Job - what to do?

[Cupcake143]

I already posted a thread about the new job I got and if I should ask for a higher pay rate ($2/hourly more). Well, i haven’t asked yet but was planning to do so but for now it is fine. But, my new concern is that now they gave me a new responsibility, which includes driving to drop off documents to building departments. It won’t necessarily be every day (at least I am pretty sure I don’t think so), but I just leased a new nice luxury car this year and I don’t want to put a lot of miles on it because I already drive a lot as is. I told my boss my concern and he said he would pay 0.50 per mile and for the gas. He’s being generous about it which I appreciate, but honestly I just get tired from driving so much and even though he sai they would pay for my miles I still don’t want to go over too much. I told him that’s fine though, but just realizing how tiring it is from driving too much I don’t think I want to do that. But, now I feel like if i tell him my concern that I can’t really ask for a higher pay rate this wasn’t part of my job description to begin with, but I don’t mom that they give me new things to do. I just don’t want to do any driving. Should I say something or just suck it up and do it?

 

[StGerardMajella]

Mileage reimbursement should be based on IRS guidelines, not on some arbitrary number - assuming you are in the United States. It is not just the gas, but the wear and tear on your car. 54 cents per mile is the 2016 IRS guideline for standard mileage reimbursement. Google it.

Secondly, if this is going to be a long-term gig, you may need to speak to your car dealer and see if you can make changes to the lease arrangement so that you don’t get whacked for going way over the mileage limit due to this new mileage as part of work.

Lastly, he is not being “generous”. He is actually ripping you off if he doesn’t pay the IRS guideline of 54 cents per mile. And that guideline changes every year dependent on gas prices and other factors. You shouldn’t have to incur any out of pocket fuel or mileage expenses as part of this new responsibility.

 

[Cupcake143]

Mileage reimbursement should be based on IRS guidelines, not on some arbitrary number - assuming you are in the United States. It is not just the gas, but the wear and tear on your car. 54 cents per mile is the 2016 IRS guideline for standard mileage reimbursement. Google it.

Secondly, if this is going to be a long-term gig, you may need to speak to your car dealer and see if you can make changes to the lease arrangement so that you don’t get whacked for going way over the mileage limit due to this new mileage as part of work.

Lastly, he is not being “generous”. He is actually ripping you off if he doesn’t pay the IRS guideline of 54 cents per mile. And that guideline changes every year dependent on gas prices and other factors. You shouldn’t have to incur any out of pocket fuel or mileage expenses as part of this new responsibility.

Oh, had no idea it was 54 cents. He thought it was 25 cents per mile so he said 50 cents.

 

[underacloud]

If it is 50c per mile plus gas, that’s surely better than flat 54c per mile?

Anyway…

So you want to ask for a pay rise and decline these additional responsibilities? There aren’t too many employers who are likely to view that favourably.

 

[Sunbreak]

Actually, the IRS guideline is for what the IRS will allow you to deduct as expenses if you are not reimbursed. It does not mean the employer has to offer an employee that amount. If you are not given the full amount the IRS allows, you can deduct the difference as an expense.
In terms of not knowing that driving would be part of the job, well not every little thing is going to be described in anyone’s job description. You can tell your boss you don’t want to drive very much but this may not go over very well since you already agreed to do it.

 

[Lily_Bernans]

If it is 50c per mile plus gas, that’s surely better than flat 54c per mile?

Anyway…

So you want to ask for a pay rise and decline these additional responsibilities? There aren’t too many employers who are likely to view that favourably.

Totally agree. Usually when people ask for raise in pay, they take on or are quite willing to take on additional responsibilities…without complaint.

There are plenty of people in line waiting to fill a job without complaints.

 

[Isca]

In the UK, if you use your car for work purposes during the working day, you have to get business insurance. Normal insurance only covers you for your journey from home to work and the return trip home. Is it the same in the USA?

 

[ChurchSoldier]

I drive a few hundred miles a week for work. We are reimbursed .46 a mile. Company doesn’t care about the IRS limit.

Sounds like to OP is just learning the way the business world works. A business mentor of mine used to say “if you want more money, make yourself more valuable”. Generally that includes helping the employer get done more of what they need done.

