LTB 145/19 – New Safe Driver Checks Process
No. 145/2019
8th March 2019
New Safe Driver Checks Process
Dear Colleagues,
Being a safe and qualified driver is a key part of many of the job roles at Royal Mail. Part of Royal Mail’s regulatory compliance is to conduct licence checks twice a year for all drivers and ensure they complete their licence details, health and other employment declarations.
We have been in discussions for some months now with Royal Mail looking at, and understanding how new technology via the PDA can capture all of the above information. Presently, this is done by a manual paper-based process twice a year and we are fully aware that this at times can be complicated and time consuming.
As part of our ongoing effort to simplify this process and make compliance tasks easier to achieve, we have agreed to introduce the new ‘Safe Driver Check Process’ and attached to this LTB is a Joint Statement between Royal Mail and the CWU that covers its use. The new Safe Driver Process will move licence checks, health declarations and other employment for drivers of small vehicles (below 3.5T) to an annual check through an App on the PDA.
The following are some of the safeguards and assurances we have secured to ensure this new approach is compliant with the GDPR Legislation:
- The new process means that driver data will be stored securely, centrally and electronically on PSP rather than in paper form.
- The Safe Driver App allows Royal Mail drivers to input their Driver Licence details (without the need for the driver to obtain a DVLA code), health, other employment and training declarations directly into their PDA.
- This information will be automatically transferred into the People Systems Portal (PSP). This will allow automatic licence checking with the DVLA database and ensure secure, centralised, digital storage of the individual’s information.
- Individual mandates are valid for 3 years and will be securely held centrally within PSP. The licence data will be automatically checked with the DVLA database once a year.
- Managers will not have access to the DVLA database, instead they will view a relevant PSP report sent to them that only includes the people within their direct line of management.
- The PSP report will highlight anyone within the unit who has not yet submitted their information, any anomalies with the DVLA database, the expiry date of individual licences, or where an individual’s declaration necessitates a further discussion.
- Only the line manager of an individual will have sight of their relevant information. Individual data sourced from either the PDA/PSP or the DVLA database will not be published or shared with a wider audience.
- Outside of this annual activity, all Royal Mail drivers will still have a responsibility to make their manager aware of any relevant changes to their driving licence provision or the onset of a health condition or other employment.
- All data will be destroyed at an agreed point of an individual leaving Royal Mail employment.
A phased deployment will commence on 11th March and 18th March 2019, and should take no more than three weeks for each unit to complete and capture drivers’ data. People may have further questions relating to the data gathering process, and these will be addressed in forthcoming communications within the Work Time Listening & Learning sessions.
Any enquiries as to the content of this LTB should be addressed to the relevant Department:
Outdoor Department, reference 300.02, email address: outdoorsecretary@cwu.org.
Or
Davie Robertson, Assistant Secretary, email: dwyatt@cwu.org or shayman@cwu.org quoting reference number: 202.09.
Yours sincerely,
Mark Baulch – Assistant Secretary
Davie Robertson – Assistant Secretary