Giving your employee a company car, that they can use outside working hours, is an interesting and highly motivating incentive that can significantly affect the choice of the job. It can also be a great way to express your gratitude towards your employee and reward them for their performance. However, it can also lead to some problems and complicated legal issues. Read our article to learn about your responsibilities as a car owner, as well as what possible dangers can be connected with giving your employee a company car.
Employer’s responsibilities
As an employer, you are a legal owner of the car and you are responsible for it. It means that you are obliged to make sure that the car is always in good condition and is driven in compliance with the law of your country. The car needs to be registered and have valid insurance. What is more, you should remember about scheduling periodic car maintenance and other inspections which are necessary in your country.
Giving your car to an employer is not only a valuable incentive but also an obligation. You never know what your employee will do with the car, so it is better to be safe than sorry. Before giving your employee keys to the company car, prepare written policies related to the use of the car inside and outside working hours. Make sure the employee reads it carefully and accepts the stipulations. Since the car is still your property, the employee should follow all your requests and recommendations.
Employee’s obligations
When you handle the company car to your employee make sure they know exactly what their responsibilities and obligations are. Prepare related policies and inform them that they need to carefully read them and agree to act accordingly. Make sure the employee has a driving license and is legally permitted to drive a car. Inform that they are obliged to follow all laws and rules of the road and are responsible for all damages and accidents they cause. Instruct them on how they should maintain the car and ask them to adhere to the routine maintenance schedule that you will prepare.
In case of an accident…
While driving a car, your employee can always participate in an accident. Having a crash in a company car can, however, be much more complicated when compared to a car crash in their own car. The first step that should be taken after the accident occurs is to determine whose fault it was. If the accident was caused by your employee, by the lack of focus and attention, standard procedures apply. It is much worse if the accident is a crime, e.g., in a case when the employee was driving under the influence. Then a post-accidental trial may even take place.
A company car plus a dedicated parking space
If your employee has already received their company car, there is one thing more that you can do to make their life even simpler. You can introduce Parkalot – a parking space booking app. The software has been made for all employers who want to develop their incentive plans. The application allows employees to book parking spots in advance. It also reduces time on commutes. Each employee can leave the car in a chosen parking spot. The users of the app can also alert parking managers on the possible inconveniences that they encountered on the parking lot directly via the app.
Giving your employee a company car is still a new trend. Although in the past it concerned mostly employees who move around a lot inside business hours, today, in many companies, a car is treated rather as a perk increasing your employee’s quality of life.
If you’d like to introduce Parkalot – our car park management app – in your company, please contact us at contact-us@parkalot.io or book an onboarding call.Start using Parkalot in an hour. Allow your colleagues to commute by car, and park on the parking spaces assigned to those who are working from home.