1 .uk



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Lease Car Policy

Ratified Date: July 2009

Ratified By: JINC, JLNC and HR Committee

Review Date: July 2011

Accountable Directorate: Human Resources

Corresponding Author: HR Business Consultant

Meta Data

|Document Title: |Lease Car Policy |

|Status |Active |

| | |

| | |

| | |

|Document Author: |HR Business Consultant |

|Source Directorate: |Human Resources Consultancy |

|Date Of Release: |July 2009 |

|Approval Date: |July 2009 |

|Approved by: |JINC, JLNC HR Committee |

|Ratification Date: | |

|Ratified by: | |

|Review Date: |June 2012 |

|Related documents |AFC and Medical and Dental Terms and Conditions of Employment |

| |Business Expense Policy |

|Superseded documents |Lease car policy HEFT |

| |Lease Car Policy Good Hope |

|Relevant External Standards/ |AFC terms and conditions |

|Legislation |M&D terms and conditions |

|Key Words | |

Revision History

|Version |Status |Date |Consultee |Comments |Action from Comment |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

Lease Car Policy

1. Introduction

The scheme is based on a contract hire agreement between Heart of England Foundation NHS Trust and the Contract Hire Company, which enables the Trust to provide a fully maintained base vehicle for use by eligible members of staff in connection with the business of the Trust.

2. Scope

The scheme is closed to new entrants and is only available to those staff who are already in the scheme, are required to use a car to undertake duties on behalf on the Trust and whose annual business mileage exceeds 3000 miles per annum.

Staff who are not a part of the lease scheme will be entitled to regular car user allowance as defined in the Business Expense policy.

3. Arrangements

The car will be leased for a three year period and any approved business mileage undertaken will be reimbursed at the rate identified below.

All staff within the lease scheme will be required to estimate their business and private mileage over a three year period. The accuracy of the total business and private mileage is important as it determines the rate at which the Contract hire Company will supply the vehicle. The Finance Department will take the lowest quote supplied by the Contract Hire Companies for the chosen vehicle in calculating the costs. In the main there will be no alteration to these figures during the contract period other than increase or decreases in insurance costs or road fund license costs

4. Cost of the Scheme

Staff will received an annual allowance of £1545. Business mileage will be paid at 25 pence per mile.

In return for private use of the car, staff will be subject to an annual hire charge paid monthly by deduction from salary. The contribution is calculated as follows:

i) A fixed annual charge to cover insurance premiums and handling charge. This is currently £914 exclusive of VAT (the amount payable for the Extended Lease Car Scheme will vary and should be confirmed on an individual basis). It should be noted that these costs can alter to reflect changes in the cost of insurance and road tax.

5. Use of Vehicle

The vehicle must be available at all times subject to servicing and repairs for use by the member of staff in the performance of the individual’s official duties for the Trust.

The vehicle must not be used for:

Driving tuition for commercial gain, racing rallies, speed or time trails, hill climbs or any form of competition.

Any purpose for which the vehicle is not designed.

Hire, conveyance of passengers or goods for reward.

Any unlawful purpose or in any contravention of any statute or regulation.

The vehicle must not be used for any non Trust business/commercial activity unless specific approval in writing has been obtained from the Lease Car co-coordinator Finance Department who will seek approval from the insurance company.

Although the vehicle remains the property of the Contract Hire Company the member of staff is liable for its roadworthiness and is required to indemnify the Trust against parking fines, or other liabilities from the way in which the vehicle is used, particularly breeches of Road Traffic Acts.

The vehicle should normally be kept at the member of staff’s home address and garaged whenever practicable. In the event of the member of staff with a car moving home, the Lease Car co-coordinator must be informed in writing of the change of address.

The member of staff must not lend, let or hire, sell, assign, transfer, charge, dispose or part with control of the hired vehicle or attempt to do so.

