New research from Alphabet (GB) has revealed 33% of fleet managers have little to no knowledge of corporate duty of care to employees that drive company-owned or leased vehicles.

New research from Alphabet (GB) has revealed a third (33%) of fleet managers have little to no knowledge of corporate duty of care to employees

Less than half (45%) considered themselves very knowledgeable on the topic and while the majority conduct regular driver risk policy reviews (81%), there is still a proportion of businesses that don’t have a driver risk policy in place at all (4%) or haven’t reviewed their policy in the last 12 months (15%).

All businesses have a legal duty to actively manage health and safety in the workplace and ensure they have policies and procedures in place to reduce work-related risk to both employees and members of the public. When travelling for business, vehicles are considered a place of work and must be well-maintained, taxed, insured, hold a current MOT, and be ‘fit for purpose’. Businesses should also conduct regular driving licence checks, risk assessments, and training to help manage and reduce driver risk. Overlooking aspects of duty of care or not keeping adequate records can have significant legal, financial, and reputational consequences.

When asked about driving training and accident management, encouragingly the vast majority of fleet managers said they have a driver training programme in place (88%). However, 12% of businesses with fleets larger than six vehicles said they did not conduct any form of driver training and a further 10% offered training less than annually, meaning new starters are likely to miss out on vital knowledge. Similarly, while most fleet managers said they keep records of accidents that take place in all vehicles on business travel, rather concerningly, 8% of respondents said they do not record details of accidents involving company vehicles and the figure doubled to 16% for private vehicles.

Alphabet’s latest research also found that while 43% of businesses have seen an uplift in the number of employees using private vehicles for business travel post-pandemic, 51% of UK fleet managers still don’t consider themselves as having a good understanding of duty of care responsibilities for their ‘grey fleet’ population. This knowledge gap is further reflected by the fact that nearly a third of fleet managers said their business doesn’t have a risk management policy in place that covers all employees, regardless of whether they are driving company or private vehicles.

“If a business requires its employees to use vehicles for work, it’s critical fleet managers, drivers, and the wider organisation, understand and mitigate the risks associated with occupational driving. Driver risk must be correctly managed to ensure duty of care and legal obligations under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, Road Traffic Act 1988, and the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 are met,” commented Gavin Davies, general manager, Customer Account Management at Alphabet.

“However, our research shows there are some vital gaps when it comes to understanding and meeting duty of care responsibilities when employees are driving on company business. Far too many employers are still unaware that they retain responsibility for their employees’ safety and conduct when they’re travelling for work purposes, even if they’re using their own car. This is particularly concerning given the increase in private vehicle use that 43% of fleets managers have observed since the pandemic, as these vehicles are often older, not as regularly maintained, and much easier to overlook than company vehicles. It’s clear fleet managers need to prioritise risk management, whether that’s seeking external advice or bringing in an experienced partner to manage the full process for them. A robust and proactive driver risk strategy will not only help businesses better understand and manage potential risk, it can also reduce fleet running costs and downtime.”