Great controversies arise regarding the use of business vehicles. The terms “I can use the company car” or “my boss lets me have his car” encompass various risks, which can lead to problems and legal disputes.
Today, we must keep in mind and be able to distinguish when the vehicle is for the exclusive use of the company, and when, on the contrary, it is for work and personal use for the employee.
Recently and with new advances, it is very common for most companies to reward their employees in kind with so-called “renting vehicles”.
Renting consists of a long-term rental in exchange for a monthly fee, based on the time and mileage determined between the parties.
Several companies agree to this type of contract, allowing the employee to use and enjoy the vehicle to work in the company, but at the same time, the privilege of using and enjoying the vehicle for personal use is also obtained, as long as he is outside the working hours.
Taking the company vehicle is often tempting for employees, since most of the workers who have a company vehicle, use said transport at their free will, that is, they use it for personal use, when it is not that the purpose for which the company leaves the vehicle at the disposal of the employee.
This produces a series of inconveniences, such as not complying with the entire working day set forth in the contract, since between hours the employees are periodically absent from their work station with the vehicles, in order to carry out certain personal matters, such as, for example, picking up the children, errands or shopping chores, etc. In short, an inappropriate use of the business vehicle.
Recently, the Spanish justice has ruled, specifically the Superior Court of Justice, Castilla y León Social Chamber, in its Sentence No. 525/2019, Section No. 1 dated July 24, 2019, declaring the dismissal to be admissible. of a company worker, by proving the inappropriate and improper use of the business vehicle, a reason stated in the dismissal letter that the company gave the worker.
The employee used the company vehicle to perform various personal tasks, such as, for example, picking up a third person moving from their work schedule, staying in a home for a long time without being their assigned task, wandering through the streets without visiting the facilities of the mercantile, in short, a list of innumerable faults and breaches of business tasks.
Employees may not pretend to misuse and improperly use the company vehicle and succeed, without any retaliation. It is obvious and notorious that any action contrary to what is stipulated in the contract entails a series of reprisals, including in many cases the dismissal of employees.
The mistrust that this generates in companies is on the rise, since the company with total and full trust in its employee, allows and authorizes the use of the business vehicle, evidently in order to give the intended use of their job. Therefore, it is of vital importance to distinguish when a vehicle is for private use for the company or private and personal. A solution to this lack of mistrust, in addition to using geolocation devices in the vehicle, is the use of rental vehicles.
The “renting” vehicles, unlike the private company vehicles, have a legal peculiarity. Both employers and employees are fully obliged by law to regularize said rental contract. For this, employees must pay a percentage of the value of the vehicle in the Personal Income Tax. Also, and with regard to the obligations of the company, it must quote the corresponding or the proportional part in the Social Security.
This business initiative is carried out in order to allow company employees to use and enjoy the vehicle, even outside of their working hours, in exchange for a fixed monthly fee, that is, the only thing What the employee would have to worry about is paying , getting companies to have the needs of their employees satisfied, paying their salary in kind.
In conclusion, every employee who provides a service to a company must be clear about the limits of the use of the vehicle, knowing, therefore, that if it is the exclusive use and enjoyment of the company, it cannot be used for purposes other than those strictly labor. Contrary to what happens in new ways with rental vehicle contracts. Although obviously, during working hours, other personal tasks cannot be performed with the vehicle
