Readers tweets: Parking issues at place of work

Posted on Posted in blog, readers emails

Hi Rigsby, this is a question about employment equality laws rather than parking – and I’m certainly no expert on that. You don’t explain why some do and some don’t – is it seniority or length of service? If so, I would imagine that is perfectly legal to give some employees permits and others not. I’m guessing there are limited spaces, so what else can they do?

Perhaps you could speak to Citizens Advice if you feel you’re being unfairly discriminated against.

Ok, so this one is about parking law. Again, you’ve not provided enough detail, so I’ll briefly touch on the main issues.

Were you aware that you could be ‘fined’ for parking without a permit? You should have been made aware either by signage in the car park, or by your employer directly (e.g. in HR material, or your contract). If you weren’t aware then you certainly would have a case for fighting it.

If the ‘fine’ is coming directly from your employer, you will need to look at your contract. Are they deducting it directly from your wages? Does your contract explicitly allow for these deductions? If not, then this may be illegal. Read more here.

If the ‘fine’ is coming from a 3rd party private parking company operating in the car park, then you can fight it like any other private parking ticket – read our guide to learn more. If you wish to appeal, the private parking company should offer an independent appeals service if it is a member of an Approved Trade Association, such as the BPA or the IPC. There are strategies for appealing that you should look into.

The other aspect to investigate is how they issued the ticket. If they know your identity, how did the attain it? Did they apply to the DVLA for your details from your car registration, or did your company provide it? If it was the latter, then there might be a data protection angle to explore. I’m not an expert on data protection, but this feels like dodgy ground if your employer is giving away your details to a 3rd party without your permission. You can find out if they got your details from the DVLA by calling the DVLA – they should provide this information for free.

Best of luck, PC