Employee use of vehicles

Summary

A request was made regarding the number of government vehicles taken home by employees and the rules surrounding their use, fuel costs, and start times. Although the Department of Infrastructure initially stated the information was not held, they provided a detailed breakdown of policies and vehicle counts for each division under a 'Business as Usual' response.

Key Facts

• Transport Services generally do not allow vehicles to be taken home except in exceptional circumstances with prior permission.
• Fleet Shared Services allows one van to be taken home by exception for on-call duties.
• Ports division has two Coastguard officers regularly taking vehicles home for 24-hour emergency availability.
• Highway Services has 4 signed vehicles taken home regularly for on-call duty, with up to 6+ more for emergency weather response.
• Public Estates and Housing allows 13 vehicles to be taken home regularly, with up to 32 more for on-call duties.

Data Disclosed

• 1 van
• 2 full-time Coastguard duty officers
• 2 occasions per year
• 1 vehicle
• 4 signed vehicles
• 6+ vehicles
• 13 vehicles
• 32 vehicles
• 2018-02-07
• 2018-03-09
• IM120025I

Original Request

My request is regarding Isle of Man government department sign written works vehicles. How many sign written works vehicles are taken home by employees each night? Do these employees have to be on site when they start work or do they have to be in their work vehicle when work starts? Are they allowed to use work vehicles out of work hours for other business or personal use? If they are driving from their place of work to their home address do they have to contribute to the cost of fuel for the work vehicle?

Data Tables (1)

Full Response Text

Department of Infrastructure Sea Terminal Building, Douglas, Isle of Man, IM1 2RF

FOI Reference No: IM120025I Request Under The Freedom Of Information Act 2015 (“The Act”)

Thank you for your request dated 7 February 2018.

Your request (sic)

My request is regarding Isle of Man government department sign written works vehicles.

1. How many sign written works vehicles are taken home by employees each night?

2. Do these employees have to be on site when they start work or do they have to be in their work vehicle when work starts?

3. Are they allowed to use work vehicles out of work hours for other business or personal use?

4. If they are driving from their place of work to their home address do they have to contribute to the cost of fuel for the work vehicle?

Response to your request

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the public authority does not hold or cannot, after taking reasonable steps to do so, find the information that you have requested, however in order to be open and transparent we are happy on this occasion to answer this request under Business as Usual. The Department of Infrastructure has a number of Divisions; therefore each answer is shown below;

Transport Services as a whole (excluding Fleet Shared Services section): 1. Transport Services vehicles are not taken home unless, in exceptional circumstances, when prior permission has been obtained from the Accounting Officer and mileage is paid 2. Work starts on site. 3. No, as vehicles are not taken home. 4. Only when exceptional permission has been granted.

Fleet Shared Services: 1. One van by exception for on-call duties. 2. As this only applies to employees who are on call out of hours, the employees are ‘at work’ as soon as they receive a call. 3. No. 4. No, as they are on call.

Ports: 1. Two full-time Coastguard duty officers regularly take a works vehicle home. The nature of Coastguard work is emergency-services related, as such the vehicles need to be available to these employees on a 24 hour basis. There are approximately two occasions per year where harbour keepers will take a works vehicle home to later attend a harbour out of their normal working hours. This would be for the operation of a swing bridge or for attending the unloading of an oil/gas tanker.
2. For an emergency call out, work starts once the employee is in the vehicle. For a planned operational event such as a tanker, the employee starts work once they arrive at the harbour. 3. Employees are not permitted to use the vehicles for purposes not directly related to their role. 4. Employees do not contribute to the cost of fuel as works vehicles are taken home for operational reasons

Strategy, Policy and Performance
1. 1 vehicle is taken to the nearest depot, to accommodate operational needs to provide an efficient and cost effective service 2. Start on site 3. No 4. No as it is classed for work purposes

Highway Services
1. 4 signed vehicles are taken home on a regular basis as part of the on call duty rota to facilitate quick reaction times, these locations will change weekly.
6+ vehicles can be taken home as part of an emergency response, to ensure that staff area able to react to an adverse weather event when forecast. Very occasionally with the manager’s permission, vehicles can be taken home or to the nearest depot, to accommodate operational needs to provide an efficient and cost effective service. 2. If responding to a callout as part of the on call duty, time will start as soon as the officer is in the vehicle; otherwise they have to start on site. 3. Two Sections of the Division do not allow the vehicles to be used for other or personal business use. Two Sections allow limited used if it aids/maintains the response times for a call out. 4. No as it is classed for work purposes.

Highways Services have a Divisional Policy on taking vehicles home and this can be found in Appendix 1.

Public Estates and Housing

1. 13 vehicles are taken home or to their nearest depot as they start work on site. Up to 32 vehicles could be taken home or to the nearest depot as they are on call.
2. If responding to a callout as part of the on call duty, time will start as soon as the officer is in the vehicle; otherwise they have to start on site.
3. No
4. No as it is classed for work purposes Your right to request a review

If you are unhappy with this response to your Freedom of Information request, you may ask us to carry out an internal review of the response, by completing a complaint form and submitting it electronically to foi.doi@gov.im or by delivery/post to The FOI Co-ordinator, Department of Infrastructure, Sea Terminal Buildings, Douglas, IM1 2RF. An electronic version and paper version of our complaint form can be found by going to our website at www.gov.im/foireview

Your review request should explain why you are dissatisfied with this response, and should be made as soon as practicable. We will respond as soon as the review has been concluded.

