Employees who are required by the Employer, as a condition of employment, to provide a private automobile for use on government business will be entitled to claim an enhanced mileage rate as outlined in this policy.

Application

This policy applies to all employees in designated positions. Bargaining unit employees in designated positions should also consult their respective collective agreement.

Definitions

Department

It is the responsibility of individual departments to:

• determine which positions require a private automobile for use on government business; and
   
• regularly reassess designated position requirements.

Employee

It is the responsibility of employees to:

• travel using the most economical source available;
   
• request designated position status when appropriate; and
   
• have a vehicle available for use where the employee occupies a designated position.

The Deputy Minister may designate positions which require incumbents to provide, as a condition of employment, a private automobile for use on government business.

Positions designated as requiring the use of a private automobile will be advertised as such.

Employees in designated positions who are not given notice that the use of a private automobile is a condition of employment will be given the option of making an automobile available.

Employees who make an automobile available for use on government business as a condition of employment will be paid an enhanced reimbursement rate that will be adjusted quarterly on the first day of January, April, July and October of each year. Beginning October 1, 2005, the quarterly rate will be set using the following formulas:

• For travel up to 9,000 kilometers in one calendar year:
  
  45.4 ¢ / kilometer + [(fuel price on quarterly adjustment date – 79.4¢) x 0.1]   
  Click for current rate
   
• For travel in excess of 9,000 in one calendar year
  
  31.5 ¢ / kilometer + [(fuel price on quarterly adjustment date – 79.4¢) x 0.1]
  Click for current rate

The fuel price on the quarterly adjustment date will be the price of regular unleaded self serve gas in the Avalon Region as determined by the Petroleum Pricing Office.

The quarterly reimbursement rate will be posted at Automobile Reimbursement Rates for Using a Private Vehicle at Work.

The quarterly rate will apply to all travel done during that quarter. The rate claimed will be the rate applicable on the actual date of travel.
 

Employees who believe the position they occupy should be a designated position should make a written request to their supervisor.

This request should include the reason the designated position status is necessary and a comparison of the costs for various modes of transportation.

The final decision on whether or not to designate a position requiring the incumbent to provide, as a condition of employment, a private vehicle for use on government business, rests solely with the Deputy Minister.

Employees who are required to have a private vehicle for use on Government business will be paid the difference between private and business insurance to a maximum of $400 per year on the provision of appropriate receipts.

Employees who are required to have a private vehicle for use on Government business will be reimbursed up to $10 per week.

The Deputy Minister may remove, from a position, the requirement for employees to provide a private automobile for use on government business.

When claiming reimbursement for the use of private automobiles, employees must complete and submit the Private Vehicle Usage Report and attach it to the Travel Expense Claim Voucher.

The distance traveled to reach employees' travel destinations should approximate that shown on the official road map of the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Miscellaneous travel within employees headquarters areas or within the travel destination area should be shown separately in the Private Vehicle Usage Report, accompanied by a brief explanation of the purpose of the travel.

Employees may claim for bridge, ferry and highway tolls without receipts where these tolls have been paid.

Employees may not claim for storage, traffic violations, repairs or towing while on government business.