This morning I just happened to be driving down the freeway on a Sunday morning when I looked over and saw one of our company vehicles driving next to me! We do not work on weekends. We have a strict written policy that all employees sign stating they will not use the company vehicle for personal use. I recognized which truck it was and who the driver was. I called him, and he admitted he was driving the truck to pick up a part for his personal vehicle. He did not call me to get permission. I’m thinking this has probably happened before, perhaps on numerous occasions. I need to exercise some discipline, so that it does not happen again.
Initially I said he would have to bring back the truck and park it at my house. Then he would need to pick it up each day at my house, and then bring it back at the end of the day for a month. He lives quite a was from my house, so this would be a MAJOR inconvenience for him. He asked if I could give him another disicpline. I asked him to suggest one and I would be willing to consider it.
He texted me and said I could take $100/month for two months out of his paycheck to reimburse for gas and wear and tear on the vehicle.
I have a suspicion that this is illegal. Do any of you know?
What do you think? What would you do in this situation to discipline the employee so that he doesn’t drive the company truck off hours for personal use?
a good GPS, can’t be “accidently” turned off is the only solution if you keep letting rigs go home.
I would say a period of 1-4 weeks he has to come get it. At the end of each week I would ask him something to the effect “what have you learned”…until you get the answer you want it stays with you.
Yes this has been happening more than this time, it will keep happening. Sadly trust is violated now
Ive had this happen and its the #1 reason why ppl get fired. They are stealing from the company and increasing yoyr liability.
Get a gps… but it will still happen. But a GPS will protect you if he gets into an accident off duty.
What u proposed is best. Make it inconvenient for him to come get the vehicle for at least 30 days.
In FL it would be illegal to take money out of check as discipline.
Also consider that he may be leaving to go home early but still charge you for being on the clock. Gps may save you money in the long run if you discover that. Also have them sign a daily sheet that lists times of appts and mileage. Then compare this with gps if there is ever a doubt.
I have all my guys text me when they arrive and when they are done on each job. Of course they could be lying. I do have GPS devices in all the trucks, but they are so inconsistent! They will work for a while, and then quit tracking, and then start up again, and on and on and on.
Does anyone know of a really good GPS, that is consistent?
We pay commission and they have to pick up the truck in the morning and drop it off at the end of the day. We supply pretty much every thing there is exept pants and shoes. They just show up and do their job and go home. If they don’t like it then work somewhere else. If they start taking work vehicles home then eventually they will feel like they have more rights to it than they have and will stretch the rules. All trucks and gear stay at the shop when not in use. This would fix your problem.
The good ones arent cheap. A buddy of mine uses one that cost him almost a grand each.i cant remember the brand but ill ask him. But they keep track of EVERYTHING. When you wear seatbelt, g force turning, it might even know when ya fart in the seats its so accurate.
Thats another reason commission rules, theres no time to steal. My guys are happy as shit, they get the work done efficiently, any time wasted is their time too, so it keeps em on their feet, no extra breaks, no long lunches, work work and go home
I guess I’m the oddball here. When I worked for a company years ago they took $80 a month out of my pay to cover fuel and maintenance and told me I was allowed limited use of the company vehicle (trips to the store were ok, trips out of town were not) If they had not been willing to let me use the company truck some I would have told them to keep it at their shop for all I care. Who wants a company truck parked at your house all weekend and the boss telling you you can’t use it if you need to? Why not look at it as a little benefit to the employees? After all your company is getting the exposure by having it drive around.
Can’t comment on the legality of that but it seems to me that if it were regular use you wouldn’t be able to claim 100% business use on the vehicle. Seems like the lines would become blurry.
Concur that employees that don’t follow the rules need discipline but it could be mutually advantageous to lease the vehicles for personal use. You would get additional revenue and the vehicles would be advertising your company in places you don’t normally frequent.
My company said that by deducting the 80 bucks a month or whatever it was, they were preventing me from having to declare the company vehicle as a benefit that I would have had to pay taxes on. My understanding is that if you provide a company vehicle for commuting to and from work, or running errands, it is a taxable benefit to the employee and must be reported.
