A campaign seeking to end the exclusion of teachers from salary sacrifice car schemes has been taken to Westminster by Monmouth MP David Davies.
Mr Davies hosted an event in the Houses of Parliament on Wednesday (11th February) to call for teachers in England and Wales to be given the same benefits as other public sector workers.
Teachers in state schools are unable to join voluntary car schemes, which allow employees to acquire a brand new, fully maintained and insured car through their salary before paying income tax and National Insurance. The scheme is significantly less expensive than other retail options, with average savings of around £1,300 every year, and the vast majority of public and private sector professions are already eligible to take part.
Tusker, a car leasing company which provides salary sacrifice schemes, has teamed-up with Mr Davies to highlight the unfairness of excluding teachers. Early Day Motion 63 has also been tabled by Mr Davies in an effort to bring about change.
Over 1,200 teachers have so far backed the campaign via an online petition.
“Salary sacrifice car schemes are one of the most popular and widely used employee benefits in the UK, yet they are not specified in the Government’s School Teacher Pay and Conditions Document - although other similar benefits such as cycling schemes are mentioned,” said Mr Davies.
“This unfair and seemingly unintended rule needs to be addressed.
“Many teachers are currently struggling and even choosing to leave the profession. The success of the teacher car campaign would not only make a huge difference to their quality of life, but also improve overall work satisfaction and retention.”
Tusker Chief Executive David Hosking added: “I would like to thank David Davies for backing the campaign and supporting teachers.
“As a provider of these schemes, we’ve been approached on countless occasions by teachers who have told us it is extremely unfair that they can’t use a voluntary car scheme and the help of Mr Davies will go a long way to changing this anomaly.”