Driving Licence verification

All employers have a responsibility and duty of care to ensure that any employee required to drive on behalf of the organisation is correctly licensed  and entitled to drive. Ignorance is no defence. Employees driving without a valid licence may also invalidate your company insurance. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) Guidelines on Driving at Work strongly recommend that drivers’ licences are checked when they first drive on behalf of the company and periodically thereafter. Descartes recommends that low risk drivers with 0 to 3 points on their licence are checked at least twice a year. Whereas, higher risk drivers with 6 to 9 points on their licence should have their licences checked monthly. Relevant legislation includes:

1. The Corporate Manslaughter Act 2007 – organisations that require employees to drive as part of their work must monitor their employees’ entitlement to drive and verify driving licences.
2. Section 87 (2) of the Road Traffic Act 1988 – makes it an offence for a person to cause or permit another person to drive a motor vehicle of any class on a road if that other person is not the holder of a licence authorising him to drive a motor vehicle of that class.