News – Page 29
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Vigilance needed when vetting overseas driving licences
Employers should carefully check the driving licences of foreign staff who are eligible for company cars in the UK or they may risk prosecution if these are subsequently found to be invalid.Many foreign drivers are thought to be on the roads illegally because employers have no robust procedures to check ...
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JVC switches to green cars
JVC has changed its contract hire provider to encourage more of its 120 fleet drivers to use environmentally-friendly cars.Its new provider, Tuskerdirect, offers cars that emit no more than 169g of carbon dioxide per kilometre, which meets the requirements of the electronic firm's environmental policy. An online tool enables JVC's ...
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Corporate Manslaughter Act is ""missed opportunity""
The Corporate Manslaughter and Homicide Bill was awaiting Royal Assent to become an Act as Employee Benefits went to press. David Urpeth, partner at solicitors firm Irwin Mitchell, said the government had "missed an opportunity" by not including individual liability for senior managers. Instead, organisations will be fined if the ...
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Small cars safer to park
Medium and large-sized company cars are 300% more likely to be involved in accidents while trying to park than smaller cars.Just 6% of executive cars have been involved in parking incidents over the past 12 months according to the Parking damage survey by fleet management firm Masterlease. The average cost ...
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Environmental issues impact on fleet policy
Environmental issues are having an impact on employers' company car policies. Just under a quarter (22%) have adopted a green transport policy, while a further 40% encourage staff to car share. More than a quarter (27%), meanwhile, have restricted drivers' choices to lower consumption diesel engines, according to the Company ...
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Grosvenor launches online risk management system
Grosvenor Contract Leasing has launched an online fleet risk-management system.Its web-based Go4 product, which is aimed at fleet managers and drivers that are permitted to choose their own vehicles, includes a licence-checking facility and reminder service of when an employee's road tax and insurance is due. It costs between £2.50 ...
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Amaps under review following Budget
Authorised Mileage Allowance Payments (Amaps) are to be reviewed following the Budget. However, the Chancellor made few other announcements in relation to cars save for changes to vehicle excise duty and fuel duty.Background documentation on the Budget revealed that the Treasury is to look at changing the structure of Amaps ...
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Green focus on budget?
Under the government’s draft Climate Change Bill, which was unveiled yesterday, employers will have to take measures to reduce their carbon footprint. But the issue is unlikely to top the agenda in next Wednesday's Budget announcement, say benefits experts.Nevertheless, they think Gordon Brown will tinker with the level of tax ...
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Budget predicted to tax staff car parking spaces
Current tax breaks on employee car parking spaces could be removed in this year's Budget on 21 March.Car parking is currently a tax-free benefit, but tax experts have predicted that it could soon be taxed as a benefit in kind.By taxing employees who park at work the government could actively ...
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Employers must ensure they use new fuel rates
Employers should ensure that they are now using the new advisory fuel rates, which came into effect on 1 March.These apply where employers reimburse employees for business travel in their company cars or where staff repay the cost of fuel used for private travel.The rates now range from 6p per ...
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Employees split over caring for company cars
Almost a quarter of employees (24%) believe that the financial risk associated with switching to a personal vehicle would be the worst thing about losing their right to a company car.According to Risk and reward 2007 by fleet provider Alphabet, a further 20% felt that the hassle of maintaining their ...
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Cost control is key for smaller fleets
The most popular question asked by managers of small company car fleets of leasing brokers is how to reduce running costs, according to 89% of brokers surveyed on the issue by the Network Broker Forum. At the other end of the scale, just 11% of brokers said they perceived small ...
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Employee Benefits Fleet Research 2007
The surveyAttitudesWhat’s on offerHealth & safetySponsor’s comment by Masterlease: Grass roots data is catalyst for fleetsThe surveyOur survey was carried out in January 2007. We received 309 replies from Employee Benefits readers and users of www.employeebenefits.co.ukWho are the respondents?KEY FINDINGS51% manage their fleet in-house.31% say cars will always be part ...
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Employee Benefits Thought Leaders: cars
Cars don’t just help employees do their job, they reinforce the psychological contract that is so important in achieving goals in both retention and productivity terms, says Richard Schooling, commercial director, AlphabetClick to download the Cars Whitepaper (0.1 MB)Sponsored by
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Employers liable for drivers caught using mobile phones
Employers could be held liable if employees are caught using a mobile phone while driving on business.Under new laws that come into effect on 27 February, the penalties for drivers who are caught using a mobile phone will increase from £30 to £60. They will also receive three points on ...
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Employers unaware of risks of personal car use on business
Many senior managers have failed to register the potential risk of employees using their own cars to make business trips.Over a third (35%) of HR and finance directors do not think that employees driving their own cars for work is a cause for concern, according to LeasePlan's Financial directors and ...
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HSA pilots green cars
Corporate healthcare provider HSA is piloting the use of green fuelled cars in its 160-strong fleet in an bid to reduce the amount of CO2 emissions.Cars such as the Honda Civic Hybrid are being tested with the intention of making green cars a long-term option for its company car drivers.Mark ...
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EC limits on CO2 emissions for cars set to boost fleet costs
New proposals by the European Commission (EC) to limit CO2 emissions for cars and vans manufactured in Europe to 130 grams per kilometre or less by 2012, could lead to higher price tags for companies purchasing fleet vehicles.The legislation, which will also affect cars that are imported to Europe for ...
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The number of driver status cars has fallen
The number of company cars that are offered to status drivers has fallen from 52% to 39% in the past year, according to the Quarterly company car trends report, by the fleet services arm of GE Commercial Finance.Factors which have risen in importance when determining how company cars are allocated ...
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Fleet users at risk on breakdowns
Company car drivers may be putting themselves in danger when they break down on a motorway, as more than half risk injury by staying with their vehicle on the hard shoulder, according to research by AA Business Services. A further third of company car drivers admitted they would remain inside ...