Removal of company car allowance

[ceeferace]

I have been working for my employer for over 7 years and have received company car allowance. We have recently been informed that the policy changed last year and we no longer have the choice of the car allowance and instead of a company car. The details about the company car is now explicitly written in my contract and my HR officer said that is within policies and procedures that can change at any time.
Is there anything that I can do about this?

[ULA]

Was the original car policy which gave you the choice to have a company car allowance instead of a company car contractual? If it was not contractual then was there something in the policy allowing for changes to be made given reasonable notice.

Where you notified in writing that the company car policy was changing and that the car allowance option was being removed? Did they give timescales for its implementation?

[ceeferace]

Hi

No, the written contract doesn’t mention company car. It’s a generic contract for all employees so hasn’t been amended.

The policy was changed in May 2017. When I was employed the company car policy was under review and didn’t exist.

[ULA]

So your original contract of employment did not have a clause about a company car/call allowance? However there was a company car policy in place albeit under review?

My experience of company car policies is that they usually have a proviso in them that they can be changed at the discretion of the company and with reasonable notice being given by the company.