Simplify driver licence checking
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SERGEANT MARK Thompson is quite right (Perspectives. CM 12 October). It is essential that employers have a system in place to check their employees' driving licences at regular intervals,
At Suckling Transport the frequency of the check is dictated by the number of points on the licence no points will generate an annual check, six points a six-monthly check. And the only effective way to check a licence is through the offices of the DVLA because checking licences themselves is not reliable.
But having to obtain signed mandate forms from our employees to facilitate this check seems an unnecessary burden tome. Surely, as a responsible employer, we should have a legal right to know the status of our employees' licences -without fees and without needing permission from the employees.
After all, it is our operator's licenceand presumably us who would be facing corporate manslaughter charges in the worst-case scenario.
We don't need to know all the detailsbut if we can establish that we are the person's employer, why should we not have access to the licence status through a secure websitc? Let's make it as easy as possible to comply with the law. Peter Lamer MD, Suckling Transport West Thurrock, Essex