Company car management – What are the risks?
Company cars can be a legal minefield. Many companies end up operating fleets of company cars without understanding the legal obligation this places upon them. Even if you’re just sending staff from one office to another it’s critical to know what risks you could be facing whilst doing so. Fleet risk management is an essential requirement for any organisation, however large or small.
Are you on top on current legislation?
Risk management is now a major issue at boardroom level given the burden on organisations to meet their duty of care responsibilities towards their employees driving company cars. Company car management comes with a number of pitfalls, one being the need to constantly be on top of current legislation in order to meet these duty of care responsibilities. The two main ones are the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and the UK Corporate Manslaughter (England, Wales and Northern Ireland) and Corporate Homicide (Scotland) Act 2007.
Risk management – What are your responsibilities?
The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 requires employers to ensure the health and safety of all full and part-time workers in the organisation. The Act covers all work-related journeys including drivers in company vehicles, using their own cars or vans for business use, freelance drivers, temporary drivers and agency or contract workers. If the organisation fails to meet these requirements, the senior management and company directors can face large fines and possible prison sentences.
Under the UK Corporate Manslaughter (England, Wales and Northern Ireland) and Corporate Homicide (Scotland) Act 2007, it is possible for a company to be prosecuted as the result of failings by senior management to ensure the safety of their ‘at work’ drivers. The Act makes it much easier to prosecute organisations for manslaughter following a work-related death, than previous legislatioFo
For many busy business owners and managers, handling the responsibility of company car management may well be something that you consider better left to the fleet management experts. If you have any questions on how fleet management could help you manage your company cars, contact us for friendly advice from our experts.
