Driving for Work: Understanding Employer Responsibilities
For most organisations, driving is the highest-risk activity their employees undertake — and the one managers see least of. This page outlines the framework employers operate within and where professional driver assessment can fit.
The position, stated plainly
Employers have responsibilities to manage work-related health and safety risks. Professional driver assessment and development can form part of a wider approach to managing occupational road risk. No single service, including ours, makes an organisation compliant, and nothing on this page should be read as a statement that a particular measure is legally required in your circumstances.
What sits behind driving-for-work risk
These are the main reference points UK employers work within. Each links to the official source — where our summary and the source differ, the source is correct.
Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974
The Act places general duties on employers regarding the health and safety of employees and others who may be affected by their work activities. Work-related driving is a work activity like any other.
Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999
These Regulations require employers to make a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks to the health and safety of employees arising out of or in connection with their work, and to put arrangements in place to manage them.
Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999HSE guidance on driving and riding safely for work
HSE guidance describes managing work-related road risk around three areas: the driver, the vehicle and the journey. Its employer pages set out what organisations are expected to consider in each.
HSE — Employers: driving and riding safely for workThe Highway Code
The Highway Code applies to everyone using the road. Some of its rules are legal requirements; others are advisory. Employers frequently reference it within driving-for-work policies and driver briefings.
The Highway Code (GOV.UK)Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007
The Act created an offence where the way in which an organisation’s activities are managed or organised causes a death and amounts to a gross breach of a relevant duty of care. It is one reason organisations take documented management of road risk seriously.
Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007Driver, vehicle and journey
HSE guidance for employers is organised around three areas. Structuring your own arrangements the same way keeps them aligned with the guidance and makes gaps easier to see.
Driver
Competence, attitude, licence status, health, fatigue and development history.
- Practical assessment
- Licence checking
- Development records
Vehicle
Suitability for the task, maintenance, daily checks and defect reporting.
- Walkaround checks
- Defect reporting
- Maintenance records
Journey
Route, distance, scheduling, working time, weather and overnight travel.
- Journey planning
- Working hours
- Route risk
Driver
Confirming driving entitlement, considering competence and health, and providing information, instruction and training appropriate to the driving people do.
HSE — Make sure drivers and riders are safeVehicle
Making sure vehicles used for work are suitable for the task and kept in a safe condition, with a route for drivers to report defects.
HSE — Make sure vehicles used for work are safeJourney
Considering route, distance, scheduling, working hours, weather and fatigue when planning work that involves driving.
HSE — Plan and manage journeysWhat professional assessment can and cannot do
It can
- Give a documented view of how employees drive for work
- Identify development areas from observation rather than assumption
- Provide written findings and recommended actions for management
- Apply consistent criteria across a driving population
- Support your wider risk-management arrangements
It cannot
- Make an organisation legally compliant on its own
- Guarantee fewer collisions, claims or costs
- Guarantee that an insurer will reduce a premium
- Guarantee that an auditor or regulator will accept any particular documentation
- Replace legal advice on your organisation’s specific duties
Driver assessment and development can form part of a wider approach to managing occupational road risk, alongside vehicle maintenance, journey planning, policy, licence checking and incident review.
Please note
Information on this website is provided for general informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice.
See where your own arrangements stand
The free Fleet Risk Review asks twelve short questions about how your organisation manages employees who drive for work, and returns practical observations across driver, vehicle and journey.
Speak to us directly
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