Posted: Friday, 27 May 2016
We recommend that you check your fleet driver licences frequently – as often as once a month, to ensure that drivers have not picked up any points or penalties whilst working.
Frequent driver licence checks will ensure that you employ people with a clean license or a minimum number of points. For fleet drivers who are the registered owner of a vehicle, they will receive any penalty communication, not the fleet operator. Employees can withhold such information from an employer out of fear of reprisal. Driver licence checks eliminate this risk entirely and they also promote an internal culture of honesty and transparency.
The minimum requirement in the United Kingdom is for the driver to hold a full UK license for the category of vehicle they are driving. However, this is not the end of the story. As an employer, or the operator of a grey fleet, you are legally bound to ensure that the people you employ act within the law. The only real way to do this is to have a robust procedure for driver licence checks. This legal obligation also extends to people you contract.
If checks are not carried out correctly, then you could directly employ somebody who is not legally entitled to drive. The penalties for doing so can be significant - you could lose your operator licence under the Health and Safety at Work Act, the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006, the Corporate Manslaughter Act and the Road Traffic Act 1988.
We are licenced Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) authorised licence checking service and we are a member of the Association for Driving Licence Verification (ADLV). Our service allows you to check the following information about a licence:
With access to this information, you will be able to fulfil your legal obligations as a fleet operator. Our service checks the current DVLA database in real-time and you will be given this information through a secure online portal.
To find out more about driver licence checks or for a free quote, click here to find out more about our service or give our friendly and expert team a call today on 02070 604 860.