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How to Incorporate Licence Checking into Driver Vetting Procedures

Posted: Friday, 21 October 2016

When recruiting new employees to your driving fleet, or company that utilises drivers on a regular basis, it's important to ensure that their licence information is up to date, and that they are eligible to operate vehicles on the UK roads.

Up until recently, you may have been able to simply view the driver's original driving licence alongside a paper counterpart which would have included details of various bans, driving convictions, points, and fines issued by the court.

However, in 2015, the DVLA abolished the paper counterpart licence, meaning that you'll need to go online to get the information you need.

Since licence checking represents a crucial part of the driver vetting procedure, we will address how you can go about verifying the validity of employee licences.

What Not to Do

When you're vetting new employees, you shouldn't simply take CVs and other information at face value. While this can be a great way to get more information about your potential client, you're going to need to do some more research if you want to make sure your chosen employee isn't a risk to your business, and the public in general.

Remember that the reputation of a business can be seriously compromised if a misdemeanour is made public, and it is made apparent that problems with driving could have been avoided through the correct checking procedures.

Remember, when you are incorporating licence checking into your vetting procedures, you shouldn't simply focus on people within senior positions. Remember that everyone who drives within your company should be evaluated to ensure that they are eligible to work on the road.

What to Find Out

Although the first step in checking your employee's licences will be to ensure that they are licenced to drive within the United Kingdom, there's plenty more information that you're going to need to know if you want to evaluate their risk level. Remember to look at:

  • The status of the licence in question (whether it's revoked, expired, provisional, or full)
  • Where the individual is licenced to drive
  • Whether there are any points, endorsements, or problems marked on the licence

Remember, while it's not unusual for speeding points to be present on a driver's licence, this shouldn't necessary be ignored. Instead, you're going to need to assess all the information on an individual's license to educate your recruitment process.

You may also need to ask questions regarding pending prosecutions and previous misdemeanours, to help you make a decision about hiring.