Babcock International is ensuring it meets its licence checking obligations for over 9,000 drivers under a new deal with DriverCheck. 

Ian Pinkney, fleet and mobility manager at Babcock UK

The international aerospace, defence and security company runs a UK fleet comprising 1,100 company vehicles, split between cars and commercials, plus a further 1,000 grey fleet cars, a growing pool car fleet as well as rental cars for designated members of staff. 

The business checks drivers’ licences at least once a year – and up to three times for those deemed a high risk due to penalty points. 

“It would be a huge task, requiring many man hours, to handle internally so it’s a no-brainer to use an external specialist like DriverCheck,” said Ian Pinkney, fleet and mobility manager. 

The company’s fleet is also growing. Since the Covid-19 pandemic, which saw more staff take cash allowances in lieu of a car, more drivers have returned to Babcock’s company car scheme, lured by ultra-low Benefit-in-Kind tax rates. Some 97% of new car orders placed are either for battery electric vehicles (BEV) or plug-in hybrids (PHEVs). 

And the business is in the process of launching a new salary sacrifice car scheme for BEVs and PHEVs, open to all staff and run in conjunction with Novuna Fleet Solutions. 

“We are seeing more drivers coming back into the company car scheme due to the very attractive BiK rates on electric cars as business miles return to near normal. I think it’s fair to say that the numbers of licences we will need checking will only increase, as we add more drivers to our database as a result,” said Ian Pinkney. 

The company’s insurers, Aviva, also review the fleet on a regular basis and are keen to see licences checked professionally. 

By using DriverCheck services, Pinkney is able to manage the huge number of drivers via exception reporting, with regular alerts from DriverCheck highlighting any areas that require immediate attention. 

It’s also a straightforward process to onboard new drivers through e-mandates, although for some field staff without computer access a small number of paper mandates are still required. 

“By managing via exception reporting and onboarding most staff via e-mandate, we are able to make huge savings in time, administration and internal staff costs.  

“The use of DriverCheck gives me peace of mind that we are legally compliant at all times, and that we are meeting our duty of care obligations to our staff and the wider public as driving still remains the most dangerous thing that most of us will do on a daily basis,” added Pinkney.