Workers at a firm whose boss was paid a £29million bonus have told how they struggle to get travel costs to do their job.
The staff with BCA Logistics – which provides vehicle remarketing services for the motor industry – say they are effectively being paid less than the legal minimum wage.
The company is a subsidiary of BCA Marketplace, whose Edinburgh-born chief executive Avril Palmer-Baunack was criticised over the massive bonus last year.
Delivery staff – who are technically self-employed and only paid for the amount of jobs they do a day – have complained that BCA Logistics refuses to cover travel expense costs if they make “too much” money.
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The GMB union has raised a formal grievance about the conditions that 60 drivers face in Scotland.
It says they should not be considered self-employed and, as such, should be entitled to worker benefits such as holiday pay.
One driver, who agreed to speak anonymously in order to protect his job, said: “A very good day would see me do three jobs and get paid about £60.
“But it can stretch to 11-12 hours a day. It means you earn far less than the minimum wage. They get around that by saying you are self-employed.
“The travel expenses is a real issue. You usually get £20 per job plus some other costs. But if you go above three jobs a day, I’ve been told I can’t claim travel costs as I’ve earned too much.”
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Another driver said: “You can quickly rack up travel costs for trains and buses but there is generally a reluctance to pay us back.
“The penny-pinching is incredible. BCA Logistics charges £150 for drivers to carry out a visual inspection of a car – we get £8 and they keep the rest.”
BCA Logistics made £3.8million last year – up from £1.8million the year before. BCA Marketplace took in revenue of £2.4billion last year and made a profit of £57million.
The decision to pay Palmer-Baunack a £29million bonus was hit by a backlash from shareholders. The deal was agreed when We Buy Any Car floated on the stock exchange in 2014.
A BCA Logistics spokesman said drivers are retained under a “self-employed operating agreement”, which means they are paid an equivalent of £8.26 per hour. He added: “Travel expenses are paid on a job-by-job basis. We are fair and consistent in how we reimburse for expenses.”
GMB Scotland’s Kirsty Nimmo said: “It’s yet another example of the kind of employment practices we need to root out of our economy.”