Applications in writing made through the Lease Car Co-coordinator to the Contract Hire Company or permission to take the vehicle out of the British Isle. Foreign travel, travel to Northern Ireland and Eire, will be permitted subject to the arrangement of satisfactory insurance and adequate breakdown and recovery protection. Responsibility will rest with the member of staff until it is returned to the British Isles. Repairs and maintenance which are carried out abroad are not covered by the Maintenance Agreement with the Contract Hire Company and are the sole responsibility of the member of staff who must take out appropriate cover. On each occasion applications for permission to take the vehicle outside

The member of staff is required to complete and submit to payroll department a claim form (Located in the Business Expense Policy) monthly recording the business mileage undertaken in the vehicle. Total Mileage must be stated in the expense claim form. Tampering with the vehicle’s odometer will be regarded as fraud; it will be reported to the Counter Fraud office and may lead to disciplinary action being taken up to and including dismissal.

Where the member of staff is absent from duty for a pro longed period e.g. maternity, or sickness, they will normally continue to have the private use of the vehicle.

6. Maintenance

In accordance with the Agreement with Heart of England Foundation NHS Trust, the Contract Hire Company will provide or pay for:

Regular and routine maintenance and servicing

All remedial or repair work arising without negligence or misuse or accident on the part of the member of staff and needed to maintain the vehicle in a condition

All replacement tyres (puncture costs reimbursed)

All replacement batteries

All replacement exhaust systems

On taking possession of the vehicle the member of staff will receive a set of instructions from the Contract Hire Company in relation to the above. The member of staff must make them selves aware of the requirements of the Contract /Hire Company contained within the instructions or other wise notified to them and comply those requirements at all times.

The member of staff will be responsible for the car’s roadworthiness and for periodic routine checking of oil, water, batteries, tyre pressure and other items which a responsible car owner would expect to check from time to time, together with any associated routine maintenance such as topping up of oil or adjusting tyre pressure.

The member of staff must keep the vehicle in good condition, internally and externally, subject only to wear and tear. Ordinary wear and tear is generally taken as superficial scratches and scuffs to paintwork if surface of paint is not broken and undercoat or metal visible. Excess to fair wear and tear includes: scrapes where the paint surface is broken, minor scratches to paintwork, and where re painting is necessary to restore the finish, dents or other impact dame to body work or bumpers, broken or cracked lenses. Any tears, rips, etc to seats, interior rim, and carpets and headlining will be judged in excess of fair wear and tear.

Repairs and replacement costs arising from abuse or neglect are not included in the scheme and will be borne by the member of staff. Accident damage will be covered by insurance claims subject to the appropriate excess.

In the event of an accident, the member of staff will comply with the Contract Hire Company’s procedures, but must immediately report the circumstances to the Lease Car Co-coordinator.

The driver must either use the authorized repairer as advised by the Lease Car Co-coordinator or supply two estimates for repair work. All dealings with the insurance companies will be dealt with by the Lease Car Co-coordinator.

7. Insurance

A national standard Comprehensive Motor Fleet Policy has been effected in respect of vehicles on Contract hire to cover insurance. A current insurance certificate will be included with the information pack.

The policy allows private use by members of staff and private use by certain other persons authorised by the User and advised to the Lease Car Co-ordinator provided that the person driving holds a licence to drive the vehicle. This insurance cover for private use is mandatory. Improper use of the vehicle without insurance cover is an offence under the Road Traffic Act and unauthorised use in these circumstances will be regarded as a serious disciplinary offence in accordance with the Disciplinary Policy which may result in dismissal.

The member of staff is required to report to the Lease Car Co-ordinator any convictions in connection with any motor vehicle (other than parking offences) for insurance purposes. The Trust will charge to the member of staff any additional insurance premium or excess attributable to the member of staff’s driving record. In the event of the member of staff becoming disqualified from driving, the vehicle will be withdrawn forthwith and the member of staff will be responsible for meeting any excess or penalty charges which result.

Should a member of staff leave the scheme a certificate will be available confirming the number of claim free years of participation by the user, for submission to Insurers for No Claims Bonus purposes.