Pax

 

[StGerardMajella]

Actually, the IRS guideline is for what the IRS will allow you to deduct as expenses if you are not reimbursed. It does not mean the employer has to offer an employee that amount. If you are not given the full amount the IRS allows, you can deduct the difference as an expense.

54 cents is the standard. Everything in business is negotiable. The calculation includes gas, wear and tear on the car, cost of insurance, etc. It’s a guideline, not a law.

I drive a few hundred miles a week for work. We are reimbursed .46 a mile. Company doesn’t care about the IRS limit.

Anything less than the IRS limit is gouging and would lead one to believe the employer is less than fair and honest. The fact that the employer offered 50 cents implies that the boss knows the IRS limit of 54 cents and was trying to get away with offering less than the IRS limit to take advantage of the employee’s naivete.

Actually, the IRS guideline is for what the IRS will allow you to deduct as expenses if you are not reimbursed. It does not mean the employer has to offer an employee that amount. If you are not given the full amount the IRS allows, you can deduct the difference as an expense.

Yeah, that’s a real pain in the neck for the employee to have to wait until tax time to get reimbursed. What a nightmare, especially for someone that has a limited budget. She should just ask for 54 cents and call it a day, and then keep a really good mileage log for record-keeping purposes.

There are plenty of people in line waiting to fill a job without complaints.

It’s not a “complaint” to ask for what is reasonable. Yes, a lot of people will work for a lousy employer that gouges their employees. That doesn’t mean that the original poster has to settle for less than a reasonable request. These kind of miscellaneous expenses should not be carried on the back of the employee.

Value works both ways. It’s a negotiation, not a one way street.

 

[ChurchSoldier]

Anything less than the IRS limit is gouging and would lead one to believe the employer is less than fair and honest. The fact that the employer offered 50 cents implies that the boss knows the IRS limit of 54 cents and was trying to get away with offering less than the IRS limit to take advantage of the employee’s naïveté

Not naive, just corporate greed.

 

[Neofight]

Mileage reimbursement should be based on IRS guidelines, not on some arbitrary number - assuming you are in the United States. It is not just the gas, but the wear and tear on your car. 54 cents per mile is the 2016 IRS guideline for standard mileage reimbursement. Google it.

Secondly, if this is going to be a long-term gig, you may need to speak to your car dealer and see if you can make changes to the lease arrangement so that you don’t get whacked for going way over the mileage limit due to this new mileage as part of work.

Lastly, he is not being “generous”. He is actually ripping you off if he doesn’t pay the IRS guideline of 54 cents per mile. And that guideline changes every year dependent on gas prices and other factors. You shouldn’t have to incur any out of pocket fuel or mileage expenses as part of this new responsibility.

Whoa…slow down…Your employer is under no obligation to reimburse part or all of the IRS deductible rate. If he reimburses .54 cents a mile fine, if he reimburses .50 a mile, than you can deduct the additional 4 cents a mile, and if he reimburses nothing, you can deduct the entire .54 cents a mile on your taxes.

As another poster stated, it is a pain in the neck, but the burden of preparing, paying, and keeping records for personal taxes is the individual’s, not his employer’s.

Sometimes life just isn’t (or doesn’t seem) fair!

 

[pensmama87]

Not to be harsh, OP, but I don’t understand why on earth, given your past threads, you would be leasing a new luxury car. Based on your recent wage thread, I’m surprised you can afford it.

It’s very nice for companies to reimburse for mileage and everywhere I have worked they have done so at the standard rate (except public schools, where I tracked myself and for materials not provided by the school). 50 cents plus gas is IMO pretty good, considering the flat IRS standard of 54 cents.

 

[Cupcake143]

Not to be harsh, OP, but I don’t understand why on earth, given your past threads, you would be leasing a new luxury car. Based on your recent wage thread, I’m surprised you can afford it.

It’s very nice for companies to reimburse for mileage and everywhere I have worked they have done so at the standard rate (except public schools, where I tracked myself and for materials not provided by the school). 50 cents plus gas is IMO pretty good, considering the flat IRS standard of 54 cents.

