UNISON
Out-of-date mileage rates are driving workers into poverty
Out-of-date mileage rates are leaving frontline workers out of pocket , with some of the lowestpaid workers losing up to £ 6,000 a year , UNISON can reveal .
Using UNISON data , the RAC Foundation , a transport policy and research organisation , has calculated that approved mileage allowance payments ( AMAPs ) should be 63.4p per mile , a significant increase on the existing HMRC rate of 45p , which has not been updated since 2011 .
The ‘ mileage gap ’ – the difference between what workers can claim back and what the RAC Foundation calculates the costs are – is costing NHS , social care , police and local government employees up to £ 6,000 a year .
Working in social care is stressful enough as it is
One in five UNISON members use a car for work . The majority of these are social care and local government workers in community-facing roles who drive to visit clients or patients in their homes , or to check that vulnerable residents or children are safe . The median salary of a public service worker required to drive for work is £ 22,499 .
UNISON member Adya is a social worker in Birmingham who has a one-year-old child . She says : ‘ I am having to deny myself a lot of things to ensure I can drive into work , visit clients and make a difference . Sometimes I ’ ll go to bed having eaten just a yoghurt , because I need to make sure my child has the best I can afford of everything .
‘ Working as a social worker is stressful enough as it is , without having to check my fuel every morning before I leave , hoping and praying I can afford that day ’ s visits . It is leaving me with sleepless nights .’
Adya is one of many . According to UNISON data , more than two in five UNISON members who use their car for work are skipping meals and one in five are avoiding cooking hot food , in order to cut down on living costs .
Outside of the main HMRC rates , alternative benchmarks exist for public service workers within their collective pay agreement terms and conditions , and across NJC and NHS Agenda for Change terms . In Scotland , local government rates are set by each local authority .
For NHS staff on Agenda for Change terms , mileage is paid at 59p per mile for the first 3,500 miles and 24p per mile over 3,500 miles .
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12 OTnews September 2023