8. Termination

The car will be leased for a three year period and arrangements must be made for the replacement of existing vehicles three months before the end of an expiring contract.

If any contract is terminated prematurely the Contract Hire Company will impose early termination charges of up to six months rental, details of which will be provided on application to the Lease Car Manager in the Finance Directorate. If termination is at the request of the member of staff, the Trust pass on to the member of staff all penalties incurred except where termination occurs as a result of:

1. Death in service

2. Retirement due to ill health

3. Redundancy

4. Retirement in the interest of efficiency of the service

5. Imposed internal movement to a post without a car user status

In cases where the lease of a vehicle is terminated prematurely the member of staff may forfeit the right to claim any rebate of any description.

In the event of premature termination of the contract, the following courses of action may be available to members of staff following consultation with the Lease Car Co-ordinator.

a. The member of staff may wish to purchase the car, in which case he/she should ask the Lease Car Co-ordinator for a quotation of a purchase price.

b. If the member of staff is moving to an NHS organisation with a contract hire scheme, then the contract may be transferred with the agreement of the new NHS organisation.

The hired vehicle must be returned in a condition satisfactory to the Contract Hire Company and should any penalty be suffered by the Trust, this will be recharged to the member of staff.

On completion of the contract, the Contract Hire Company may be willing to sell this vehicle to the member of staff at an agreed price. The Trust is required to report such a purchase to the Inland Revenue.

The member of staff will be responsible for meeting the cost of any fixed penalty fines incurred by them whether on business or private use.

9. Other Provisions

Vehicle Excise Duty

The member of staff will be required to reimburse the Trust for the appropriate proportion of any increase in the cost of the Road Fund Licence plus VAT for the vehicle over the cost of the Licence as at the date on which the member of staff’s Agreement is signed.

Excess Charge / Rebate on Mileage

If at the end of the contract period the actual private and authorised business miles travelled differs from the estimate mileage there will be an excess charge / rebate to the member of staff. The member of staff will not be responsible for the cost of additional business miles.

The policy of the Trust is to calculate any excessive / rebate annually which will be followed by discussion between the individual member of staff and the lease car manager.

10. Maternity/Career Breaks/Unpaid leave

Where a member of staff is absence from work due to maternity/ career break or unpaid leave they will normally maintain the right to continue to have the use of the private car subject to agreeing to one of the following

• Ensure the lease payments being made in advance if taking unpaid leave to either pay the monthly fee by cheque or accrue the payments until returning to work. (This may affect tax liability)

• Agree to repay the outstanding amount over a six month period upon return to work.

Alternatively the car may be returned to the Trust without any penalty an dependant upon the member of staff returns to be issued with another car at the end of the leave.

11. Review of Policy

This policy will be reviewed by the Head of HR Consultancy via JLNC and JNCC as per the policy review date on the front of this document.

Attachment 1: Approval/Ratification Checklist

|Title |Lease Car Policy |

| |Ratification checklist |Details |

|1 |Is this a: Combined Policy & Procedure |

|2 |Is this: Revised |

|3* |Format matches Policies and Procedures Template (Organisation-wide) | |

|4* |Consultation with range of internal /external groups/ individuals |JNCC, JLNC, HR Committee, HR Consultancy team |

| | | |

| | | |

|5* |Equality Impact Assessment completed | |

|6 |Are there any governance or risk implications? (e.g. patient safety, | |

| |clinical effectiveness, compliance with or deviation from National | |

| |guidance or legislation etc) | |

|7 |Are there any operational implications? | |

|8 |Are there any educational or training implications? |Briefing to line managers |

|9 |Are there any clinical implications? |n/a |

|10 |Are there any nursing implications? |n/a |

|11 |Does the document have financial implications? |n/a |

|12 |Does the document have HR implications? | |

|13* |Is there a launch/communication/implementation plan within the |Helen Barlow |

| |document? | |

|14* |Is there a monitoring plan within the document? |HR Consultancy Department |

|15* |Does the document have a review date in line with the Policies and |July 2011 |

| |Procedures Framework? | |

|16* |Is there a named Director responsible for review of the document? |HR and OD Director |

|17* |Is there a named committee with clearly stated responsibility for |HR Committee |

| |approval monitoring and review of the document? | |

Document Author / Sponsor

Signed ……………………… ………….…………

Title…………………………………………………

Date…………………….………….………….……

Approved by (Chair of Trust Committee or Executive Lead)

