1. What proper system in the Royal Mail (insert your place) delivery office do you have operating for authorising or permitting the use of private motor vehicles by your employees in the course of the discharge of their duties thus ensuring that any vehicle that was so used was roadworthy?
2. Why was it permissable for the mail to be carried in an unregulated and unauthorised private motor vehicle in relation to which there were no checks in respect of its roadworthiness or to ensure that the driver of the same was a competent person or that the said vehicle was insured?
3. Has there ever been a suitable and sufficient risk assessment made at the (insert your place) delivery office of the manual handling risks involved in the loading and unloading of private vehicles with mail? If there has been an assessment done please provide a copy of the relevant assessment.
4. Has there ever been proper instruction, training and supervision at the (insert your place) delivery office of employees given in any or any safety policy as regards the use of private vehicles during the course of delivering the mail?
5. Has there ever been a suitable and sufficient risk assessment made at the (insert your place) delivery office of the risks to the health and safety of employees undertaking to make deliveries of mail using private vehicles and the suitability of each vehicle for carrying loads? If there has been an assessment done please provide a copy of the relevant assessment.
6. Is there a current written Royal Mail policy in force governing the use of private vehicles? If so, please provide a copy.
Many organisations, either explicitly or implicitly, sanction the use by employees of private vehicles to carry out company business. Even though the car belongs to the employee it is being used to perform activities which are part of the organisation's undertaking and therefore it should come under organisational control - particularly with regard to health and safety aspects.
In general, work activities involving private vehicles (like any other work activity) need to be risk assessed under Regulation 3 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 (every employer shall make a suitable and sufficient assessment) in order that the safe system of work (SSoW), required under the [/b]Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, can be provided. Specific activities may also need to be assessed under regulations such as the Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 and the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 1994. The arrangements made to control such activities need to be recorded.
It is no good for the health and safety protection of the employee when Royal Mail Management simply turn a blind eye to the use of private vehicles for work even though it was aware of the practice. Safe systems of work for the use of private vehicles and risk assessments on the use of private vehicles at work must be in place. The Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and its associated legislation, unless specifically excluded by the way in which regulations made under the Act are framed, is applicable to private vehicles used for company business.
