More than six out of 10 companies (62%) don’t have any form of ‘grey fleet’ policy in place covering business use of employee-owned cars, despite the safety and legal risks of not doing so.

A grey fleet vehicle needs to have the same level of risk management attention as a company car provided by the business

The research, carried out for the 2023 Arval Mobility Observatory Barometer, also shows that only 16% have adopted a ‘comprehensive’ policy covering the subject.

It’s a new question for the annual Arval research – and with an estimated 14 million grey fleet vehicles on UK roads, the leasing and mobility solutions specialist said it was probably the single most worrying finding.

Shaun Sadlier, head of Arval Mobility Observatory in the UK, explained: “It shows that a huge proportion of companies don’t have any formal structure in place for handling this crucial safety issue which, if it is not taken seriously, not only increases the chances of accidents, but could even see directors of companies being liable in the event of a serious incident.

“Any vehicles driven for business bring the same level of responsibility for the employer, whether a company car or a privately owned vehicle used by a member of staff for a work-related journey. That means a grey fleet vehicle needs to have the same level of risk management attention – covering everything from the driver to the suitability of the car to how it is maintained – as a company car provided by the business.

“To see so few fleets having a grey fleet policy in place is a major concern and suggests that much work needs to be done to raise awareness among businesses when it comes to their legal obligations.”

Sadlier added that a dearth of companies with a ‘comprehensive’ document was also a major concern.

“This is an area that requires a high degree of management attention and, in many cases, it is doubtful that a ‘simple’ policy will be adequate.”

A lot of the time, businesses can simply adapt many parts of their existing company car policy to cover grey fleet requirements – adding in certain controls relating to the use of a grey fleet vehicle such as setting maximum age and mileage of the vehicle, insurance cover requirements and more.

Arval’s research also reveals little difference between smaller and larger companies over the adoption of grey fleet policies. Among the smallest companies with fewer than 10 employees, 34% say they have a policy, while among the largest with more than 1,000 employees, the figure is 39%.

Sadlier finished: “It is also surprising to see that these results are largely consistent across organisations of all sizes. It might perhaps be expected that small businesses have less resource available to effectively manage grey fleet than major organisations, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.

“What we are seeing is a problem that exists across all sizes of companies and where improvements really need to be made.”

Details of the Arval Mobility Observatory and the 2023 Barometer findings are available here.