Am I Unreasonable?

[Blue Duck]

Twice weekly I am getting reminders from our office to get my van MOT'd its due 22/14.

My employer is "devolving" powers to the office staff who in turn don't give a monkeys and just spam me with reminders & see that as their job done.

They won't call the MOT place and arrange an appointment during working hours so I have to squeeze it in to my already busy day or do it out of work hours which won't be practical as the van will most probably fail on a gaiter or something meaning I can't drive it anywhere other than the MOT place legaly! Oh and I'm expected to pay for it!

:C

Things are getting bad here, we feel exposed as things aren't being done by the book and we are expected to pick up the slack

 

[ProDave]

Book it of for a Monday morning.  If it fails leave it there for repair and phone your boss and tell him you need a replacement van while it's being fixed.

 

[Steve3948]

Maybe give and take, are you allowed and insured to use your van for private use, in other words do you have free transport.

If yes then a little give and getting the van slotted in for the test after work or on the weekend is not a lot to ask, after all if you are not working you are not earning. However if the van is kept at the yard and used just during works hours then do as Dave said.

 

[Sharpend]

Company van, company problem simple as?

 

[Andy™]

if it still has a valid MOT, then you can drive it even if it fails, unless its something dangerous

 

[binky]

I get my guys to halp me out with stuff like that, after all they can drive around at weekends on my diesel, which isn't a bad little perk, if their own car needs work doing or had broken down, or even doesn't exist, and it's not like they had to a buy a vehicle to get to work even. I do pay for the MOT etc - it's all business tax deductable. Its all about a bit of 'give and take'. Anything that stops me getting quotes out effects their ability to earn money!

 

[NozSpark]

I'd book it in for a Saturday... If it fails then it fails... It's up to the co. to get it fixed.

The co. should pay for it though, but if that's by you claiming it as an expense or them paying directly is for you to sort out...

 

[Blue Duck]

We have so many problems with these vans it's not even funny!

It's always left to us to sort it out, I'm always fixing odd bits here and there, changing batteries bulbs etc.

Our employer has no mechanical sympathy therefore doesn't understand the need to service and maintain them properly. Mines at just over 130k And there's no intention of getting new ones.

I do have the use of the van at weekends but the van is safer parked outside my home rather than the office where it will be attacked by chavs with screwdriver's.

weekends for me are family time and I'm not putting the wee man in the back. :lol:

I stood my ground and it's booked for a service and an MOT next Friday thanks to Mr Teflon in the office.

I feel I do a lot for my employer and get little in return so felt this was going a bit too far.

Thanks for your input guys

 

[Evans Electric]

I think you did the right thing there Ducky .

Must admit , in this day & age , a little give & take does help  but if you were MOTing the van , it should be in your normal working day .   

I did it when I was last employed ,  office was 25 miles away in Stourbridge , mine was the only van operating in B,ham , so tyres , MOT  etc I just sorted BUT in works time.

 

[Blue Duck]

Thanks deke.

I would he a bit more forthcoming if there was some kind of recognition for the extra work we do.

Two of us wernt even given the time off to go to the Xmas party last year!

Sometimes I feel like a passenger on the concordia with the captain at the helm showboating us into the rocks!

:lol:

 

[binky]

sounds like a crap employer. I arrange work so that my guys can pair up that day and after dropping van off they have transport to and from garage

 

[Blue Duck]

I have to walk :lol: or get the bus back to the office to pick up an even shittier van and hope that it works and I won't get a puncture as it won't have a spare wheel!

It's just the simple things really like thinking ahead! : headbang

Crap indeed.

I need to get out and do a real job :lol: There maybe some work for the council but I don't know if I can hack social housing anymore.

 

[binky]

hmmm social housing, I wouldn't :slap

 

[Blue Duck]

You telling me that if Chris Hune hadn't funked everything thing up you wouldn't be on the roofs of council blocks getting rid of the cannabis plants and putting in pv!

Most of the time it's okay it's the spoon fed scammers that really send me up the wall.

 

[binky]

Hmm no PV is a bit different, the tennants would want it, but I wouldn't be keen  - prices too low, workmanship shoddy as a result, would mean compromising decent standards, as is currently happening around Plymouth.

 

[Evans Electric]

Your employer sounds carp TBH  Mate . 

Doesn't he know that a duck of your calibre should have a proper van to travel in . ?

AND if ever the van is found to be unsafe , whoever is responsible for H&S  there will take it in the neck .    Driver's duty to report that stuff & Mr H&S to get it sorted ,  as was part of my remit when trying to do supervising , quoting & H&S .

(A side issue to that was  I had to get rid of a subbie who went to the pub every dinner break  ( "Thats my business where I have my dinner ")   Trouble was he was pli$$ed in the afternoons, making mistakes  and a danger to others. )

 

[Blue Duck]

Binky, what I was thinking of was when the council's went mad for pv and wanted it on every building possible. There would be more money in that than council tennants :lol: allthough they all seem to drive M5's and S5's and the occasional X6.

Yes the vans are a bit dangerous. I keep an eye on 2 of them and push for things to get sorted but it's an uphill struggle, the other 2 are ready for the scrapheap but fortunately no one drives them on a daily basis.

Elf n safety? That's the poster that fell off the wall about 2 years ago? We do good things in social care we do not need this helf n safety you speak of :lol:

 

[binky]

Councils are still doing a lot of PV work on commercial property - that does interest me.