Taking all the information supplied by job applicants at face value these days is dangerous. Every effort should be taken to verify each and every document relevant to the position applied for.
Many employers require employees to have a valid driver’s licence for certain positions. This is necessary for insurance purposes and also to ensure that at least some protection and good care is given to company vehicles which those individuals may be entrusted with driving. This verification is essential for companies where the prospective candidate may make use of company vehicles or where driving a vehicle forms a part of the candidates position.
Failure to have a valid driver’s licence is the single most quoted reason for insurance companies rejecting accident claims. Companies who have large fleet of vehicles are particularly vulnerable, as all too often they take for granted that a driver’s licence shown to administration personnel is in fact valid and genuine. Further to an initial verification of the licence is the need to ensure that the licence is renewed. South African drivers licences are only valid for a period of 5 years which means that companies need to ensure ongoing checks to make sure liecnces have not expired-opening the company up to possible risk again.
South Africa has one of the highest driver’s licence fraud rates in the world, with estimates of the numbers of invalid drivers’ licences varying between 20 and 40 percent.
Under these circumstances, it is nothing short of recklessness not to ensure that all drivers’ licences in your company are validated as genuine.