Do you have a Grey Fleet?

How do you describe the employees who use their own private vehicles to carry out work-related activities? These are commonly referred to as ‘grey fleets’. Grey fleets are most common within organisations that have a low mileage requirement, and therefore, cannot justify providing company cars, but, how can you ensure that you are managing your grey fleets correctly?

Work-related Driving Activities

All employers have a duty of care towards their employees to ensure their health, safety and welfare at work, under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, and they should also understand that this extends to driving company vehicles for work purposes. They also need to understand that this extends to their grey fleets.

Should an employee be involved in a road traffic accident using their own car, and the management of the company they work for contributed in any way to the accident, they could be liable to criminal proceedings under the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007.

How can companies protect themselves?

Companies must manage grey fleets in the same way they would if employees were driving company-owned vehicles.

They can do this by following these guidelines:-

• Making sure that employees are covered by the correct insurance for business use and obtaining evidence of this
• Checking that employees’ vehicles are roadworthy on a regular basis and have a VALID MOT certificate
• Ensuring that employees’ vehicles are taxed
• Confirming that employees possess a valid driving licence by frequently utilising the DVLA’s online licence checking facility; further information can be found by following this link https://www.gov.uk/check-driving-information
• Advising employees to install safety-orientated tracking and monitoring equipment in their own vehicles

Should an employer fail to act responsibly with regards to managing the risks associated with grey fleets, then they should be prepared for the consequences.