Signed ……………………… ………….…………

Title…………………………………………………

Date…………………….………….………….……

Ratified by (Chair of Trust Committee or Executive Lead)

Signed ……………………… ………….…………

Title…………………………………………………

Date…………………….………….………….……

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Attachment 2: Equality and Diversity - Policy Screening Checklist

|Policy/Service Title: Lease Car Policy |Directorate: HR Consultancy |

|Name of person/s auditing/developing/authoring a policy/service: Helen Barlow |

|Aims/Objectives of policy/service: Provides guidance to staff and managers who own a lease car |

|Policy Content: |

|For each of the following check the policy/service is sensitive to people of different age, ethnicity, gender, disability, religion or belief, and |

|sexual orientation? |

|The checklists below will help you to see any strengths and/or highlight improvements required to ensure that the policy/service is compliant with |

|equality legislation. |

|1. Check for DIRECT discrimination against any group of SERVICE USERS: |

|Question: Does your policy/service contain any statements/functions which may |Response |Action required |Resource implication |

|exclude people from using the services who otherwise meet the criteria under | | | |

|the grounds of: | | | |

| |Yes |No |Yes |No |Yes |No |

|1.1 |Age? | |* | | | | |

|1.2 |Gender (Male, Female and Transsexual)? | |* | | | | |

|1.3 |Disability? | |* | | | | |

|1.4 |Race or Ethnicity? | |* | | | | |

|1.5 |Religious, Spiritual belief (including other belief)? | |* | | | | |

|1.6 |Sexual Orientation? | |* | | | | |

|1.7 |Human Rights: Freedom of Information/Data Protection | |* | | | | |

|If yes is answered to any of the above items the policy/service may be considered discriminatory and requires review and further work to ensure |

|compliance with legislation. |

|2. Check for INDIRECT discrimination against any group of SERVICE USERS: |

|Question: Does your policy/service contain any statements/functions which may |Response |Action required |Resource implication |

|exclude employees from operating the under the grounds of: | | | |

| |Yes |No |Yes |No |Yes |No |

|2.1 |Age? | |* | | | | |

|2.2 |Gender (Male, Female and Transsexual)? | |* | | | | |

|2.3 |Disability? | |* | | | | |

|2.4 |Race or Ethnicity? | |* | | | | |

|2.5 |Religious, Spiritual belief (including other belief)? | |* | | | | |

|2.6 |Sexual Orientation? | |* | | | | |

|2.7 |Human Rights: Freedom of Information/Data Protection | |* | | | | |

|If yes is answered to any of the above items the policy/service may be considered discriminatory and requires review and further work to ensure |

|compliance with legislation. |

|TOTAL NUMBER OF ITEMS ANSWERED ‘YES’ INDICATING DIRECT DISCRIMINATION = |

|3. Check for DIRECT discrimination against any group relating to EMPLOYEES: |

|Question: Does your policy/service contain any conditions or requirements |Response |Action required |Resource implication |

|which are applied equally to everyone, but disadvantage particular persons’ | | | |

|because they cannot comply due to: | | | |

| |Yes |No |Yes |No |Yes |No |

|3.1 |Age? | |* | | | | |

|3.2 |Gender (Male, Female and Transsexual)? | |* | | | | |

|3.3 |Disability? | |* | | | | |

|3.4 |Race or Ethnicity? | |* | | | | |

|3.5 |Religious, Spiritual belief (including other belief)? | |* | | | | |

|3.6 |Sexual Orientation? | |* | | | | |

|3.7 |Human Rights: Freedom of Information/Data Protection | |* | | | | |

|If yes is answered to any of the above items the policy/service may be considered discriminatory and requires review and further work to ensure |

