teacher car parking fees

[user1497480444]

I had an interview at a school today which charges staff for use of the car park. I want to withdraw because I hate the impression this gives of the attitude of the management. Is this a thing? do schools do this now?

Teachers commonly carry vast bags and boxes around. I'd have struggled if I couldn't park at school, and would never have managed public transport!

most people have to pay for parking when they drive to work including hospitals and uni's

I don't think that a lot of people realise that often people don't teach in the same town/city.

Eh? Are you serious? Many, many people commute to work, it is not some weird activity specific to teachers that no other profession has ever experienced.

Anyway, free parking at work is a great perk if you have it, but it is pretty normal for employers - both private and local authority/public - to charge for parking, ostensibly to cover the cost of maintaining the car park/promote green alternatives (and possibly to generate revenue.... )

If you don't really need to move jobs I would withdraw. I couldn't manage without a car because I regularly take books home (too heavy to carry on public transport). If it is a car park owned by the employer I think it is really odd to expect staff to pay (school or anywhere else) and would wonder what else they expected me to pay for.

Most schools I know about have tiny car parks and parking in them is reserved for the head teacher and a couple of other very senior staff plus a few spaces for disabled people and maybe one or two visitor spaces which a staff member might be able to book in exceptional circumstances.

Any school with a car park big enough to bother with a system of parking fees will probably find that car park is the prime spot for the next new building when the next (probably PFI funded) round to grow schools to match the size of the population comes along.

" it's not really any different than having to pay for public transport to get there"
Of course it is. You've already paid (in fuel) to get there!

Never heard of a school charging to park. Wonder if they charge visitors too. I visit lots of schools and have only once had to pay for parking. That was a city school on a busy street and I paid to park at a parking meter on the street as the school car park was full. If I had to pay to park at the schools I visit I'd be charging it back to our office who would probably start charging the schools for it.

I can't see its any different than expecting a doctor/ nurse to park at a hospital and the majority have to do so . My sister works for the NHS and she pays £8 per day .

@StealthPolarBear, I mean that's fuel costs plus parking costs still come to less than public transport would cost me. Clearly it depends on your commute, but most people will weigh it up like I have

I can't see its any different than expecting a doctor/ nurse to park at a hospital and the majority have to do so .
The difference is that hospital car parks are generally run by external profit making agencies. A school charging its staff to park is basically docking their wages for its own benefit and looking to make money out of the teachers. They don't have to make money out of their car park. I work for the local council and our parking is free. This will chip away at good will and cost the school more in the long run. As the op suggested it also makes you wonder what else they will find to get teachers to give more.

I think it depends on the circumstances OP. You said onsite, which suggests the school charges for use of its own car park. I would feel the same as you if there was a reasonable amount of space. It would definitely suggest a disregard for staff.

If, as someone else suggested, they have to rent a car park it's reasonable to charge.

it would affect my decision. I dont understand why many on here consider it normal. your employer is essentially docking your wages. i'd imagine they are scrooge like wankers to work for if they thought that up as a money making wheeze. maybe you could ask who owns the carpark/where the money goes.

Nurses pay to park at work all the time- its rubbish

I've never come across a school where one has to pay to park.

You may not need to withdraw as the schools I've worked with have always offered the same day as the interview.

If you don't want to pay for parking then do withdraw and tell them why. It's hard to recruit teachers at the moment.

Depends whether the car park is part of the school grounds and is owned by the school or whether they've had to hire a car park (even if it is still on site) to accommodate everyone who wants to drive to work. If it's the latter then I can understand why that can't come out of the school budget.

I wouldn't turn down a good job based on this!

If you think it could be indicative of a bad working relationship, find other staff to talk to.

I don't see London schools with car parks, or only very small ones.

Personally, why is there space used for parking cars, for other than employees with physical/mobility disabilities, when we are losing school playing fields & playgrounds all over the place?

Cars really suck up irreplaceable resources, and it shouldn't be encouraged. Cars - parents' & teachers' cars - also make schools less safe for children.

Of course, people cling to their "right" to drive these machines which take up precious resources. But to expect to park a car for free? You need to pay for the resource you're taking up: space.

My (nationwide) public sector organisation has been removing free parking from all our offices for the last 5 years or so. As I am based in a major city centre, parking cost me at least £8/day. Sometimes, if I very early I can park for free about a mile away. The reasoning is that the tax payer shouldn't have to pay for my convenience. I often have large/heavy bags, site kit etc with me, for which a drop off/loading bay is provided.

The crux is how much are they charging???

If it's a relatively small amount, then it's either to cover the costs of maintaining the car park (they don't resurface themselves!), or to act as a deterrent because it's far too small to accommodate all the staff's cars, so charging a token amount will "encourage" people to use alternative transport or park further away, rather than have a free for all where it's always the ones who arrive soonest who get the places.

If it's a large amount, then that sounds like profiteering which isn't acceptable.

I don't get my public transport costs (bus & train fares) covered by my employers (also public sector), so why would you expect your costs - maintenance of car park, cost of space - to be covered by your public sector employer? It's your choice to drive to work & in most businesses, this is deemed a personal cost.

And I'd rather that increasingly scarce funding for schools goes to, know you, actually paying for teachers & the costs of educating children.

I don't get my public transport costs (bus & train fares) covered by my employers (also public sector), so why would you expect your costs - maintenance of car park, cost of space - to be covered by your public sector employer? It's your choice to drive to work & in most businesses, this is deemed a personal cost.

And I'd rather that increasingly scarce funding for schools goes to, know you, actually paying for teachers & the costs of educating children.

Gah, my internet is misbehaving. Sorry for posting twice

School local to me charges but this was agreed with the staff when the car park was built. The school couldn't justify the cost of building a car park when other changes in the area made street parking very difficult so it was agreed that it would be paid for and costs recouped for building and maintaining by charging for spaces. In this case management very much took wishes of the staff into account so it's not necessarily a sign of bad management.

Nottingham city charge schools per parking space (workplace levy) a lot of schools then pass this onto staff. Could be similar situation where you are OP?