Not all people who are applying for a new job will come up against driving licence checks but they are becoming increasingly common. Companies have a legal obligation to make sure their staff are driving legally, and this is the case whether their job is wholly driving based, or whether they just use their own car on business purposes occasionally. The whole process of checking driving licences can be complicated and confusing, so if you are not sure why your boss has asked you to bring your driving licence into work, here’s a guide about what they are trying to achieve.
Why Employers Need to Verify Driving Licences
There are lots of reasons why a company might ask workers to bring in their driving licences for checking. The main ones are:
- Legal Compliance: to make sure that employees are legally allowed to drive the company vehicles which they are given.
- Health and Safety: to reduce the risk of being sued should a driver on company business be involved in an accident, even in their own car, and it being found that they don’t have a licence.
- Insurance: any corporate insurance policy will have a clause which requires licence checks on usually an annual basis.
During a check, the employer will be making sure that the licence is genuine, and that the employee has the right entitlements to drive the vehicles they are using on company business. They will also be looking for any points or other restrictions on the licence as they will have to tell their insurer about this. If any previous driving bans are uncovered, the employer may question whether to move the employee into a non-driving role. Employers will usually ask about any previous driving convictions or bans as part of their standard recruitment process for jobs which involve driving.
Timing of Licence Checks
Most companies will run licence checks on new recruits as a standard part of the recruitment process. In addition, most will have a process for re-checking licences when someone moves into another department or role, and on an annual basis. Licence checks are the same as other pre-employment checks in that the rules have to be non-discriminatory. It would be illegal to have a policy of just checking the licences of women, or drivers under the age of 30, for example. For this reason, most employers will have written policies to help staff understand what they are trying to achieve.
Driving Licence Issues Between Checks
One of the most common problems for employers is that workers don’t tell them when they are given points on their licence between annual checks. Even something minor such as being given three points for speeding should be reported to the employer, as it could affect insurance. Some employers might have policies to stop people driving on company business when they rack up 9 points on their licence, and if they lose their licence completely this usually means dismissal.
