Hello,

I wanted to reach out for your opinions on the below matter as I am concerned with a companys response (I'm not fully convinced).

I asked for further information from HR regarding what is in place to protect both employee and company when it comes to employees using their personal car outwith their day-to-day commuting (for example, driving to an airport to visit another site, collecting milk for the canteen or rock salt etc) - as I couldn't find anything.

HR responded with:

"It does say the below in the employee handbook with regards to driving your own car.

If you use your own vehicle to drive on Company/work-related business, it is your responsibility to arrange to be insured for that business use as the Employer will not be liable for any costs in the event of an accident. The Company may require you at any time/annually to allow a copy of your insurance and any MOT test certificate to be made and kept in our records.

You are responsible for any driving offences committed while driving as part of your duties, including any parking fines. Dangerous, careless, inconsiderate or aggressive driving as well as causing a risk to others can be damaging to the Company’s reputation and can amount to gross misconduct. If you are banned from driving for any reason, the Company is not obliged to find alternative work for you and may choose to dismiss you if the ban renders you incapable of performing your duties as required.

I will have a look for a business travel insurance policy as well."

We, as a company, have acknoledged that employees are using their personal cars (it's a common practice if you don't have company cars anyway) and even though the car is privately owned - once it is used for work-related driving; I feel it becomes a workplace risk under HASAW act and other regs etc?

Therefor we can't just say we have no part in this, and I'd say we have more additional duties then what's written above, am I correct?

I'd say we should be:

* checking insruances cover business use (class 1)

* MOT'd

* Driving liscene is current

*maybe an annual employee decalartion to cover these?

*even conduct a grey fleet assessment?

That's not even considering milage reclaim (for example, our nearest airport is nearly a 200 mile-round trip - and whilst employees would think to reclaim this, as a company we've then achknowledged they've used a personal car)

We don't need to say we take ownership of your car or owt, but at least do our due diligence?

I wondered if we didn't - would we still be prosecuted if god-forbid, someone was injured and the employees insruance is null and void, if not correctly covered...

Let me know your thoughts! maybe it can be as simple as we take no ownership and it's at the employees discretion and responsibility if anything bad happens... :/

Kate makes very good points.

It is the document checks where smaller companies trip up - one thing to state the employee must, another to demonstrate it is happening.

My personal favourite for grey fleet is "Prior approval" where the authorising manager signs as having seen the drivers licence, insurance (for business use) and MOT (if appropriate) prior to travel occurring.

These though tend to drift towards a list of pre-approved mileage claimants. Typically held by accounts those processing expenses seeking update of any expired documents.

You may also wish to visit your company hotel & travel policy - a 200 mile round trip for early / late flights is a great way to compound driving risk especially when the employee also conducts a full days work.

Thanks both,

I've begun the process of questioning this further with the senior leadership and HR, and drafted a grey fleet RA, decleration form etc just to be better prepared to speed things along should everyone be in agreement.

I know reviewing policies would also be required but I wouldn't be able to support them with this until conversations are had.

Glad it's not just me overthinking - I really appreciate the support!

Originally Posted by: Kate

I agree with your reasoning that this is a workplace risk that the employer has to take some level of responsibility for, like it or not.

The types of things you suggest doing are perfectly normal.  In all the companies I've worked for in the last couple of decades, even the small ones, at the very least a driving licence has been demanded as a condition of driving on business, often enforced through expense claims (no licence provided - no reimbursement). The argument tends to be about how much more than that should be done.  

The company may not want to accept liability for any driving incidents, but that doesn't mean they can't be held liable.  If for example they pressured drivers to drive when fatigued or to take phone calls while driving, they might well be held criminally liable for the results.

The focus on insurance suggests that they are seeing this as a financial risk, when in fact in all likelihood (and depending on your industry) driving on business is the greatest safety risk that the drivers are exposed to in the entire course of their work.  I suggest the first step is some education for the management about road safety as a business risk.

I suggest the RoSPA website as a useful and authoritative source of guidance on this topic.

When an employee uses their personal car for work purposes, it becomes part of the company’s work activity, so the employer still has a duty to manage the risks. Even if the vehicle is privately owned, the company should check that insurance includes business use, the MOT is valid, and the driving licence is current. A simple annual declaration and basic grey-fleet checks help show reasonable management control. If the company does nothing and an accident happens, the employer could still be investigated because they allowed work-related driving without proper verification. The aim isn’t to take ownership of the car, but to ensure safe and legally compliant work travel.