1. Purpose
Home care workers spend a large part of the day travelling between visits, often carrying records and a work device. This policy sets out how the Service keeps workers safe while they travel, makes sure those who drive are legal and fit to do so, and protects the information workers carry between homes.
The Service must verify this policy against current health and safety and road traffic law and its own insurance arrangements before adoption.
2. Sources to verify before adoption
- Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, section 2: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1974/37/section/2
- Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1999/3242/contents
- HSE, driving and riding safely for work: https://www.hse.gov.uk/roadsafety/
- DVLA guidance on fitness to drive: https://www.gov.uk/health-conditions-and-driving
- Data Protection Act 2018 and the UK GDPR (records and devices carried between homes): https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2018/12/contents
3. Scope
This policy applies to:
- travel between visits and to and from the first and last visit, by car, on foot, by bicycle or by public transport
- driving on the Service's business, whether in the worker's own vehicle or a Service vehicle
- the records and devices workers carry while travelling
4. Planning travel that can be done safely
The Service plans rounds with realistic travel time so that workers are not pushed to rush or to drive unsafely to make up time. Travel time is treated as part of the working day. Where travel cannot realistically be done in the time allowed, the round is changed.
5. Driving on the Service's business
A worker who drives for the Service:
- holds a valid driving licence for the vehicle
- holds motor insurance that covers business use, and an MOT where the vehicle needs one
- keeps the vehicle roadworthy
- drives within the law, including speed limits and the rules on using a phone, and never uses a hand-held phone while driving
- does not drive if they are not fit to do so, for example through tiredness, illness, medication or a medical condition that affects driving
The Service checks driving licences and business-use insurance on a stated cadence and keeps a record.
6. Travelling on foot or by public transport
Where workers travel on foot, by bicycle or by public transport, the Service considers their personal safety, especially after dark, as part of the lone-working risk assessment. Routes, lighting and waiting points are taken into account, and workers know how to raise a concern.
7. Protecting records and devices in transit
Workers often carry care records and a work device between homes. The Service:
- keeps paper records and devices out of sight and secure while travelling, and never leaves them on display in a vehicle
- protects work devices with a passcode and the Service's agreed security settings
- tells workers what to do if a record or device is lost or stolen, and treats any such loss as a possible data breach to be reported at once
8. Breakdowns, delays and not being able to reach a visit
The Service tells workers what to do if they break down, are delayed, or cannot reach a visit, including how to contact the office or on-call so that the person's care can be covered (see the missed and late visits policy). A worker does not drive unsafely to make up lost time.
9. Road traffic accidents
A worker involved in a road traffic accident while working follows the law at the scene, gets help for anyone injured, and reports the accident to the Service as soon as it is safe to do so. The Service records it and reviews whether anything about the round or the journey contributed.
10. Expenses
The Service states how it pays for mileage or travel costs and how workers claim them, so that the arrangement is clear and fair. (The Service completes its own travel-pay terms here.)
11. Recording
The Service keeps a record of driving-licence and insurance checks, of any lost-device or lost-record events and what was done, and of any road traffic accident on the Service's business.
12. Audit cadence
The Service checks, on a stated cadence, that:
- rounds are planned with realistic travel time
- driving licences and business-use insurance are checked and current for workers who drive
- records and devices carried in transit are protected, and any loss is reported as a possible data breach
- accidents are recorded and reviewed
The Registered Manager reviews the results and records the improvement actions that follow.