therefore I would absolutely expect it to be prorated for part time work like most other benefits are. So I think you are being unrealistic to expect the whole amount, even given your old position.

I would imagine your old position was a mistake. Doesn’t mean you should not challenge it, but if I would expect HR to just say no based on policy. Then depends how much bargaining power you have. General problem with internal promotions in my experience is that you don’t have much, compared to an external move.

General problem with internal promotions in my experience is that you don’t have much, compared to an external move and that is what you remind them of. Internal promotions are So much easier for employers and yet they often exploit them. I'd point out the recruitment saving too.

Way back when I was seeing an internal IFA about pension contributions and he asked my basic pay, when I told him he said 'wow, how come you earn so much more'. Not very discreet on his part, but I said: because I'm not here as a volunteer.

A car allowance is not a benefit in kind. A benefit in kind is nonpecuniary.

A car allowance is a cash benefit and in many cases it is done to keep pay up to a level whilst making some non pensionable or not included in redundancy calculations. There is often not an option to take an actual car instead and the employee may have no work need for a car. As such, it seems very reasonable to pro rate it for a part time worker.

Of course OP should negotiate for the best salary she can achieve, but personally I would be looking to increase my base rather than my non pensionable car allowance.

An update... I asked for my car allowance to be the full amount rather than pro rata and my employer accepted this without argument and amended the contract accordingly.

Thank you for giving me the confidence to push back!

Great update!! Well done!! :)

Brilliant OP. I hope those that told you to pipe down and accept your lot take note. Go you.

Well done OP, and this.

OK it has been quite a few years since I was in this situation but, when I went 4 days a week I was told I could either take 4/5 of the car allowance or I could take the car and forfeit the equivalent of 1/5 car allowance from my salary.

I chose the 4/5 car allowance because I figured I could put that money towards a car that would eventually be mine rather than take less salary and have a car I would eventually have to give back.

Anyway, at that point, post maternity leave, I didn't think I would be doing enough business miles to avoid the higher tax penalty if I took the car.

Amazing! Well done OP. I was rooting for you.

Well done - this is as it should be as if you'd taken the car rather than the allowance, you'd have a car 100% of the time.

That’s good!

I used to get full car allowance and I started as a part-timer. Several years in, the company policy changed so to pro rata it. So all I was going to say was check if HR have a policy.

Excellent news

Depends if the car is a nice perk that's effectively just part. of your remuneration package or whether a car is a necessary part of your employment. If they need you to have a car because of the nature of the work e.g. regular travel to customer sites then you should have the full allowance. You can't have 4/5ths of an MOT, 4/5ths of an annual service or buy 4/5ths of an insurance policy even if you never use it except on work days. If it's really just a perk and they don't need you to have a car then a pro-rata share is fair enough but they should clarify their position. Are other part time workers still getting a full allowance?

Excellent news OP - glad they were so agreeable to you!

However, in reply to the comments about my "it's not fair on them either" re the business.

I'm a business owner and employer. No, my company doesn't have feelings itself, but I am a real human, so presumably am allowed to have them??

Times are tight for businesses as well at the moment and in a business where costs are being massively pressurised (I know of one small business who's electric bill has gone from £12,000 a year to £9,000 a quarter), sometimes there is a conflict between what an employer would like to do, and what they can afford to do.

Not all businesses are massive with huge profits. Staff going part time in smaller businesses costs disproportionately in both money and disruption more than it does in a bigger company.

I would like to think I'm a good employer (longevity of staff and lack of staff turnover would suggest so also), so as I say, I can see both sides and acknowledge in OP's case, there wasn't a job sharing element to her particular set of circumstances and I'm genuinely pleased that her employer has agreed to pay it in full. She negotiated, and got the result she wanted - job done!

@WireSkills I'm a business owner and employer. No, my company doesn't have feelings itself, but I am a real human, so presumably am allowed to have them??

of course, but run a business, don’t take it personally. Do you need the skills? Can you afford the cost? Are your margins realistic? None of this is about you personally.

So true