I am currently looking at the checks we undertake on our drivers within the company. Managers were previously asked to check licences and insurance on an annual basis but this stopped recently. We have some pool van drivers but the majority of people use their own cars. What do other people do, what training and information do you give to undertake the checks and how is this monitored?
Thanks in advance

Hopeful,

Drivers of vehicles where I have previously worked MUST have their licences checked every 3 months & NOT annually.

They must be checked, copied & the copy signed by the competent person (usually the CPC holder). This standard was issued even to car drivers (their own being used for company business or pool cars).

If the licences are checked annually how do they know if a certain person hasn't been speeding etc & gained more points than your insurance company will allow. If they had then they would be driving illegally (i.e. no insurance) & is they were to have an accident.....

It's not your driving licence.
Check the detail: It is ISSUED to you but remains the property of the Driver and Vehicle Licencing Agency, to be returned upon death, revocation or disqualification.
Check it out.
To get a job today you need a photo licence and a passport.
I agency for work, and I need to show BOTH to the client (sometimes even a utility bill !)
I agree with you on your dp point....but so much of company data is treated with disregard that a minor point about a licence is not worth arguing over.
I know of, and worked for one, where medical surveillance files were an open book to anyone in the office, even the cleaner.
Others keep completed accident books, with no removal of personal data, with data openly readable for the next users.
Data protection; one of working lifes hilarious intervals.
You stand up for yourself. I'll keep working.

And how many have checked that the immigrant labour they "employ" actually have UK legal driving licences ?
I only mention this because of lot of agency drivers are foreign..

To be honest why would you object to your employer,either checking or photocopying your licence, I dont think there is anything on there that they dont already know???. is there something wrong with your company data protection procedure?

I do agree that some people/companies pay lip service to data protection.

With regard to licence checks, if your fleet (be it traditional fleet or grey fleet) is large enough, why not employ the services of a third party company to check/ provide feedback?

Once a data protection mandate has been signed by the driver and returned to the third party company, they set up a check system with the DVLA. They then get notifications should a driver accrue any penalty points, and inform the relevant person within the company (i.e. fleet manager/ HR manager) accordingly.

Quite a few foreign licences valid for 1 year, then drivers have to obtain UK licence

Good afternoon all,

We used to just take a copy of each new driver's licence, but after a couple of instances where only the photocard was produced (i.e. no paper part so points/endorsements information) and where drivers clocked up 3 points (speeding & mobile phone) after we'd copied their 'clean' licence we changed tack.

We now ask each driver to sign a 3-year mandate which allows us, via a 3rd party company (as mentioned above at post #11), to check their licence as often as we deem necessary. The checking frequency can be altered to suit each driver and is generally set to automatically re-check every 12 months for drivers with 0 points, every 6 months for drivers with 6 points etc. etc.

We have found this to be very important as:
1. It is a requirement of our motor insurers to inform them of drivers points AND endorsements such as DR10
2. Don't forget new drivers only need to clock up 6 points in 2 years to lose their licence (this could happen quite easily!)

Hope this helps the OP

The photo licence, and part two, is frequently used as both ID and to see if the carrier is entitled to work in the UK.
All your company needs is your driver number (the part featuring several letters of your surname and you birthdate) plus the drivers consent, and they can purchase your licence detail from DVLA.
The company can even buy ad-hoc software to do it themselves.
You may even be required to drive machinery on the road....other than your car.
Oh, and an insurers check on drivers revealed that most drivers driving their own vehicle for business had not declared such to their insurer. Bad move.
Even if you carry tools to-and-from work you MAY need to alter your insurance.

The OP asked about checks on drivers, not only their licences. I would hope that responsible employers would be keeping track of a lot more, such as vehicle damage, customer feedback, colleague feedback, maintenance work done, workloads, changes in behaviour patterns etc.

And what do employers do when they discover drivers racking up points? A factory worker would probably be disciplined for repeated misuse of equipment; if your drivers obviously misuse your vehicles (or their own, whilst working) by say being repeatedly caught for traffic offences, what actions are taken?