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#1 Posted : 20 July 2007 14:19:00(UTC)
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Posted By Paul Barnacle Hi ALL Does anyone know where i can find any cases where an employer has been prosecuted for not managing employees who use their own vehicles for company business. I am in the process of reviewing our Driving at Work Arrangements and when presenting this to the board i would like to use some case studies to reinforce the importance of this part of the business. Does anyone have a policy and would be willing to share that identifies employees who use their own vehicles and what standards have been implemented if personal vehicles are to be used. Kind Regards Paul B
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#2 Posted : 20 July 2007 15:04:00(UTC)
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Posted By Kenny McGillivray Hi Paul ROSPA Guidance - Driving for Work : Own Vehicles. This is a good document and handout and highlights the fact that Employers owe the same duty of care under health & safety law to staff who drive their own vehicle for work as they do to employees who drive company owned, leased or hired vehicles. The guidance also states that it is an offence under road traffic law to 'cause or permit' a person to drive a vehicle that is in a dangerous condition, without a valid licence or at lease third party insurance. See also HSE Guide Driving at Work. I have risk assessed the driving staff do for work and under the heading of occupational road risk have put some measures in place including requiring staff to supply at least annually or by request, a current MOT, valid insurance which shows business use for the staff member and a copy of their driving licence. I know you will probably get the argument of where do we stop and should we not then be checking vehicles. I don't and have decided that it is not reasonable for me to do so. Driving for work has also been added to the company health & safety policy and is explained in the staff handbook. I am given a list of those who claim travel expenses to ensure I don't miss anyone. This works for us but I do realise that some will need more and some less. You will have to judge. Hope this helps regards Kenny
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#3 Posted : 20 July 2007 15:26:00(UTC)
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Posted By Rich T I think you will find that there are far more cases where staff using their own vehicles on company business, have found (to their considerable cost) that their insurance companies refuse to pay out for loss or damage sustained during an accident, because they were not covered for "business use". I have two horror stories to tell my drivers from our company's first-hand experience - certainly gets their attention.
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#4 Posted : 20 July 2007 15:36:00(UTC)
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Posted By Paul Barnacle Kenny Thanks for your response Paul
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#5 Posted : 23 July 2007 11:56:00(UTC)
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Posted By mark gough2 The HSE gets you to request permission to use your own vehicle in order to claim expenses. You must state that you will always have business insurance MOT and keep vehicle in good condition. It goes on to say that the company is not responsible for any loss how so ever caused. No documents are checked and the form is signed once. There is an offer for a free advanced driving lesson for half a day every two years (which is good) I cant see that if the regultors do this that you need to do much more.
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#6 Posted : 03 August 2007 14:49:00(UTC)
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Posted By JV Hi Paul I have also been researching this subject. I have checked on previous discussions and found a link which you may find interesting http://www.mike.everley....k.com/driver/stroud.html We too are looking at the use of Private Vehicles. We have a Policy that where staff are concerned that they do not use private vehicles they are issued with Company Vehicles. However, the problem lies with operatives, where they move between sites using their own vehicles. We are in the construction/maintenance business and have a fleet of company vans, however, not for all operatives. I believe that the majority of companies may be turning a blind eye to this particular problem. It would be interesting to see what other companies do with regard to the above. As previous respondents have noted it is all about checking that the vehicle is roadworthy and insured, together with undertaking driver checks. Regards JV
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