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February 08, 2008
CAR HIRE: NAPO ADVICE
There is no agreement that Napo members will fill the tank up at their own expense and you should not need to anyway as it's a full tank which is likely to cover most journeys.
Members cannot be compelled to fill the tank after usage. Aside from the compulsion issue, you may not be able to afford it and the current 'finance expectation' seems to be based on the assumption that everyone has disposable income all the time and can happily wait over a month before being reimbursed through expenses. And what are those who cannot afford it suppose to do? Plead hardship? Submit to means testing? Apply to the Edridge Fund? It really is an amazing assumption that members are expected to bear the cost. Ironically you are expected to fill the tank, but if you need lunch, for example, during your prison visit, you won’t get any subsistence!
This passing of the burden to staff may make for easy administration, but it's unreasonable to do this at the expense of members. It is for HPA to devise a system that does not place yet another demand on members. And there are other ways.
Napo has made its position clear on this in past formal meeting with HPA.
The car is required to arrive with a full tank; make your journey and return the car. If Finance wants you to fill the tank get the money in advance from petty cash, but do not feel obligated to fill the tank at your own expense. And if any member feels institutional pressures to do so, please let Napo know straightaway. If HPA want to stop you using hire cars because you cannot refill the tank, then let them provide taxis instead. But do not feel compelled to fill the tank at your own expense as, in our view, HPA are acting unreasonably. They never agreed their guidelines with the Unions and remember: they are only ‘guidelines’, they are not legal tenets. Next time you get a note from Finance, to save time, 'cut and paste' this advice back to the sender.
Posted by Hampshire at February 8, 2008 08:39 PM