Nurses up to £6k out of pocket due to outdated mileage rates
Posted 14 July 2023 - 11:58
District nurses effectively subsidise employers for work-related journeys as mileage rates unchanged in more than a decade fail to cover cost of fuel, report says
District nurses are potentially thousands of pounds out of pocket because of ‘woefully’ out-of-date mileage rates, new research suggests.
Community nurses and other public sector workers who need to drive for work could be losing up to £6,000 a year, as the 45p mileage allowance rate has not increased since 2011, according to research from Unison and the RAC Foundation.
Mileage allowance rates have not changed in more than a decade
Their report, Driven Out of Work, calls on HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to urgently increase the allowance to 63.4p per mile, based on increased motoring costs, petrol prices and inflation.
It says this financial ‘mileage gap’ means one in five front-line workers who need to drive as part of their jobs, such as nurses, social care and local government staff and police officers, are effectively subsidising their employers for their work-related journeys.
Staff report calling in sick as they cannot afford work-related fuel costs
Unison general secretary Christina McAnea said: ‘Mileage rates are woefully out of date. No one should pay a penalty effectively for doing their job, least of all those providing vital services.
‘Petrol prices have skyrocketed. Care workers, nurses and other front-line employees can barely make their incomes stretch to cover the basics, let alone the costs of using their vehicles for work.'
The report’s findings are based on two surveys carried out in March 2023 involving about 4,500 Unison members who use their cars for work. It says staff are using annual leave or calling in sick rather than going into work because they have run out of fuel and cannot afford to fill up their vehicles.
Some social care employees said they have had to sell their cars to cover essential payments, such as housing or energy bills, and shift to using public transport to visit the people they care for. Having to use buses and trains to get around increases travel time for staff and reduces the number of visits they can make and people they can see.
‘Essential staff shouldn’t be out of pocket for going to work’
Calling on the government to update the mileage rate, Ms McAnea added: ‘The government must tackle low pay now, not threaten to hold public sector wages down. Essential staff shouldn't be out of pocket for going to work. A failure to act now risks worsening the already dire staffing crisis.’
HMRC has been contacted for comment.
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