Well, I still live at home with my parents, so I don’t have many other bills to pay. Plus, I got a good deal on it and it’s not too expensive. I had a temp job in September that paid more than I am getting now and it allowed me to save up money and now that I’m working full time i definitely can afford paying it, but so the money isn’t necessarily an issue. I just would like what I was making at my last temp position. The issue with this new responsibility is not about the money for miles or gas, but more about the wear/tear on the new car, too much driving makes me tired, etc. but I just don’t know how I would tell them this because I don’t think my boss would be happy about it. And i definitely would have to put off asking for a raise any time soon unless I took on other stuff without driving which I’m fine with.

 

[StGerardMajella]

The issue with this new responsibility is not about the money for miles or gas, but more about the wear/tear on the new car, too much driving makes me tired, etc.

What kind of documents do you have to pick up exactly? Why doesn’t each building just scan and e-mail the documents to you or upload to a web site?

Scanners are cheap, and most offices are going digital and paperless. Who drives around anymore to pick up hard copies anyways? Even checks can be scanned and deposited via remote scanning devices. Can’t this task be quite easily digitized via electronic means?

Whoa…slow down…Your employer is under no obligation to reimburse part or all of the IRS deductible rate.

And the employee is under no obligation to be gouged by a cheap employer.

If my manager asked me to use my own car with no reimbursement whatsoever, or at a reimbursement far below the IRS guideline, I would report them to Human Resources and promptly start looking for another employer.

Most reputable companies reimburse at the IRS guideline rate. Employees shouldn’t have to wear down their cars and run up gas bills and repair bills because an employer is too cheap to reimburse a legitimate expense.

At an offer of 50 cents reimbursement, I would ask the manager to bump it to 54 cents to meet the IRS guideline and call it a day, to be revisited every year when the IRS guidelines are changed to reflect current gas prices, etc. Or, I would ask the employer if there is any way to make the task more efficient, such as digitizing documents.

Few lower income employees could afford to pay the gas and repair costs for using their own vehicle for work purposes if the mileage is substantial. Few could then wait a full year until tax time to get reimbursed.

 

[Anglewannabe]

I just would like what I was making at my last temp position. .

The reason temp positions pay so much more is because they know it is hard to find people for a short time gig. An employer who is offering the security of continuous employment rarely pays as much as a contract position with the same duites

Honestly, just because you take on more work does not mean a pay increase. If you take on easier work, they will think they are overpaying you. Also, a lot of employers know there is a learning curve. Very often they will offer a rate to attract an employee knowing that for the first few months they are overpaying while the employee is learning. Once the employee is up to speed, they will increase the responsibilities (NOT the pay rate ) thinking finally, I am getting my moneys worth.

Honestly, I think there is much you need to learn. The way to earn more money is not by asking. It is by researching what jobs pay more and then acquiring the skills to do those jobs (usually through school). And it is DEFINETLY a big no no to say yes to something only to change your mind after without a good reason. No employer will see ‘driving makes me tired’ as a good reason. Unless you can get a medical certificate for a rare condition that means you can’t drive telling your employer it is making you tired at best will make him buy you a coffee for the road

 

[Neofight]

And the employee is under no obligation to be gouged by a cheap employer.

If my manager asked me to use my own car with no reimbursement whatsoever, or at a reimbursement far below the IRS guideline, I would report them to Human Resources and promptly start looking for another employer.

Couldn’t agree more, there is no obligation, and if unhappy with any employer one should terminate the relationship immediately. But “gouge”? Hardly. Just as the employee has no obligation to work for anyone, no employer has any obligation to give credits toward a tax deduction.

This is not a matter of “reimbursement”. Employers reimburse expenses, not tax deductions or credits.

Report the employer to HR for what? There is no wrong doing.

And if I were the employer, and the employee didn’t understand these things, I would promptly be looking for another employee, and wish the unhappy employee good luck on their way out the door.

 

[heidi_storage]

The reason temp positions pay so much more is because they know it is hard to find people for a short time gig. An employer who is offering the security of continuous employment rarely pays as much as a contract position with the same duites

Honestly, just because you take on more work does not mean a pay increase. If you take on easier work, they will think they are overpaying you. Also, a lot of employers know there is a learning curve. Very often they will offer a rate to attract an employee knowing that for the first few months they are overpaying while the employee is learning. Once the employee is up to speed, they will increase the responsibilities (NOT the pay rate ) thinking finally, I am getting my moneys worth.