|compliance with legislation. |

|4. Check for INDIRECT discrimination against any group relating to EMPLOYEES: |

|Question: Does your policy/service contain any statements which may exclude |Response |Action required |Resource implication |

|employees from operating the under the grounds of: | | | |

| |Yes |No |Yes |No |Yes |No |

|4.1 |Age? | |* | | | | |

|4.2 |Gender (Male, Female and Transsexual)? | |* | | | | |

|4.3 |Disability? | |* | | | | |

|4.4 |Race or Ethnicity? | |* | | | | |

|4.5 |Religious, Spiritual belief (including other belief)? | |* | | | | |

|4.6 |Sexual Orientation? | |* | | | | |

|4.7 |Human Rights: Freedom of Information/Data Protection | |* | | | | |

|If yes is answered to any of the above items the policy/service may be considered discriminatory and requires review and further work to ensure |

|compliance with legislation. |

|TOTAL NUMBER OF ITEMS ANSWERED ‘YES’ INDICATING INDIRECT DISCRIMINATION = |

Signatures of authors / auditors: Date of signing:

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Equality Action Plan/Report

|Directorate: HR Consultancy |

|Service/Policy: Lease Car Policy |

|Responsible Manager: HR Business Consultant |

|Name of Person Developing the Action Plan: Helen Barlow |

|Consultation Group(s): JNCC, JLNC, HR Committee |

|Review Date: July 2011 |

The above service/policy has been reviewed and the following actions identified and prioritised.

All identified actions must be completed by: _________________________________________

|Action: |Lead: |Timescale: |

|Rewriting policies or procedures |H Barlow |July 2011 |

|Stopping or introducing a new policy or service |H Barlow via briefings |July 2009 |

|Improve /increased consultation |n/a | |

|A different approach to how that service is |n/a | |

|managed or delivered | | |

|Increase in partnership working |JNCC and JLNC consulted | |

|Monitoring | | |

|Training/Awareness Raising/Learning |Briefing sessions to line | |

| |Managers and staff | |

|Positive action | | |

|Reviewing supplier profiles/procurement | | |

|Arrangements | | |

|A rethink as to how things are publicised | | |

|Review date of policy/service and EIA: this | | |

|information will form part of the Governance | | |

|Performance Reviews | | |

|If risk identified, add to risk register. Complete an | | |

|Incident Form where appropriate. | | |

When completed please return this action plan to the Trust Equality and Diversity Lead; Pamela Chandler or Jane Turvey. The plan will form part of the quarterly Governance Performance Reviews.

|Signed by Responsible Manager: | |Date: | |

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Attachment 3: Launch and Implementation Plan

To be completed and attached to any document which guides practice when submitted to the appropriate committee for consideration and approval.

|Action |Who |When |How |

|Managers and staff |HR Consultancy |Prior to |Through briefings to managers and Heart Beat |

| | |ratification | |

|Present Policy to key user groups |HR Consultancy |Following |Presentation of Policy to Managers |

| | |ratification | |

|Add to Policies and Procedures intranet |Wendy Stock |Following |As per Gatekeeper process. |

|page / document management system. | |ratification | |

|Offer awareness training / incorporate |HR COnsultancy |Following | |

|within existing training programmes | |ratification | |

|Circulation of document(paper) |HR Consultancy |Following |Not Applicable |

| | |ratification | |

|Circulation of document(electronic) |HR Consultancy |Following |Via link to Microsoft SharePoint. Through |

| | |ratification |Comm’s bulletin |

Dissemination Record - to be used once document is approved

(This dissemination record is not mandatory)

|Date put on register / library of | |Date due to be reviewed | |

|procedural documents | | | |

|Disseminated to: (either directly|Format (i.e. paper or|Date Disseminated |No. of Copies |Contact Details / Comments |

|or via meetings, etc) |electronic) | |Sent | |

| | | | | |

| | | | | |

| | | | | |

Acknowledgement: University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust.

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