If any member of your team drives in connection with their business, by law you must ensure they have a valid driving licence. If they don’t, YOU are breaking the law by allowing them to drive for your business, and there are stiff penalties. The maximum penalty under the Health & Safety at Work Act could be up to £20million.

This includes a PA who pops out to buy you a sandwich, or complete another small errand, the salesperson on a client visit, or the team member who goes to collect paperwork from a client.

So how can you be sure that the driving licence they have is legitimate?

Sadly, with the demise of the paper portion of the UK Driving Licence, the only way to be sure is to check the DVLA record. The recommendation is that this is completed on an annual basis, but definitely for high-mileage drivers or those known to have incurred points previously.

We use an online system called Veriphy for our money laundering checks, and they have a Driving Licence Check option. This may be a cost effective solution for many small businesses. You can retain copies of the reports in case they’re needed for the future.

With GDPR, you must obtain permission from the driver to access and to retain this data. The Veriphy system includes an easy to use facility for requesting and allowing on-going permission for this. It’s also relatively cost-effective, at just £6+VAT per check. Click the link above to find out more.

 

Please note that we do not receive any discounts or other incentive to recommend this option, and there are others available.