If you are not satisfied with the result of the review, you then have the right to appeal to the Information Commissioner for a decision on;

1 Whether we have responded to your request for information in accordance with Part 2 of the Freedom of Information Act; or

2 Whether we are justified in refusing to give you the information requested.

In response to an application for review, the Information Commissioner may, at any time, attempt to resolve a matter by negotiation, conciliation, mediation or another form of alternative dispute resolution and will have regard to any outcome of this in making any subsequent decision. More detailed information on your rights to review is on the Information Commissioner’s website at: www.inforights.im/

Should you have any queries concerning this letter, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Further information about Freedom of Information requests can be found at https://www.gov.im/about-the-government/freedom-of-information/

Yours sincerely

Freedom of Information Response Team

APPENDIX 1

DP-00-005 Highway Services - Policy for Taking Home Department owned Commercial Vehicles.

highway services bun-troggalys ~ shirveishyn raaidey

Issue/Rev Nr Date Owner Description 1.0 27/03/2017 JR New Document 1.1 30/03/2017 BW Updated – replace Operations with Highway Services

DP-00-005 Highway Services - Policy for Taking Home Department owned Commercial Vehicles.

highway services bun-troggalys ~ shirveishyn raaidey Purpose To define circumstances and conditions under which DOI Highway Services Division employees may be permitted to take home a Department owned commercial 1 vehicle. Policy Statement
This policy applies to individual employees assigned a commercial vehicle and regularly permitted to take that vehicle home and to commercial vehicles temporarily assigned to an employee. Only vehicles listed on the DOI Highway Services Division ‘Approved Commercial Vehicle List’ 2 are covered under this policy.
Policy 1. At the discretion of the employees line manager a Department owned commercial vehicle may be taken home where the following operational circumstances exist:

a) On Call or Standby: • The vehicle is fitted out with equipment and or tools to allow the employee to undertake his duties; and • The nature of the On Call or Standby arrangement is such that a rapid response time of less than 40 minutes is required from the employee; and
• When away from home the employee is contactable by mobile phone and can access the vehicle within 10 minutes; and • The employee is formally on call or standby and being paid.

b) Mobile Working: • Where, as part of a formal mobile working arrangement, the employee starts work and picks up his/her first duties of the day upon arrival at the vehicle (This can be a short or long term arrangement but it must be formally recorded). Or • As part of an agreed depot congestion management plan.

c) Exceptions: • If none of the above operational circumstances exist one off requests to take vehicles home will be subject to appraisal by the employee’s line manager.

1. Employees taking vehicles home must adhere to the terms and conditions set out in the Isle of Man Government Drivers Handbook 2010.
2. Where possible vehicles should be parked off road or in an appropriate nearby industrial or commercial area.
3. All vehicles must be legally parked and with due consideration to neighbours. Vehicles over 2m high or 6m long or weighing over 3,500kg must be parked overnight or at weekends on a driveway or nearby off road, industrial or commercial parking areas.

1 Commercial vehicles as defined in: Value for Money guidance Notes No.3 Motor Vehicles Private Mileage Contributions issued by The Value for Money committee December 2006 Section 10.Exemptions (See Appendix A). 2 Contact line manager

DP-00-005 Highway Services - Policy for Taking Home Department owned Commercial Vehicles.

highway services bun-troggalys ~ shirveishyn raaidey 5. It is the employee’s responsibility to be aware of and adhere to any local byelaws covenants or other restrictions that may apply in their local residential area.
Approvals Employee taking vehicles home must be approved by their Manager following review of the appropriate documents, for example, on call or standby rota’s, driving licences etc. It is the Managers responsibility to audit compliance and undertake spot checks twice per year.
Responsibility All DOI Highway Services Division employees operating Departmental commercial vehicles, Managers, Supervisors, Fleet Manager, Highway Services Director.

Reference Documents Value for Money guidance Notes No.3 ‘Motor Vehicles Private Mileage Contributions’ issued by The Value for Money Committee December 2006. FG12 Use of Government Assets by Employees, Members or Third Parties. Isle of Man Government Drivers Handbook 2010. Civil service regulations C54: Home to Office Journeys. FD12 Asset Management – The Loan Sale or Use of Government Assets and Asset Registers. Road Traffic Regulations Act 1985: Road Traffic (Motor Cars) (Overnight and Weekend Waiting) Regulations 2012 (Statutory document No.0327/12).

DP-00-005 Highway Services - Policy for Taking Home Department owned Commercial Vehicles.

highway services bun-troggalys ~ shirveishyn raaidey Appendix A

Value for Money guidance Notes No.3 Motor Vehicles Private Mileage Contributions issued by The Value for Money Committee December 2006
10. Exemptions – with effect from April 2001, all commercial vehicles (vans, Lorries etc.) are exempt from the imposition of Benefit in Kind Taxation. The drivers of such vehicles should also be exempted from the payment of any contributions for private mileage where the employing department has authorised such drivers to use the vehicles for home to duty travel etc. Where it can be shown that a car or four wheel drive vehicle has been fitted out as an emergency vehicle or has to permanently carry equipment which prohibits the use of the rear seats of the vehicle, a case may be made to the Assessor of Income Tax for an exemption from the imposition of Benefit in Kind Tax and the Department should not, in such instances seek contributions for home to duty mileage. Exemptions will not be granted to employees with “sole user rights” to a vehicle who may occasionally have to transport equipment, act as a courier, transport visitors in the normal course of business, or, who because of their seniority may be considered to be on call at any time to respond to an emergency (but are not part of an emergency service). As a rule of thumb an exemption will not be granted where equipment carried in the normal course of business can swiftly be removed thereby allowing the vehicle to be used to carry passengers in the normal way.