If your company employs drivers, UK law requires you to perform regular driving licence checks. This is an important part of a fleet manager’s job, but most managers are juggling many responsibilities. Staying on top of these administrative tasks, such as checking employees’ driving licenses, requires a highly efficient fleet management process.
This article explains what driving licence checks are, why you should regularly be checking employees’ driving licences, and how a fleet telematics system can help you easily stay on track with fleet administration.
What are Driving Licence Checks?
Driving licence checks are reviews employers undertake to confirm that their employees’ drivers licences are valid and without excessive penalty points.
Companies with a driver’s mandate have access to the online DVLA licence check system. To investigate the validity and status of their staff’s licences, fleet managers can run their drivers’ licences through the DVLA system.
Checking employees’ driving licences annually is sufficient for drivers with clean records. For higher risk drivers, you should increase that to biannually or even quarterly.
Read more: Find Out More About Driving License Entitlements
Driving Licence Checks Are A Formal Process: Simply Asking Your Drivers About Their Licence Statuses Isn’t Enough.
Do I Need to Do Driving Licence Checks?
As long as your company has drivers on the payroll, you should be checking employees’ driving licences. UK law requires it, so ensure they’re a regular part of your company’s health and safety policy. And don’t forget to document this process, so you can demonstrate compliance if asked.
Why They Matter
Unfortunately, you can’t rely on drivers to fully disclose their drivers licence status. A recent survey by RAC Insurance found that 25% of the motorists surveyed who already had penalty points did not inform any organisation, and only 13% would tell their employer if they incurred any penalty points. Plus, even honest drivers may be unaware of their penalty points.
The Only Way To Reliably Gather Information About Your Drivers’ Licence Statuses Is To Perform A DVLA Licence Check
What Happens If I Don’t Perform Driving Licence Checks?
Not checking employees’ driving licences can result in serious consequences and penalties. As an employer, you are on the hook for hiring unqualified drivers and face legal repercussions for doing so.
Expensive Fines
UK companies found guilty of allowing an employee to drive unlicensed or without a proper licence risk fines up to £1,000.
Prosecution
Under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, companies could be prosecuted for allowing drivers to drive without proper licences.
Tools to Simplify Driving Licence Checks
Administration can be a headache, but luckily there are modern solutions that make it easy for you.
A Fleet Management System Can Simplify Driving Licence Checks For You By Sending Automatic Reminders And Storing Drivers Licence Details
Fleet telematics systems like Vimcar’s Fleet Geo help you streamline administration by storing your data in one, secure place. Instead of shuffling through paperwork, you can access all your information at your fingertips. Automatic reminders mean your energy is freed up for other things.
Without a digital fleet telematics system, it’s very difficult to have proper oversight of your fleet. Investing in fleet management software not only improves your fleet effectiveness and efficiency, but it means you can stay on top of your legal obligations and prevent undue liability.
Read more: What are Timesheets and why your business needs them
Conclusion
Driving licence checks should be a routine part of any fleet management policy. Consistent checks protect your business from risk and keep our roads safer. To avoid facing prosecution or fines, you should be checking employees’ driving licences at least annually and ensure you clearly document your procedure.
- Do yourself a favour and invest in fleet management technology: not only will it save you the hassle of coordinating drivers licence checks, but it saves you money long-term and keeps your fleet secure.
Read more: how fleet software can help with operators licence checking