Honestly, I think there is much you need to learn. The way to earn more money is not by asking. It is by researching what jobs pay more and then acquiring the skills to do those jobs (usually through school). And it is DEFINETLY a big no no to say yes to something only to change your mind after without a good reason. No employer will see ‘driving makes me tired’ as a good reason. Unless you can get a medical certificate for a rare condition that means you can’t drive telling your employer it is making you tired at best will make him buy you a coffee for the road

Good advice. Also, Cupcake, please note: Just because you have enough money for now does not mean that you should be throwing it around. You need to start saving for retirement, for your own place, your own bills. You don’t know how long you’ll be able to live at home. You don’t know when you might lose this job. You don’t know whether you’ll get seriously sick or not. And employers are not going to care what you want, what you need; they’re (quite properly) thinking in terms of value to their company.

In your past threads, you have demonstrated immaturity in your relations with men, inability to handle toxic “friends”, and flightiness in not sticking with a job more than 2 and a half days. I think you need help in figuring out what it means to be an adult, and the sooner you do so, the better.

 

[pensmama87]

Good advice. Also, Cupcake, please note: Just because you have enough money for now does not mean that you should be throwing it around. You need to start saving for retirement, for your own place, your own bills. You don’t know how long you’ll be able to live at home. You don’t know when you might lose this job. You don’t know whether you’ll get seriously sick or not. And employers are not going to care what you want, what you need; they’re (quite properly) thinking in terms of value to their company.

In your past threads, you have demonstrated immaturity in your relations with men, inability to handle toxic “friends”, and flightiness in not sticking with a job more than 2 and a half days. I think you need help in figuring out what it means to be an adult, and the sooner you do so, the better.

Very sound advice.

I’d borrow a few personal finance books from the library and look around for a Financial Peace University going on near you.

 

[StGerardMajella]

This is not a matter of “reimbursement”. Employers reimburse expenses, not tax deductions or credits.

Yes, it is very much a matter of reimbursement of legitimate expenses. It is quite normal for an employer to reimburse an employee for driving expenses incurred as part of the normal course of business. Salespeople that are on the road, for example, are typically using their own cars to drive to client appointments, and are - in most cases - reimbursed this business expense based on the IRS guidelines.

In fact, at most companies, the employee has to diligently record their mileage and submit an expense report to get reimbursed for these expenses. This is normal business practice and not out of the ordinary by any means.

It is very unreasonable for an employer to ask an employee to use their own personal vehicle without reimbursement for the legitimate business expenses for utilizing said vehicle. This is true for repair technicians that drive to appointments, as well as salesmen that travel.

And, I am referring to employees of a company, not independent contractors paid on a commission or contractual basis.

Report the employer to HR for what? There is no wrong doing.

It is called bait-and-switch. You cannot hire an employee under false pretenses for a specific job with one set of duties, and then later ask them to incur exorbitant gas and mileage expenses using their own personal vehicle for business purposes.

This is called taken advantage of others. Not only is it unethical and immoral, but it is also bad business and potentially a legal matter.

 

[PolarGuy]

Some ruminations-

1. Job duties change all the time (unless you’re unionized and I’m pretty sure that isn’t the case here).
2. OP, it seems like part of the issue is that you say “OK” to something then want to change your mind later. Part of being a good employee (and earning pay raises!),is the art of saying no, or at least “perhaps I could try it and see how it goes?” Rather than say yes then want to change your mind.
3. I think it’s going way overboard to accuse the employer of all sorts of illegal tactics. There’s no suggestion of that: if the employer was going to gouge the employee, he’d just pay her nothing extra. Further, all sorts of business relationships require hand delivery where scanning and email won’t do; many transactions require an original blue ink signature, for example, or where a fax isn’t good enough, so the fact that driving is needed is not that unusual.
4. Lastly: no one living with their parents and making $14/hour has any business leasing a luxury car. That’s foolish, I mean REALLY foolish, and displays serous immaturity. Sorry.