Duty of Care
The Corporate Manslaughter and Culpable Homicide Bill 2008, and new guidelines by the Health & Safety Executive, place a duty of care on employers, who can be held liable for accidents or convictions involving their employees whether in company vehicles or private cars on company business. This can lead to a fine or even imprisonment for individuals in the company’s management plus, of course, adverse publicity for the company concerned. GKL can help you to understand all the implications and to introduce and maintain an effective policy.
Implementing a duty of care policy will mean:
- a reduced risk of work-related ill health and fewer days lost due to injury and work rescheduling
- reduced stress and improved morale
- less need for investigation and paperwork
- fewer vehicles off the road for repair
- reduced running costs due to better driving standards
- fewer missed orders and business opportunities, thus reducing the risk of losing goodwill of customers
- less chance of employees being banned from driving
- reduced insurance excesses and less risk of subsequent premiums being increased.
Duty of care means that the employer must ensure that drivers:
- hold a valid driving licence, and that endorsements and convictions are declared
- are adequately covered by insurance – this includes those who use their own car on company business, even if it is popping out to post a letter after the day’s mail has been collected, or fetching the sandwiches for a working lunch
- are physically able to drive safely – this includes eyesight checks
- are suitably trained to drive the vehicles provided for their use. For example, one of your drivers who is used to a small car in town will find a difference if he or she is given the use of a more powerful modern car and expected to do more long distance driving
- understand, and abide by, motoring law, ranging from speeding to the proper use of mobile phones
- vehicles are properly maintained, roadworthy and fit for the intended use
- are subject to realistic time schedules and not expected to exceed speed limits to achieve deadlines
- will not be put at risk from fatigue caused by driving excessive distances without appropriate breaks
- have allowances made for adverse weather conditions and, where appropriate, are not expected to travel in such conditions.
GKL’s FREE Risk Management package helps you to meet your duty of care responsibilities and ensures that you won’t get a sting in the tail at the end of the contract. Whilst some leasing companies may boost their revenue by invoicing excess mileage charges or damage costs at the end of the agreed period, GKL’s package monitors each vehicle’s condition and mileage throughout the contract period: damage can be repaired before it gets worse and, if the pro rata mileage is higher than anticipated at the beginning of the lease term, the contract can be reviewed so that you accommodate any extra charges in your monthly payment. This means you can budget effectively as you won’t have to pay any unexpected excess mileage or damage charges at the end of the contract. Drivers must submit a monthly report confirming their driving license eligibility, current mileage and reporting any damage, so that repairs can be carried out promptly.
