Barbara Murray Art

Today was meant to be the start of a whole new positive set of blog posts.

Only yesterday turned out to be the day from hell and I am struggling to muster any feelings of positivity today. So instead of dwelling on how I am feeling, let’s have a discussion about company cars.

When I first started work at my current place, all the managers had cars as part of their salary package. Granted, in those days, money was freer and people didn’t have to justify spending nearly so much. Those cars came with fuel cards, so the managers didn’t have to pay anything towards their cars – all was taken care of; servicing, repair, fuel, tax, etc….

government legislation changed a while back, making company cars taxable, so now it wasn’t quite the perk it had always been, although still worth having. After all, the cost of a new car can be about £16000, so quite an outlay to make without company help. So when my manager retired and I was promoted to his position, you’d kind of expect that I would get the car too. Not so.

I was told that company cars were no longer being given to managers as part of their standard package and I was bunged a couple of hundred quid extra in my salary to compensate. Ok, I wasn’t ecstatic with that, but it was a company rule so I accepted it and got with doing what I do.

A few of my colleagues turned up from time to time with lovely new cars, but I was told they were their own cars, so no problem.

This year, the top guy changed. We got someone new in charge and he had a bit of a reshuffle as new people do. He hired two new managers and they arrived all guns blazing accompanied by a shiny salary package that included a car. I questioned this – wasn’t the company policy that nobody new was going to receive a car?

Apparently not.As it turns out, the other managers have always had cars – a perk that has somehow been kept from me for many years.

So for the last few months, I have been in a lengthy debate about this issue. If I’m doing the same level of job as these other people, why then do I not get the same package? Am I too compliant? Too easily accepting of what I’m told? Why am I having to fight for something that seems to have fallen into the laps of my colleagues? I’m told I do a good job, so why then have I never been rewarded in the same way as others?

Not pleased….