A lot has changed in the world of driving licences since Mr Beere became the first person in the UK to pass his driving test in 1935.
Since then 46 million tests have been taken and driving has become part of our everyday lives with the technology, record management and legislation that come with that development. However, when someone drives for an organisation, employers are still often unaware of the risks and responsibilities that come with driving licence checking.
Here we look at some best practice to help you, your organisations and employees with the evolution of driving licences and their management:
Policy Guidelines: The agreement to check driving licences of anyone who rives for your organisation (full-time, part-time, volunteers or contractors) should form part of your Policy document around workplace driving. This should include the employee agreeing to provide any information or signature to allow the checks to be completed.
In this document, you should also gain confirmation from those driving for your organisation that they must declare to you any endorsements, points, or change to the validity of their driving licence within a reasonable period which you outline.
Licence Checking: Checks should be carried out periodically. It was, and sadly often still is, commonplace for an employer to check a driving licence when an employee joins an organisation and then for that check not to happen again. Checks should be carried out at least annually. If not more frequently for higher risk drivers. You can find out more about this in our recent blog.
You should know what to look for – correct driving categories, address, licence status etc. – as well as how to manage the data that you are collecting, checking and recording to ensure that it is in line with the recent introduction of GDPR.
Risk Management: There are some other areas you can look at too to reduce your risk. Here are just a few to consider:
If you allow partners, spouses or another person at the same address to use vehicles, ask to check their licences too.
Review the impact to your organisation should one or more of your representatives be unable to drive for you.
Consider the reputational impact should the worst happen, and your moral role in regard to your employees’ well-being
Keep on top of legislation changes – make sure that your process is current and legal
Luckily licence checks online give you all the information you need. This can be done directly with the DVLA but, if you have a lot of drivers, this becomes time-consuming and difficult to track. Ambit allows you to set up the process automatically as well as set the frequency level and send automatic checks and reminders. Here’s how it works.
If you would like to find out more about how Ambit can help with licence checks, get in touch or sign up for our limited time only licence checks offer and get unlimited checks for all your drivers – the first 25 accounts only!
