Staff Parking Policy – Terms and Conditions
(Subject to change at any time by the Council. Revisions on the intranet)
1.How to Apply
1.1Facilities Management administer this policy. If you have any comments or questions, please email to .
1.2Individual staff members can apply by sending an email to , requesting an application form. Users who are exempt from the charges should also complete this form, but include a copy of their blue badge. Staff who need temporary parking due to ill health or pregnancy must provide a doctor’s note or letter together with an email from their line manager. A charge will be levied for the temporary parking period.
1.3A pool pass is available for those departments who wish to pay for their staff to park. The concept of the pool pass scheme is that a number of staff can park at the Civic Centre only, but this number is restricted at any time to the number of pool passes allocated to the team concerned. Please email a request to .
1.4An essential user’s pass (yellow badge), for nominated persons, is also available with 22 cordoned off spaces at the Civic Centre subject to space being available. Please email a request to .
1.5 Parking passes will be reviewed every three years.
- The Car Parking Salary Sacrifice Scheme (Managed by Payroll)
2.1 This scheme is open to all full and part time employees of the London Borough of Enfield. All queries should be directed to 020 8379 3531.
2.2 We are able to offer this scheme as a result of tax legislation. This legislation states that car parking near the normal place of work does not attract a charge to tax and NI. As a member of the scheme, you effectively pay for your car parking before tax and National Insurance (NI) is calculated and deducted. As a result your taxable pay is reduced and you pay less tax and NI. Refunds can only be given for the current tax year.
2.3 The scheme works when an employee agrees to sacrifice part of their gross pay to receive the tax-free benefit of car parking. The arrangement changes your contract of employment and employees must sign a salary sacrifice application form annually to remain in the scheme. As a member of the scheme, you will not pay VAT as salary sacrifice arrangements fall outside of the scope of VAT legislation.
3.Conditions
3.1The scheme is based on a Monday-Friday working week and does not incl. evenings, weekends and Public Holidays. The parking operates on a “first come, first served “basis and Facilities Management will limit the number of users. A parking space cannot be guaranteed. Motorbikes can park for free in a marked area within the ground floor car park. All car parks are designated “non-smoking”.
3.2 The windscreen badge issued must be clearly displayed and readable at all times. This badge denotes the site at which you usually park, your vehicle registration number and any special considerations. Failure to display a valid badge may result in your car being wheel clamped. Under the pool pass scheme, for each purchased pool pass a car-parking permit together with a windscreen disc will be issued and replaced on an annual basis.
3.3 Your authority to park under the schemes is not transferable to any other persons, at any time, be they Council employee or otherwise, unless authorised by a Facilities Manager.
3.4 Staff should not park in areas that are restricted e.g. Members, essential users, public/visitor parking, disabled bays, yellow lines, hatched areas etc at any time. (Unless authorised to do so by a Facilities Manager). Failure to comply will result in your car being wheel clamped.
3.5 Maintenance contractors who are carrying out authorised work for the London Borough of Enfield, will be allowed to park free of charge, but this must be authorised by a Facilities Manager. (This applies to contractors only, and not to temporary or agency staff).
3.6 If a member of staff within the parking scheme has regular meetings etc at another premises they can park in the premises car park for a maximum of 2 hrs only. All other staff not within the parking scheme coming to Council premises for whatever reason i.e. training courses, meetings etc, cannot park in the car parks under any circumstances. This includes the visitors pay & display car park.
3.7 It is the responsibility of the staff member to notify of any changes in circumstance, including changes in hours worked. Any request to increase the hours parked will not automatically be granted, as it will depend on space availability. Staff may withdraw from the scheme at any time, giving one month’s written notice by email to .
3.8 Any staff member who has a temporary incapacity or illness may apply for a temporary car park space on the ground floor. This will need to be authorised by a Facilities Manager. All allocations are time limited and payment will be required. This also applies to staff already in the scheme.
3.9 Staff on long-term sickness absence may withdraw from the scheme during their absence, but must re-apply to rejoin the scheme on their return to work. Alternatively the member of staff can stay in the scheme where deductions will continue to be made from their salary. If the employee’s salary should be reduced to half sick pay, a 50% reduction will be taken. Where the Council’s sick pay expires, deductions and membership will be suspended until their return to work. (Please note you will go to the bottom of the waiting list if you come out of the scheme)
3.10 A member of staff, who goes on maternity leave, may suspend their car park membership while they are on maternity leave. The membership will then be offered to the next person on the waiting list on a temporary basis and will revert back upon return to work.
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3.11 Agency staff may be in the parking scheme but cannot be in the salary sacrifice scheme. This includes Serco staff and any of their vehicles. Agency or temporary staff participating in the parking scheme, who are NOT direct employees of the Council, must pay for their car parking by Direct Debit through their bank account. Payments must be made on a monthly basis and charges include VAT. VAT invoices can be supplied upon request.
3.12 Staff in the parking scheme can apply for a parking space if their office is relocated to a new site. Allocation will depend on a space being identified. Any other relocation will not see an entitlement to a new space i.e. new job or secondment.
3.13 Any members of staff, who are participating in Car Sharing, must notify . of any changes in circumstances, i.e. when the two cars that are Car Sharing happen to be parked at the same time, on the same day.
3.14 Any staff member who leaves Council employment will be taken out of the scheme. If the same member of staff is re-employed at a later stage they will have to re-apply and go to the bottom of the waiting list.
