Forced to accept company car

[PuzzleRocks]

Asking for my husband. He has been with the company ten years, always had a company car. My question is does he have to take this or is he within his right to refuse and use his own or alternatively can he ask for a car allowance instead?
He does need a car for his job.
Thank you

He can ask to be given an allowance instead or claim mileage but they don't have to say yes.

Thanks for the quick response, so essentially if they refuse his request he has to take the car?

No, he doesn't have to take the car (& the tax implications) but they don't have to offer an alternative.

Does he need the car to do his job? (Like a sales rep, or someone whose job involves travelling between different offices every day)?

Whether he can opt for a car allowance and/or use his own car depends on the policy of his employer.

Thank you.

I think the Taxman will only allow him to claim genuine business mileage on his own car. E.g. You can't claim to and from home to place of work but can claim from work to clients/other work location and back.

The issue will be that having a company car is a benefit in kind & the OP's dh will be heavily taxed on that regardless of how much he uses it for personal use.

Does he get free fuel? If so he could keep a mileage log & offer to repay all personal mileage which will get the fuel tax down a bit.

We have essential users who must have a company car, and non essential users who are entitled to a car by grade, but can take an equivalent allowance instead, which is non pensionable and taxed as income.

He could try and argue the business case. It is usually cheaper for the employer to offer a car allowance rather than a car.

Thanks everyone. I think he would be considered an essential user but worth suggesting the savings to them.

Our company have a couple of pool cars. What this means is that the worker has to get themselves to & from the office each day via their own transport but uses the pool car to travel to meetings/clients. It is returned at the end of the day & parked overnight inside our premises. They arnt liable for any tax on this as it's 100% business journeys.