Submitted 16 hours ago by Bluegrass_Addict@lemmy.ca to [deleted]
I’m just confused on why they are forcing me to rent a car at their expense, instead of using my own car. this is the first year they said they are getting me a car.
what could be reasons why they would opt for rental instead of km/milage reimbursement?
I don’t wanna drive no automatic lol
Do they mean getting a taxi to/from the party? So you can get ham-diddly-hammered and get home? That’s what one of my companies did
no, my work is 7 hours from my residence. I drive to the office for the Christmas party.
this year, they are renting me a car instead of my driving my own car.
I would never question safe transport after a party
Will the full tank you get with the rental get you there?
Are they covering your fuel costs?
If yes, there’s your answer
Not really rated but out of curiosity, can you not train or fly? 7 hours of driving (assuming x2 for there and back) seems like a lot for an office party
They could have deals with rental companies that make the rental cheaper to them. It could be a way to save money as people won’t bother with the rental and since it’s violating company procedure, they don’t have to pay mileage reimbursement. It could be a way to funnel money to a rental company rather than directly reimbursing employees.
In the US they only reimburse around $0.50/mile (last I knew from several years ago) so it’d have to be a killer deal to be cheaper for rentals than reimbursement. OP did reference kilometers, but I imagine the reimbursement rate is similar wherever you are.
Could be group rate on the lease which makes it more cost effective then paying you for 2 trips. Best to ask your manager about it.
Incompetence, perhaps…
I worked a job where they would put you up in a hotel room for the night since the job was all over the whole state. Yet I was only ever 1-2 hours from home, so I wasn’t using the hotel rooms. They got mad at me that I wasn’t using them, because it was costing them money, to which I had to ask “Why is it costing you money? You ask if I need the room, I say no, and you’re still paying for a room?”
They fired me.
My best guess is that someone at enterprise paid a lot of money to whoever made that decision.
Often “to get someone a car” means to get them a car and driver, in my experience. Maybe they’re offering to pay for a cab?
nah, this is a 7 hour drive one-way.
ain’t no cab gonna be cheaper lol personal driver would be nice though. I could play guitar the whole way
Oh if it's that long a drive, the cost of the rental and fuel is way less than the mileage reimbursement would be. I'm frankly surprised they're not flying you at that distance, unless the plane trip would include a lot of driving on the front and/or back ends.
What kind of job is this? Seems super weird.
Maybe they don’t have faith in your choice of car or diligence with keeping it presentable.
Or maybe someone is doing a nepotism.
lol, it’s a Christmas party for work. no clients will see my 2 year old car.
I just find it odd they would add complexity to the 7 hour drive with having to pickup/dropoff, potential upselling, car not available, magical damage the rental company might claim post dropoff.
vs me just driving my own car which I’ve done the last 5 years.
I can’t find and valid reason for it. I doubt it’s even cheaper. oh well…
I wonder if someone tried claiming damage to their personal car?
Did they also pick the car rental company for, assuming there is more than one option in your area? Increasingly sounds like nepotism or similar …
Theyre horny for that munnies in some way would be my guess but I have no clue lol
Surprise company trip? I’ve been in three of those.
nah, xmas party. one of the few times I run the commute into the actual office. it’s nice seeing everyone esp this time of the year
LemmyThinkAboutThat@lemmy.myserv.one 15 hours ago
Liability and insurance.
It’s easier for a company to rent a car because the contract states who is responsible for what in the unfortunate event of an accident.
Sure, you can get reimbursed for the mileage, gas, tolls and probably time but not for wear and tear when you’re using your own vehicle. If there’s an accident, who’s insurance is responsible? That becomes very complicated. I know that sounds absolutely horrible…
Over the years, mainly due to litigation, many companies have made it a company policy to not use personal vehicles for company functions.
bamboo@lemmy.blahaj.zone 14 hours ago
This seems like the right answer. Also, if there is an incident and your personal insurance is involved, you might be hit with higher premiums for years, and would have a case to have your employer to have the increase be reimbursed.
The cost of the rental car avoids a lot of bureaucratic headache on both sides that could last years if something were to happen.
LemmyThinkAboutThat@lemmy.myserv.one 14 hours ago
You are correct.
This is where a lengthy mediation comes in with both parties trying to avoid litigation. For companies, it’s almost always cheaper to settle (I speak from experience having sat at both sides of the table).
Most people don’t realize that a moving violation ticket can cost them approximately $45 or more a year for the next four years, depending on the infraction and/or state you live in.
I absolutely agree with you.
neidu3@sh.itjust.works 12 hours ago
Can confirm. I had some of the higher ups explain this exact thing to me once when I needed to drive somewhere, and it made sense from all angles to use my own (Otherwise I’d have to first drive two hours in the wrong direction to pick up the rental)
We ended up with a policy change that allowed for private cars being used with the explicit go-ahead from the line manager.
scytale@piefed.zip 13 hours ago
This is the correct answer. I once found training that was a 3 hour drive away. The company was still penny pinching so I offered to drive myself so only the hotel needs to be covered. They denied my request because of the liability problem. They HAD to be the one to shoulder travel.
justOnePersistentKbinPlease@fedia.io 13 hours ago
To add on a hypothetical:
If someone drives into you and totals their car and hurts you while you are on work business, they only worry about paying for your costs. The car is a tax writeoff to them.
If someone drives into you and totals your car and hurts you while you are on work business, they need to now worry about paying for you and your car.
LemmyThinkAboutThat@lemmy.myserv.one 12 hours ago
Hypothetically, yes but there are injuries and other factors involved. Also, who does the car belongs to?
In many states, if you (car 1) are hit from behind, it is their (car 2) fault. Fault needs to be determined to establish who is legally responsible for the financial burden for property damage, injuries, etc. **
The insurance companies will determine if a vehicle is totaled; if the total repair cost is more than the vehicle’s Actual Cash Value then the vehicle is a total loss.
Again, any collision where injuries are involved is always complicated. Fault needs to be determined in order to establish legal responsibility. ***
**There are 16 states in the US with No-Fault Insurance Laws. Drivers in these states are required to have Personal Injury Protection (PIP) on their car insurance policy which helps pay for medical costs after a vehicle accident regardless of who caused it.
***Workers’ Compensation is a type of insurance that provides salary replacement and medical benefits to employees become ill or injured because of their job. This is not my area of expertise.
I didn’t realize until now, I’m so sorry for the lengthy response.