3.15 Please note Facilities management reserve the right to demand the full or part repayment of any outstanding arrears for individuals or corporate passes held by Service Departments. Failure to pay on time may see the request for payment escalated. Arrears payments will NOT be included in the Salary Sacrifice Scheme.
3.16 Parking costs will be reviewed annually and charges can be reviewed as and when required. Notice will be given to all persons participating in the scheme and salary sacrifice/Direct Debit amounts will be amended. When parking charges are increased, employees will receive a revised salary sacrifice form, which will need to be signed and returned. Failure to return the form by the stated date will see parking access denied. Any refunds, for any reason, will only be backdated to a maximum of 12 months and must apply to the current tax year only. It is the responsibility of all scheme members to check that the correct parking charges are being deducted.
3.17 So that any member of staff who is not in the scheme can load/unload, there is an allowance to do so, for a maximum of twenty minutes in the staff (not visitors) car park. No extension may be given and anyone found to be parking over the 20 minutes, could see the vehicle in question being wheel clamped.
3.18 The Council assumes no responsibility for staff member’s property, vehicles or bikes that are left within the Council’s Car Parks, or for any damage to vehicles or bikes caused by the application or removal of a wheel clamp or wheel clamp notice.
3.19 Under the essential users scheme, each Departmental Director must submit and sign off, a revised registration list to on an annual basis. These users may also be part of the staff scheme if they wish. Essential User bays are at the Civic Centre only and are time restricted to 2 hours. Vehicles must not return within 1 hr. Failure to comply with the above will result in your car being wheel clamped.
3.20 For Health and Safety reasons, all staff who use the basement or Portcullis car park at the Civic Centre and intend to stay later than 20:00, are advised to move their vehicle to the ground floor parking area from 16:00 onwards.
4 Penalties
4.1 Facilities Management monitor all car parks for any abuse and the Council has agreed to apply a wheel clamping release fee of £100.00. This fee is payable before the car is released, by cheque, cash or debit card at the Cashiers Desk for crediting to cost code CS0006 67668. If a cost code is offered for payment, this will be checked with the Director concerned. If a vehicle has not been released after 5 working days it will be classed as abandoned & towed for crushing. The debt will be passed onto your Director.
4.2 While Facilities Management intend to be both reasonable and flexible in their application of this arrangement, where clear abuse occurs, staff vehicles will be clamped. Staff must note that should more than one vehicle e.g. second car or other car share vehicles be found within our car parks at the same time, all such vehicles will be liable to be clamped and the release fee will apply to each vehicle concerned. Reports are run and any abuse will be charged monthly to the offending person or department.
4.3 It is understood that essential users will not park for more than two hours before leaving the Civic Centre on business. Facilities will therefore monitor this and any staff member found using the essential users spaces for more than two hours, will be wheel clamped and a release fee of £100.00 charged. Any essential user who abuses the scheme will be reported to their Director. Facilities Management encourage all essential users to be part of the staff-parking scheme as spaces are limited.
4.4 Only licensed staff can authorise wheel clamping, clamping being halted or clamp removal without payment, (once clamping has been completed).
4.5 Unauthorised attempts to remove a wheel clamp will be considered in a disciplinary context. It is also a criminal offence for a person who is not licensed, to remove a wheel clamp.
4.6 Should you be wheel clamped, you can arrange for release during office hours by contacting the Facilities Helpdesk on ext. 4441. At other times, please telephone the Out of Hours Team on ext. 4445 who may need to contact an on-call Facilities Management representative to arrange a release. Facilities retain the right not to release a vehicle out of hours. If it is released, an additional call out fee will be levied on top of the release fee.
4.7 In normal circumstances, the car parking charge will be processed via your payslip as part of the Salary Sacrifice Scheme. Any penalties incurred, must be paid by cash, cheque or Debit Card at the Cashiers Desk at the Civic Centre. Payment will only be accepted Monday-Friday 09:00am –16:30 pm. Payments must be coded to cost code CS0006-67668. The receipt of payment must be presented to the Facilities Management Helpdesk. Penalties will NOT be included in the Salary Sacrifice Scheme.
4.8 Deliberate abuse of the schemes may be interpreted as fraud and could result in disciplinary action. The member of staff may be removed from the LBE staff-parking scheme and refused future entry.
4.9 Any refusal to make or abide by an agreement to repay any debt owed to the Council will be treated as gross misconduct and investigated by internal audit.
4.10 Failure to display the correct parking pass on more than 3 occasions, will see access to staff parking denied.
5.The Council’s Right to Apply Variances
5.1The Council reserves the right to refuse any application under the scheme and to withdraw or vary the authority to park under the scheme.
5.2 The needs of the Council must be considered within the allocation arrangements for Staff Car Parks. Therefore passes may be ceased, transferred or varied to meet Council priorities. Any alterations to these arrangements will be by prior written notification.
5.3 Staff within the schemes can notify the of any occasional changes to the days or times approved under the scheme. Where these changes remain exceptional or are not increasing the total number of hours authorised under the scheme, it is not the intention to make an additional charge. Where the hours are increased, additional charges will apply.
5.4 Facilities Management will limit the number of persons authorised to use each car park. However, on an exceptional basis, it may be possible that an individual is unable to find a parking space within the allocated car park due to congestion. Should this occur, the Council would not regard itself as being liable to make any sort of refund or be responsible for any payment relating to finding alternative parking.
Property Services - Facilities ManagementVersion 13 Oct 2013
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G:\DOCUMENTS\Filing System\Car Parking\Staff Car Park Policy v13 Oct '13.doc