Posted By s.micklewright I guess no one can answer this! Simon

Posted By s.micklewright Thank you Heather, much appreciated response, I am still awaiting a chat with the broker on this one. Ill let you know. Simon.

Posted By Gary Millen Hi Simon, I'm dealing with a liability case where an employee managed to overturn the articulated HGV he was driving on a motorway in high winds. The driver has subsequently submitted a claim alleging that the incident was due to lack of maintenance to the vehicle. I posed the question of our insurers, as to whether his claim would be against EL or the vehicle insurance. The response received was that, in this instance any claim would be EL. He was the employee performing his work task i.e. at work. Had a passenger been in the vehicle and injured then they would be covered under the vehicle insurance (if authorised). Given this, in your instance described, I believe that the employee would be under EL, clients would be covered under the "business" use insurance. Personally, I would be reading the small print on the business insurance for the vehicle or refuse to use my personal vehicle for business use if my employer came away with the "won't be responsible" statement.

Posted By Mark Dawes Hi Simon Last year I carried out a series of training course for a Social Services Directorate and the issue of transporting service users in cars arose. As a result I spoke to the Department of Transport on the issue and the following is an extract from the report I submitted as part of our active feedback monitoring system. Let me know if this helps. Mark Dawes Guidance - Transporting service users in cars. An issue that has been raised by some staff who have attended previous training courses is that of transporting service users in their personal cars. Risks allegedly associated with this activity have been staff who have been physically attacked whilst transporting service users resulting in staff being injured, cars ending up in ditches and near-miss road traffic accidents. There are two main issues here: 1. The concern seems to be that although they have taken out ‘business use’ on their own personal car insurance would they be covered in the event of a road traffic accident if it was caused by a service user becoming aggressive in their car resulting in loss of control by the driver (member of staff)? 2. Who is responsible for ensuring the safety of staff carrying out the activity, service users and other road users and pedestrians? Is it the member of staff or the employer if staff are using their private vehicle for work-related business? In response to the question 1 the issue of insurance is a private matter and the exact terms of the policy is a matter between the private policy-holder (i.e. member of staff) and their insurance company. Therefore each individual staff member will need to check with their insurers whether or not they are covered for the specific issue of transporting a service user in their car. In response to question 2 it seems to be that although staff have obtained additional insurance cover for ‘business use’ there has been no assessment of risk of the activity and as such no safe working practice. On that basis although an insurer is required by law to pay-out to an injured party they may challenge the claim and then sue to reclaim costs from the insured member of staff. Therefore, it is possible that if a member of staff lost control of a vehicle and that resulted in injury to them, the service user or an innocent third party, their insurers would pay out if fault was proved to lie with the insured person (member of staff). However, the insurer may then also consider taking action to reclaim costs. With regard to staff using their personal vehicles on company business the issues regarding costs / expenses (i.e. insurance cover, fuel costs etc) is a matter of contract between the staff member and their parent organisation. One aspect of legislation that the Directorate should be aware of is The Road Traffic Act 1988, in particular Part VI, section 143, sub-section 1 which states: “A person must not use, or cause or permit any other person to use, a motor vehicle on a road or other public place unless there is in force in relation to the use of that vehicle by that person or that other person, as the case may be, such a policy of insurance or such security in respect of third party risks as complies with the requirements of part VI of the Road Traffic Act 1988”. This would infer that the organization has a duty to ensure that those staff whose employed involves transporting service users in their cars should ensure that at bare minimum the member of staff has adequate specific cover for that purpose. Although it is primarily the responsibility of the private individual to ensure that their car is roadworthy (i.e. has a current and valid MOT etc) there is the issue of the health, safety and welfare of service users to consider. Therefore, if service users are to be transported in private staff vehicles then the question arises as to whether the authority has a duty to ensure that such transportation is safe? For example, in addition to the Ministry of Transport test [MOT] the Local Authority Taxi Licensing Office requires certain additional criteria to be met before cars can be passed and taxi drivers given their license. The question that should possibly be asked is if local taxi drivers have to meet additional criteria imposed upon them by the Council to ensure the safety of the general public being transported in their cars, should the Council consider the safety of service users along similar lines? In brief summary 1. Staff need to make their insurance companies aware of the specific nature of what their ‘business cover’ entails and check with their individual insurance companies that they are covered specifically for what they are doing and that it is written into their policy. 2. The employer (The Council / Social Services Directorate) needs to be assured that the staff member has suitable cover for the activity. 3. The risk and associated hazards associated with transporting service users in cars must be properly assessed and risk control filters put in place to minimize the risk to its lowest possible level, avoiding the need to transport service users where appropriate. The issue of who pays for the additional cover and associated costs of staff using their cars for work related activity is not something I can comment on and is a matter for negotiations between staff and their employer.