Driving license checks by the employer are one of the most important tasks for fleet managers, as they increase safety for employees and all other road users. As part of the owner’s liability, the check is prescribed by law and must be carried out regularly. How often is a driver’s license check really necessary and to what extent is it even permitted? The topic raises many questions, especially in the case of changing drivers, home office arrangements or external employees. One thing is clear: employers who leave checks to chance risk more than just a fine.
In this article, you will learn about the legal basis for driving license checks by the employer, which checking methods exist and how digital solutions facilitate the process.
Contents
What is a driver's license check by the employer?
Legislation stipulates that every company that provides its employees with a vehicle must ensure that they have the necessary qualifications to drive vehicles. Fleet managers must check whether the driver’s license is valid and whether the driver has the required driving license classes to drive the specific vehicle in the fleet .
Depending on the type of fleet and vehicles,driving license classes may be required, such as car classes, truck classes or special classes for the transportation of dangerous goods. Whether this is a personal company car or a jointly used pool vehicle is irrelevant.
For employers, this means that driving license checks are required for all employment relationships in which company vehicles are provided, regardless of whether the employee uses the vehicle regularly or only accesses it occasionally. A vehicle owner who does not check a valid driving license and still allows the vehicle to be used is acting negligently in the legal sense and, in the worst case, even liable to prosecution.
Employer driving license check: What is the legal basis for it?
§21 of the StVG regulates
“A custodial sentence not exceeding one year or a monetary penalty shall be imposed on any person who, as the owner of a motor vehicle, orders or permits someone to drive the vehicle who does not have the required driving license or who is prohibited from driving the vehicle pursuant to Section 44 of the Criminal Code or Section 25 of this Act.”
If the driver’s license check is not carried out at all or only irregularly, both the person responsible for the fleet and the company are threatened with high fines, loss of insurance and, in the worst case, even criminal consequences. Driving license checks should therefore be carefully planned, carried out and, above all, fully documented. In this way, companies can prevent negative legal consequences as far as possible
Under the term keeper liability obligations, in addition to the regular inspection of the driver’s license, the annual UVV driver training in accordance with DGUV regulation 70 is also required by law. This should ensure occupational safety for employees and reduce the risk of accidents to a minimum.
How often should the driving license check be carried out by the employer?
- Checking the driver’s license before using the vehicle for the first time: Before driving a company vehicle for the first time, the driver’s license should be checked for validity.
- Semi-Annual Check: Thereafter, the driver’s license check should be done twice a year to ensure that the company car users are competent to drive the vehicle. This can also be done digitally with the help of the electronic driver’s license check and thus simplify fleet management tasks.
Check your driver's license in good time
Carano’s electronic driver’s license check helps you to never miss a deadline again. Drivers are reminded of upcoming test dates in good time via a smartphone app.
How often you ultimately carry out driving license checks in your fleet as an employer depends on various factors and can be handled differently depending on the individual risk assessment. If drivers receive particularly frequent penalty notices or if there is a serious suspicion that they are unfit to drive, their driver’s licenses should be checked more closely.
In addition to the technical and organizational measures, clear regulations should also be made within the framework of the employment relationship. Companies can avoid uncertainties and legal pitfalls with transparent communication and the written consent of employees to driving license checks.
In any case, every inspection should be documented in a comprehensible manner so that you can provide evidence of the inspections carried out in the event of a claim.
Employer driving license check: What test methods are there?
Employer driver’s license checks can be conducted in a number of ways. A basic distinction is made between manual and digital checking methods for driving licenses. As the first option involves a great deal of bureaucratic and organizational effort, more and more fleet managers are turning to electronic driver’s license checks in order to keep the workload in the fleet low and save costs.
The manual driver's license control
For the manual check, there is a corresponding driver’s license check form in which all important data can be noted and which is signed by both parties. To complete the documents, the fleet manager can also copy the original driver’s license and place it in the driver’s file. The person responsible is obliged to ensure that data is handled securely and to protect the test documents from access by third parties.
This testing method may seem simple at first, but it involves a great deal of time and organization. This is because a personal appointment must be made with the driver for each driver’s license check, the test documents must be organized manually and the results must be securely documented and archived. This is why electronic driving license checks are becoming an increasingly popular alternative.
