Grey fleet

Grey fleet: an employer's duty of care for staff cars used for work

When staff use their own cars for work, those cars are part of your fleet as far as safety goes. Here is what HSE expects, what to check on each car and driver, and how to keep records that show you've done it.

By VCT · Published 14 October 2026 · 6 min read

What is grey fleet?

HSE describes a grey fleet vehicle as one that a worker owns and uses for business purposes. Cars used under a cash allowance scheme count as grey fleet too. In practice that covers the sales rep visiting customers in their own car, the care worker driving between clients, and the manager who drives to another site for a meeting.

Commuting generally doesn't count as driving for work. HSE makes an exception where someone sets off from home to a work location that isn't their normal place of work, so a trip straight from home to a client counts.

The law covers grey fleet too

HSE is clear that health and safety law applies to work on the road in the same way as on a fixed site, and that the law applies to both company and grey fleet vehicles. The car may belong to the employee, but the work journey is still your responsibility to manage.

HSE asks employers to risk-assess driving for work under three headings: the journey, the driver and the vehicle. For privately owned cars, its guidance says employers should make sure they're safe, and that workers must check their vehicles, have them serviced, and hold insurance and a valid MOT. HSE also asks employers to make sure licences, insurance and MOTs are legal and up to date.

One point from HSE is worth repeating to staff: an MOT certificate only covers basic defects. It doesn't guarantee a car is safe on the day it's driven.

Road traffic law sets the legal minimum for any driver. GOV.UK lists up-to-date vehicle tax, a current MOT where one is needed, and at least third party insurance that covers how the vehicle is being used.

What staff are responsible for

HSE's guidance for workers says the law applies whether they use their own vehicle or a company one for a work journey. Workers have a duty to take reasonable care of their own health and safety and that of other people affected by what they do. HSE gives examples: carrying out the checks needed to make sure the vehicle is safe, keeping it serviced, insured and with a valid MOT, not driving tired, and telling their employer about any medication that could affect their driving.

So the duty is shared. The employee keeps their car legal and safe; the employer sets the standard, checks it's being met and manages the risks of the work journey.

Why it matters

The police and DVSA enforce road traffic law, and the police lead investigations into crashes on public roads. HSE says it generally gets involved where the police find that serious management failures contributed significantly. In the worst cases, where a worker driving for work is involved in a fatal crash, HSE notes that an employer or organisation could be prosecuted for gross negligence manslaughter or under the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007, if there was gross negligence or a gross breach of a relevant duty of care.

This guide is a general summary, not legal advice.

What to check

For each member of staff who drives their own car for work, check these five things:

CheckHow
Driving licenceAsk the driver for a DVLA check code and use GOV.UK's licence check service to see what they can drive and any points or disqualifications. Our guide to driving licence checks for employers covers this step by step.
MOTDVSA's MOT history service shows whether the car passed and when its next MOT is due. You only need the registration.
Road taxDVLA's vehicle tax check shows whether the car is taxed or declared off the road (SORN). Again, only the registration is needed.
Business-use insuranceAsk to see the certificate or schedule and confirm it covers use for work. Note the expiry date so you can ask again at renewal.
RoadworthinessAsk drivers to check tyres, lights, wipers and the rest before work journeys, report defects and get them fixed promptly. HSE expects a clear rule that unsafe vehicles aren't driven.
Check the dates as well as the documents. A certificate seen in January says nothing about June. MOTs expire, tax can lapse after a failed payment, and insurance renews each year, so each check needs a date for the next one.

Practical policy steps

A short written policy makes grey fleet manageable. It should cover:

  1. Who may use their own car for work, and for what kinds of journey. Some employers offer a pool or hire car for longer trips.
  2. The minimum standard a car must meet: valid licence, MOT, tax and business-use insurance, plus regular servicing in line with the manufacturer's schedule.
  3. What drivers must provide, and when: documents before their first work journey and again whenever something renews.
  4. What drivers must tell you straight away, such as new points, a disqualification, an insurance lapse, a failed MOT or an accident.
  5. How to report a defect, and a clear rule that a car with a known safety problem isn't used for work until it's fixed.
  6. Journey planning, including realistic schedules and breaks. HSE's guidance covers fatigue and time pressure as risks to manage.
  7. What happens if a car doesn't meet the standard, so managers handle it consistently.

HSE also expects employers to consult workers on health and safety, so talk the policy through with the people who'll follow it.

Record keeping

Good records show what you checked and when, and they warn you before something runs out. For each driver and car, keep:

  • the car's registration, and which driver uses it for work
  • the date of each licence check, what it showed, and the driver's consent
  • MOT expiry, tax status and the business insurance expiry date
  • the date each item is next due, and who chases it
  • defects reported and when they were fixed

Licence results and insurance documents are personal data, so store them securely, limit who can see them, and keep only what you need.

The hard part is keeping this current. A spreadsheet holds the dates you typed in, so it won't notice when an employee's car fails its MOT or their tax lapses. Grey fleet cars also change more often than company vehicles, as staff buy and sell their own cars without telling the fleet team.

How VCT helps

VCT puts staff cars used for work next to your company vehicles. Each car's MOT and road tax are checked with DVSA and DVLA every night, and its business insurance expiry is shown alongside. Drivers can add their own car themselves. You can record licence checks and consent, drivers can share their DVLA check code from the driver app, and you can see when each check is due. Automatic licence checking with DVLA is coming soon. See grey fleet compliance for more.

Sources

See staff cars and company vehicles side by side

Enter a registration and your email on the homepage. We'll send you a link to a demo of VCT with your vehicle looked up live with DVLA and DVSA.

Try the demoTalk to us