Bonuses based on quantity of tickets issued are banned by the BPA.
9.4 Effective from 1st October 2015, the practice of offering financial incentives to AOS parking attendants/wardens which relate to the quantity of PCNs issued by them, should be prohibited within all new employee contracts
UKPC appear to be trying to get round that restriction by basing the bonus on the number of tickets issued, less the costs of incorrectly issued tickets. UKPC also appear to be trying to get round the regulations by referring to the scheme as profit related pay, rather than number of tickets issued.
Of course, the main and only real way a warden can influence profit is by issuing as many tickets as possible. In the video, UKPC explain how a warden can do this by using head office statistics to find the car parks and times when they can issue the most tickets. They also explain how to maximise tickets issued by minimising journey time between sites.
The new bonuses scheme allows wardens to increase their salary by paying a percentage of the revenue generated, minus costs. Of course, the only way to increase revenue, is to issue more tickets.
As long as tickets are correctly issued, costs are almost completely out of control of the warden. Each warden is their own profit centre, with costs of appeals and POPLA and legal action against UKPC deducted. Expenses are also deducted. Other costs are wages, wallets and printer rolls, sending paperwork, and DVLA enquiries. For correctly issued tickets, these are out of control of the warden.
No other way of increasing the bonuses other than maximising tickets issued is discussed, and it is therefore clear to the Prankster that the new scheme falls foul of the BPA code of practice as it is based primarily on relating to the quantity of PCNs issued.
The scheme is described as the "biggest shift in the history of UKPC".
Wardens can increase salary from £14,950, to £19,940.
The Prankster notes a clever psychological trick is used when these figures are shown to wardens. The £19k figure is displayed as £19,940.44. Because the number has more digits, this make it look like a much larger figure than the previous one.
Happy Parking
The Parking Prankster
I not4ed somewhere that the adjudicators from Employment Tribunals were now sitting in civil court cases as they had a lack of employment related cases to work with.
ReplyDeleteSeems like they could be getting a new line of business shortly: "....Each warden is their own profit centre, with costs of appeals and POPLA and legal action against UKPC deducted. Expenses are also deducted." .....
That has to be unlawful.
How many other employers make their staff buy the raw materials for the business? By deducting the cost of ticket rolls and yellow envelopes this company would seem to be doing just that.
ReplyDeleteWill the wardens still be credited when a ticket is cancelled by POPLA where it is ruled the company has failed (no contract, poor signs, etc) rather than the wardens failure by issuing a ticket for a spurious reason?
I predict a lot of unhappy staff.....
I have a notice to put in my windscreen in a UKPC car park.
DeleteAll tickets will be appealed and won. Do not risk your bonus.
If the motorist wins their case, either at POPLA or even in court, would that be classed as an "wrongly issued ticket" and thus would the UKPC goon lose that part of their "bonus"?
ReplyDeletePlease don't call UKPC employees goons..... it's disrespectful to goons.
DeleteI can't imagine why they thought they had an incentive to invent infractions by cooking the photos.....
ReplyDeleteLet me get this right. They are offering a bonus - less overheads. So, what happens if a traffic warden has every ticket issued appealed at popla, then those that don't win are taken to court and lost ! I hope his wages cover the possible outgoings !
ReplyDeleteHMRC should be looking into this as it can generate a breach of the Minimum Wage legislation. HMRC love looking into these sorts of schemes as they can issue real fines for each and every breach of the legislation.
ReplyDeleteAnd there are no deductions from these fines.
I'm guessing the wardens will be employed as contractors not employees to get around this.
DeleteThen the Uber case will be relevant.
DeleteIf you work is more than 50% of any one employer and he sets your conditions, you are effectively an employee and you are due holiday, maternity and sick pay etc.
A complaint to the HMRC if you suspect they are evading their statutory duties will help the process.
And the fine that HMRC can apply? £100 for each and every breach until sorted. Ironic.
I'm wondering how this would square when the biggest cause of successful appeals will be due to UKPC's inadequacies, poor signage, inability to follow POFA, signage not forming a contract and so on. It won't be the wardens fault yet his bonus will be impacted by their incompittance.
ReplyDeleteHey, you're starting to make me feel sorry for the parking gimps!
DeleteThe few I have spoken to are mostly decent people just struggling to pay the bills like everyone else, they are 'trained' by the PPC's and accept their version of the truth as is only natural, usually they get quite perturbed if you point out the more blatant lies they have been spun. They don't make much money, in fact are usually scraping by on close to or under the NMW, it's the fat cats at the top like Renshaw Smith who are the genuinely bad people.
DeleteThe BPA are not bothered what their members do. The CLOWNS at the BPA are just as bad as the parking companies. they say its not a bonus scheme. ???? this is the BPA reply to my complaint. Dear Mr Taylor,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your email and for providing the link to the video you are referring to. We note this information has also been provided on the Parking Pranksters website.
We have reviewed the video and can confirm this incentive would not be in breach of section 9.4 of the Code of Practice as it is not based on the quantity of tickets issued.
The new scheme is introducing profit related pay. The incentive is to increase the efficiency of UK Parking Control Limited’s (UKPC) attendants whilst encouraging the attendants to make sure that all parking charges have been correctly issued.
The incentive scheme is not encouraging the operator to issue as many tickets as possible as the more tickets issued the higher deduction of costs (yellow wallets, printer rolls, costs of sending paperwork, DVLA enquiries, cost of POPLA, cost of appeals & cancellations, extraordinary legal costs from parking attendant error) from the revenue. This will deter parking attendants from issuing incorrect parking charges.
Please note we will not enter into a dispute on this matter.
Yours Sincerely,
Esme Berry
AOS Investigations Team
British Parking Association
Email: aos@britishparking.co.uk