As a business owner, you are also responsible for your employees. Depending on the nature of the work being conducted by your business, the risk of auto accidents involving employees might be greater. That’s why it’s crucial for you to legally protect your corporation and present an efficient guideline to your employees. This guide gives a quick rundown of creating a clear corporate policy to mitigate possible legal risks and ensure employee safety.
Table of Contents
Importance of Creating an Employee Auto Accident Policy
Like all corporate guides, an auto accident policy involving employees is primarily for legal purposes. Creating such a guide helps with managing risks, safeguarding the company and it’s reputation, and improving the company’s overall safety culture by making employees feel looked after in case an unfortunate event does occur.
Such a policy provides the business and employees a How-To manual (of sorts) if something happens, with everyone being on the same page to address such situations.
How to Create an Employee Auto Accident Policy
The creation of an employee auto accident policy needs to use clear language along with well-detailed protocols that can be easily followed.
Preventive Measures
You should begin the policy with auto accident prevention techniques. The guideline should showcase safe driving practices for employees. Take note; even the most “common sense” prevention techniques should be mentioned. Don’t leave anything out by assuming employees should already be familiar with it. For example, even though everyone knows not to, the auto accident policy should still mention that employees should not be texting while driving. They should follow the local traffic laws and such.
Due to employees using company cars, driving workshops as well as safety seminars should be planned to train employees when it comes to proper driving protocols and vehicle maintenance.
If possible, you should invest in installing GPS tracking systems and other recording devices in the vehicles to monitor driving patterns. Of course, the presence of such tracking systems should be disclosed to employees. The systems are there for their safety, not for spying on them.
As humans tend to become complacent, disciplinary action should be taken to discourage employees from not adhering to company policy.
Streamline Reporting and Documentation
Incident reporting needs to be made as efficient as possible. Employees should know how to immediately report an auto incident to their supervisor or whoever is their team lead. Workshops should be conducted to train employees in proper report writing. A well-detailed report will help with record keeping and any legal procedures that might follow. Such reports also aid with investigating accidents and forming a plan to prevent similar accidents from occurring in the future.
Also, the police should be notified in case of major injuries, vehicle or property damage.
You don’t want your company facing a negligence lawsuit. That’s why the documentation process should include the initial reports, photographs, employee and vehicle information, witness accounts, and so on. The more details, the better. Proper documentation can help lower any legal risks that might arise.
Employee Support
Employees should feel supported by the company. Medical assistance should be prioritized when dealing with an auto accident along with access to other medical resources (on a case-by-case basis).
You should help employees seek any emotional support they might require after experiencing a traumatic accident.
Legal Protections
Anything you put in a corporate auto accident policy should adhere to the law. You should research state laws regarding auto accidents and related business and employee regulations when creating company policies.
Hiring a lawyer is recommended as they can help you iron out the details and cover your bases depending on the location in which your business operates. As an example, in Portland, Tennessee, the law follows a modified comparative negligence system that’s different from most others. An experienced Portland car accident lawyer can offer much-needed aid in such situations.
The legality of the policy also takes into consideration insurance coverage. The policy should help employees familiarize themselves with the company’s auto accident-related insurance claims as well as establish efficient communication channels with insurers.
Refinement
A company’s corporate policy regarding auto accidents involving employees is never a one-and-done deal. Business policies should be reviewed and updated periodically and proper changes should be made to reflect any modifications in State laws and other legal concerns.
Employee feedback can also help with molding the company’s car accident policies.
Conclusion
As a business owner, you are responsible for the well-being of your employees. A well-constructed corporate policy can go a long way in mitigating auto accident risks and ensure that your employees as well as your company’s reputation and assets are protected. The legal world can be a very scary place for ill-prepared businesses. Hopefully, this particular guide can offer an assist with your policymaking.
