- Conference
- 2024 National Health Care Service Group Conference
- Date
- 6 December 2023
- Decision
- Carried
Conference notes that many healthcare employers rely on staff delivering services using their own vehicles for transport – this is known as the use of the “grey fleet”. The use of personal vehicles is in most cases reimbursed by mileage payments, generally paid on a per-mile basis. Levels for “approved mileage allowance payments” are set by HMRC and were last updated in 2011 and start at 45p per mile. NHS terms and conditions set slightly different rates for directly employed NHS staff, starting at 56p per mile, and last updated in 2014.
Conference notes that costs of motoring have risen in the decade since the HMRC and NHS mileage rates were last adjusted, and over 2022-2023 sharply rising fuel prices meant the costs of driving for work significantly outstripped the mileage payment reimbursement. Research conducted by UNISON and the RAC Foundation estimated that the real cost of motoring approaches 65p per mile, and the “mileage gap” between what workers can claim back and the true cost of motoring is up to £6,000 a year – a burden often borne by some of UNISON’s lowest paid members.
Conference believes that it is fundamentally unacceptable for members to be forced to subsidise the delivery of a service with their petrol money and car payments when the responsibility for service delivery rightly falls to their employers. A new NHS travel reimbursement scheme is long overdue, which should be accurate, flexible and cover the contexts in which it will be used.
Conference believes that such a settlement may be challenging to secure given the high costs it poses to employers and the government, but that these costs exist and are currently being borne by our members and those least able to afford them. Currently, where some employers may have acted, others continue to shift this burden onto staff – a burden that should not be down to discretion. All routes to a new settlement for mileage payments should be explored by the union.
Conference also notes the vital importance of addressing the climate crisis, and the central challenge to decarbonisation posed by transportation emissions.
Conference believes that this challenge can be and must be addressed in the design of a new NHS travel reimbursement scheme. Part of this may involve incorporating the costs of carbon emissions into mileage rates, creating a financial incentive for employers to consider the carbon emissions of the services staff are tasked to deliver and any associated travel.
Conference also believes that a “green fleet” of pool vehicles may in many cases be a viable alternative to the extensive use of the “grey fleet”.
Therefore, Conference calls on the Health Service Group Executive to:
1. Call for a new NHS travel reimbursement scheme for healthcare staff which:
a) should more accurately cover the costs of motoring.
b) should be flexible enough to cover short to medium term spikes in the cost of motoring, such as acute fuel price rises.
c) should take a consistent approach in reflecting the full range of different contexts it may apply to, and in particular consider the needs of staff working in rural areas who are tasked with delivering services involving thousands of miles of motoring.
d) should encourage public sector employers to decarbonise the transport options used in the delivery of services on a timescale in line with the climate crisis, and discourage employers from relying on the grey fleet.
2. Engage fully with any negotiations with the UK government, devolved administrations, NHS employers, and non-NHS employers where relevant, to secure a new NHS travel reimbursement scheme that reflects the principles above.
3. Explore options and policy levers to encourage healthcare employers to provide a “green fleet” of pool vehicles as an alternative to the use of the grey fleet.