The electronic driver's license control
Electronic driver’s license verification is available in many ways. First, an NFC tag (NFC = Near Feald Communication) is attached to the driver’s license and this is initialized for the first time. The drivers concerned can then carry out the test by scanning at special test stations, using a smartphone app or via a web application. The inspection intervals can be flexibly defined and drivers are automatically notified of upcoming and overdue appointments. Fleet managers are informed immediately if deadlines are missed. All test results are automatically stored in a traceable manner and can be viewed at any time.
In addition, the digital driver’s license check ensures greater safety and efficiency in fleet management. Automated reminders and transparent documentation minimize the risk of violating legal requirements. Companies benefit from significant time savings, as manual checks are largely eliminated and administrative processes are optimized. In addition, the digital solution protects the company from potential liability risks.
Electronic driver's license check
With Carano’s digital driver’s license check, drivers conveniently check their licenses on the go. Email notifications remind you of upcoming and overdue appointments.
Employer driving license check: What role does data protection play?
The fleet manager is responsible for ensuring that the results of the driver’s license check are stored in an audit-proof manner and inaccessible to unauthorized third parties. A good option for this is a digital, password-protected system. Nevertheless, many fleet managers still stick to analog storage options. A legal gray area is the copying of the driver’s license, which is often done during the manual check. Many fleet managers keep copies of the documents. Strictly speaking, this can be considered forgery. To meet legal requirements and data protection, fleet managers should therefore rely on a digital solution. This way, they can safely carry out their duties to check driving licenses and protect their employees’ data.
When choosing the right provider to carry out the driving license check, you should definitely ask where your data will be stored. According to Section 11 of the German Federal Data Protection Act and Article 28 of the EU Data Protection Regulation, care must be taken when selecting a provider to ensure that the technical and organizational measures also meet all the requirements for data-protected commissioned data processing. If this does not apply, you can object to the storage of your data and should look for another software provider.
Carano ‘s electronic driver’s license check offers fleet managers more security in the fleet and ensures efficient processes and time savings thanks to the fast and uncomplicated processes.
Conclusion
- Driving license checks by the employer are one of the central obligations in the vehicle fleet and should be carried out regularly.
- There is a manual and an electronic method for checking driving licenses. As the manual method involves a great deal of effort, the electronic alternative is preferable.
- Data protection plays an important role in driving license checks. Fleet managers must keep the recorded data secure and inaccessible to third parties.
A reliable process for checking driver’s licenses is not only necessary for organizational reasons – it also protects the vehicle owner from legal consequences. If a company car is used without a valid driver’s license and this fact is not checked regularly, the company can be held liable in an emergency – sometimes even criminally if gross negligence is involved.
Employers should therefore define clear rules for the inspection of company vehicles. It is also important that all employees are informed about the necessity of the check as part of the employment relationship. Consent to driving license checks can, for example, be regulated in a car policy or directly in the company car leasing agreement.
Electronic driver's license check via app
Meet your owner liability obligations flexibly by carrying out your driver’s license check electronically – with Carano, you can do this easily and from anywhere using a smartphone app.
FAQ- Frequently asked questions about driving license checks Employer
There are no statutory regulations regarding the frequency of driving license checks. However, it is generally recommended that checks are carried out at least twice a year. Some companies also set shorter intervals in order to comply with their duty of care and minimize legal risks.
Employers have various options for checking driving licenses. Traditionally, this is done by means of a manual visual check, where the driver’s license must be presented in person. However, digital solutions are more efficient, such as checks using NFC tags, check stations, smartphone apps or web applications. These systems enable automatic documentation and ensure seamless traceability.
The employer is legally obliged to ensure that only authorized persons drive a company vehicle. If an employee refuses the check, they may be prohibited from using the vehicle. In some cases, this can even have consequences under employment law, as driving license checks are part of the company’s duty of care.
Yes, employees are generally obliged to present their valid driving license to their employer if they are provided with a company car or other company vehicle as part of their employment relationship. Without this, the employer cannot prove that the employee is authorized to drive the vehicle. This check is not for monitoring purposes, but is necessary in order to comply with legal requirements and to avoid possible punishable breaches of owner responsibility.
As soon as a company provides its employees with vehicles – be it a personal company car or a shared pool vehicle – the employer is legally obliged to check whether a valid driving license is present. This obligation arises from the so-called keeper liability, according to which the employer, as the vehicle owner, must ensure that only qualified persons drive the vehicles. The check should be carried out before each first-time use and then at regular intervals in order to minimize traffic risks and ensure your own legal protection.
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