i have a mate,who is a tramper and lives 45 miles from his base depot(the place specified on the o licence).can he claim a night out if he decides to go home,if his time is up,but does not go to base depot(which would be running off route if he did).his reasoning is this:
his contract does not state he must sleep in his truck to claim a night out.
his contract does not state he must not go home,or stay with the truck.
he is more than the legally obliged distance from the o licence specified depot to be paid a night out.
he should not be liable for 2 places,as there is one base.
in short,there is nothing specified by the company at all in respect of nights out,other than they must be 25+ from base depot(the minimum legal requirement■■?).
your views please…
if he goes home, then a claim would be tax evasion.
the money is paid for being away from home, so if he is at a depot, then he can legally claim it.
personally, i’d claim it wherever i was.
I’d say that he either claims his nights out at home or in the yard, but not both and not neither. Rik used to be given a choice which was “home” for the purposes of nights out in one of his previous jobs, and I’ve booked nights out in the Hull yard when I lived on Portland and been paid them. All legal and above board.
Strictly speaking I’m fairly sure you need to be away from “home” AND “normal workplace”(O Licence yard)
The location, home, base away from base, isn’t the main deciding factor here, It is also not about what it says in his contract, night out money is not part of his wages, it’s all about the tax man and what counts as expenses to receive the night out allowance tax free.
Night out money is to cover personal expenses incurred while away from home during your employment, cost of meals, showers etc. If he is at home then he isn’t incurring those costs. If he nights out in the yard he will not be having his meal at home so would be entitled to the night out money to cover the cost of his evening meal and breakfast.
I’ve not heard of this before . . .
/ . . . . the legally obliged distance from the o licence specified depot to be paid a night out
Where does that come from ?
We had a driver , who lived 25ish miles away from base , sacked last year for claiming nights out but going home and not sleeping in the motor.
dambuster:
I’ve not heard of this before . . ./ . . . . the legally obliged distance from the o licence specified depot to be paid a night out
Where does that come from ?
The Big Book of Driver’s Myths
buck rogers:
i have a mate,who is a tramper and lives 45 miles from his base depot(the place specified on the o licence).can he claim a night out if he decides to go home,if his time is up,but does not go to base depot(which would be running off route if he did).his reasoning is this:
his contract does not state he must sleep in his truck to claim a night out.
his contract does not state he must not go home,or stay with the truck.
he is more than the legally obliged distance from the o licence specified depot to be paid a night out.
he should not be liable for 2 places,as there is one base.
in short,there is nothing specified by the company at all in respect of nights out,other than they must be 25+ from base depot(the minimum legal requirement■■?).
your views please…
One problem here could be that there’s more than one law/rule to be considered.
Are we talking about being paid specifically tax free “night out” monies ?
Or a company “requirement” ?
Or even, the “choice” element of where a driver sleeps in regard to Drivers’ Hours ?
I parked the truck and trailer on my street a couple times. I claimed because the truck is still in my posession over night
Steve-o:
I claimed because the truck is still in my posession over night
That’s not the relevant factor for night out money, you don’t get night out money for looking after the truck or having it in your possession. The company could still pay you something because of that but getting tax free night out money would fall foul of the taxman.
Coffeeholic:
Steve-o:
I claimed because the truck is still in my posession over nightThat’s not the relevant factor for night out money, you don’t get night out money for looking after the truck or having it in your possession. The company could still pay you something because of that but getting tax free night out money would fall foul of the taxman.
But seriously, doing that about once a year, is hardly something serious
Steve-o:
Coffeeholic:
Steve-o:
I claimed because the truck is still in my posession over nightThat’s not the relevant factor for night out money, you don’t get night out money for looking after the truck or having it in your possession. The company could still pay you something because of that but getting tax free night out money would fall foul of the taxman.
But seriously, doing that about once a year, is hardly something serious
True, but you only need to be caught once. 
Coffeeholic:
Steve-o:
Coffeeholic:
Steve-o:
I claimed because the truck is still in my posession over nightThat’s not the relevant factor for night out money, you don’t get night out money for looking after the truck or having it in your possession. The company could still pay you something because of that but getting tax free night out money would fall foul of the taxman.
But seriously, doing that about once a year, is hardly something serious
True, but you only need to be caught once.
I would be more worried about the truck being torched in Glasgow than the tax man following trucks around to find out where they are staying over night lol
I have never heard of a 25 mile radius to be able to claim a night out. That would have buggered most of the Hull drivers up and probably our own Chris Webb
I was paid a night out even when parked in the yard as it was also a security measure. £30 on the continent, £23 in the UK and £18 in the yard
Coffeeholic:
dambuster:
I’ve not heard of this before . . ./ . . . . the legally obliged distance from the o licence specified depot to be paid a night out
Where does that come from ?
The Big Book of Driver’s Myths
Perhaps more to do with bus work and domestic rules, where there is a legal radii from the OC before the use of a tachograph is required? 
Tax man and all the other bits about contracts, mileage, operating base etc aside, surely night out money is for having a night away from your home.
If you go home…
i dont see a problem with that.
for the last 12 or so years ive had and claimed for plenty of nights out and been at home.
well not my main home in mayfair but my second ( i mean my sisters) home in peterborough or my third ( my brothers) home up in bermuda ( oh, i mean bradford).
dont see a problem with it, afterall how else can i afford to pay the gardener or the water bill for the moat.
seriously though, i would,nt dream of claiming for a night out if i was at home, id just be grateful that i was home, the shower is spotless and the food is erm ok, better if i cook it though 
and ive saved on the price of petrol for commuting. i know its only 15 miles from work but petrol aint cheap. 
Steve-o:
I parked the truck and trailer on my street a couple times. I claimed because the truck is still in my posession over night
I’d be worried about will it start the the next morning having being parked on the street and therefor with LIGHTS ON all night.
I’m pretty sure there is infact a ruling about tax free night out allowances and minimum distance away from base. There was something on our claims form about it.
Somebody with time on their hands will dig it up. (Rog?)