Title: Motoring accidents at work - Increased liability for businesses
Date: 26 April 2008

Under existing regulations you have a responsibility to manage health and safety effectively and under the new Corporate Manslaughter Act, employers face increased liabilities and penalties.

You need to carry out an assessment of the risks to the health and safety of your employees while they are at work, and to other people who may be affected by their work activities.

This includes driving.  Answer the following questions to see how you well prepared you are:
 
Policy

  • Does your health and safety policy statement cover work-related road   safety?
  • Do you have a separate ‘driving at work’ policy?
  • Does your policy cover such things as driving while using a mobile phone and driving when tired?

Competences

  • Are you satisfied that people who drive for you have passed their driving tests and have a current, valid licence?  
  • If you know that an employee has convictions on their licence, have you carried out a specific risk assessment of their driving?
  • Have you considered offering them further driver training?

Fleet

  • Are you satisfied that vehicles are fit for the purpose for which they are used?  
  • Do you investigate which vehicles are best for driving and public health and safety when purchasing new or replacement vehicles?

Privately Owned Vehicles

  • Do you ensure that privately owned vehicles are not used for work purposes unless they are insured for business use?
  • Where the vehicle is over three years old, do you make sure it has a valid MOT certificate?

Journeys

  • Do you take sufficient account of periods when drivers are most likely to feel sleepy when planning work schedules?
  • Do you send employees to opposite ends of the country in a tight time frame and expect them to drive, without recourse to overnight accommodation? 

Getting things right now is important. Business owners and directors could face individual prosecution under health and safety law if their company is convicted under the new Corporate Manslaughter offence.

The Sentencing Advisory Panel have suggested a starting point of a fine for Corporate Manslaughter being 5% of turnover, rising to 10% for bad cases.
 
How we can help

Talk to us now to discuss your travel policy. We will be able to help you draft an effective policy to make you road safe and road legal and can protect you against worst place scenarios happening. If your employees do have motoring accidents, liaise with us immediately to make sure you understand any wider implications that could affect you.

Disclaimer

The contents of this article are for the purposes of general awareness only. They do not purport to constitute legal or professional advice. The law may have changed since this article was published.

Readers should not act on the basis of the information included and should take appropriate professional advice upon their own particular circumstances.

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