What is a grey fleet?

‘Grey fleet’ is simply the term used to describe any vehicles that do not belong to a company, but which are used for business travel. This might include a vehicle purchased via an employee ownership scheme, a privately rented vehicle or a vehicle privately owned by an employee.

When they are driven on company business, often in return for a cash allowance or fuel expense, these vehicles then become considered part of the ‘grey fleet’ – and as such fall under the responsibility of the employer.

The Risks…

Because grey fleet vehicles do not belong to the company, fleet managers face a complicated set of issues when it comes to managing the safety of their fleet. For one thing, employees using their own car may be outside of the established insurance and servicing policies, meaning their vehicles are not covered for company travel. Another issue is keeping track of the status of grey fleet vehicles to ensure they meet legal road requirements, including:

  • Driving licence validity
  • Insurance details including business use
  • MOT certification

The Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 requires employers to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of all employees while at work. Employers and employees also have a responsibility to ensure that others are not put at risk during any work-related driving activities. In practice, this means you have the same legal duty of care for grey fleet drivers as you would for those in a work supplied vehicle. What’s more, corporate manslaughter laws mean that the onus of having to prove your organisation has fulfilled its legal obligations following an incident can be a considerable burden.

What is the Solution?

Our grey fleet management service is designed to help you with all your grey fleet needs. From within our system we can:

  • Upload your required compliance documentation such as insurance certificates, MOT certificates.
  • Send automated email alerts to drivers to chase documentation as and when its due to expire.
  • Send automated email alerts to fleet managers informing them of problem drivers.
  • Send monthly status reports to fleet managers giving them a full overview of the status of all their grey fleet drivers.