Who foots the bill when staff are on the road?

Company cars have become less popular as a perk since the changes to company car taxation, down from eight in 10 (82%) employers in 2000 offering this benefit to six in 10 employers (59%) in 2005. Five in 10 organisations offer their staff a cash allowance in place of a company car, according to research issued today by IRS Employment Review, published by LexisNexis Butterworths.

Few employers extend the offer of a company car to their entire workforce; the most popular basis for allocating cars and car leasing schemes is by job grade. The issue of necessity ñ for staff whose job requires a car - comes a close second. A very small minority of employers determine essential users by mileage.

Other key findings in the IRS Benefits and Allowances survey include:

Almost nine in 10 (86%) organisations operate set mileage allowances for staff travelling by car on company business.

Three in 10 (31%) organisations offer employees interest-free season ticket loans to help with the cost of using public transport to travel to work.

Almost two-thirds (64%) of organisations limit the subsistence allowance for employees on company business. Breakfast allowances range from 2 to 15, while the median is 5 for staff to spend on their morning meal while working away from home and the workplace.

Lunch payments range from 1.80 to 15, while the median is 6.50. Staff who have to take an evening meal away from home while on business are given a median of 12.50 but this ranges from 5 through to 30. Many employers, however, do not put a fixed figure on what employees may spend and reimburse them in full upon presentation of receipts.

IRS Employment Review pay and benefits editor, Sheila Attwood said:

ìThe benefits package that an employer offers staff is often viewed as a key retention and recruitment tool. What is clear, however, is the enormous scope and variety of so-called perks on offer. Many non-statutory payments and allowances are still based on a staff memberís position or length of service within the organisation; this may well change as employers realise they must offer attractive packages to attract and keep good staff.î