FRONT-LINE staff who use their cars for work are being hit hard by an “outrageous scandal” of out-of-date mileage rates, Unison has warned.

The public services union’s intervention came after transport policy and research body the RAC Foundation said last month that rising fuel prices are costing the typical key worker an eye watering £6,000 a year. 

Unison member Roger Lewis blasted the “outrageous scandal,” adding: “It’s a financial disincentive or penalty for doing our work –we should be paid properly.”

Using union-compiled data, the foundation calculated that HM Revenue and Customs mileage allowance payments should be 63.4p per mile instead of the current 45p, unchanged since 2011. 

Community care worker Debbie Pink said: “We have not had an increase in our mileage costs for 12 years, yet the fuel prices have vastly been inflated.

“It’s costing me more and more to travel and use my car, not to mention the cost of repairs to my vehicle due to the road surfaces.”