More people are wanting to travel on their own in their own vehicle due to Covid-19, leading to an increase in private car usage for business journeys, says Jaama.

As a result, the fleet software company believes the management of grey fleet drivers should be a priority for employers.

“Duty of care information needs to be captured and managed properly to ensure drivers are only using grey fleet vehicles which are safe, legal and appropriate for business use,” explained Martin Evans, managing director of Jaama, and director of the Association of Fleet Professionals (AFP).

“Companies who just pay allowances and mileage reimbursements without any diligence do so at their peril.”

Jaama says the buoyancy of the used car sector for four to seven-year- old sub-£10,000 cars, suggests more people are updating their own car to carry out more journeys for work purposes.

Evans continued: “Many fleet managers need to make a concerted effort to ensure they gain control of their grey fleet to avoid big problems in the future. All the signs are that the grey fleet car parc will continue to grow over the coming years.”

Fleet News has previously reported how long-term changes to the way people work could result in more employees becoming grey fleet drivers.

Paul Hollick, co-chair of the Association of Fleet Professionals (AFP), warned that this could have significant consequences for fleets, with more employees joining the ranks of those that drive their car for work, the so-called grey fleet.

Employers have a legal obligation to ensure that grey fleet vehicles are reasonably safe to use, are fit for purpose and are lawfully on the road.

Companies also typically pay Approved Mileage Allowance Payments (AMAPs) to reimburse fuel used in the course of a work trip at 45p per mile.

“Grey fleet could become a bit of a battleground, because of Covid-19,” warned Hollick. “Employees won’t be office-based (in the future), they’ll be home-based, which means their contract of employment might be changed.

“If the employee is classed as home-based rather than office-based a journey from home to the office will then become a business trip.”

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