Current health and safety regulations stipulate that organisations need robust policies in place to ensure that every grey fleet car is fit for purpose, has a valid MoT, is insured for appropriate business use and that the employee has a valid driving licence.
THERE’S a great gap for broker fleet management to fill with a third of businesses carrying out minimal ‘grey fleet’ car or driver checks where the employee uses their own car – and one in six doing nothing at all.
That puts the employer at risk under health and safety legislation for duty of care. They need help. That’s your business – managing fleets and minimising risks.
Nine out of ten (81%) companies responding appear to think they don’t need the expertise of an external fleet management specialist yet only two-thirds of companies carry out any checks, such as whether the driver sent out on company business in their own car actually has a driving licence or if the car is insured or has an MoT.
And if the employee has a crash while on company business, the comeback is squarely on the employer who can face huge fines that will sink the business, or even jail for management.
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Current health and safety regulations stipulate that organisations need robust policies in place to ensure that every grey fleet car is fit for purpose, has a valid MoT, is insured for appropriate business use and that the employee has a valid driving licence.
The survey found less than two-thirds (62%) of UK businesses that allow their employees to drive their own cars on company business carry out some form of check to mitigate the risk, with driver licence checks the most common. But more than 16%, almost one in six, carry out no checks at all.
Meanwhile, smaller fleets are more likely to allow their employees to drive their own cars (93%) on company business than those with more than 100 cars (66%).
These are just some of the findings of a comprehensive new ‘grey fleet’ study by fleet management specialist, CLM, part of the Maxxia Group, which looked at how aware businesses of differing sizes were of ‘grey fleet‘ issues and how they approached them.
Some 12 billion business miles are said to be driven each year on Britain’s roads by employee-owned  or grey fleet cars, which are estimated to be around 14m in number and cost employers more than £5.5bn a year in mileage claims and car allowances.
They have also been shown to be more polluting than new company-provided cars and present more duty of care concerns, as they are unlikely to be so frequently serviced or as well maintained as company vehicles.
CLM research looked at organisations running company car fleets that fell into four categories: those that had a full-time dedicated fleet manager; those that used an employee who had the fleet as part of their business responsibilities; those that employed a professional fleet management supplier; and those that employed a leasing company.
Three out of four companies responding to the survey said employees used their own cars for business travel – the most when company car fleets were small, less than 30 vehicles.
Yet 16% of employers who allow their employees to drive their own vehicle for business carried out no checks at all to mitigate the risk associated with grey fleet.
When it came to the types of checks that were carried out:
- 50% of businesses asked to see driving licences on a regular basis
- 44% of businesses checked that employees had appropriate insurance for their vehicles
- 36% checked that employees’ vehicles had a valid MOT and were in a roadworthy condition
- 30% had used some form of risk assessment and driver training
Only 11% used an external organisation to provide a grey fleet management service.
That leaves 89% that could use professional assistance. Yours.
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