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Article · 10 min read
A company vehicle hit me: how to claim against an employer (UK)
When an employee in a company car, van or lorry hits you, the employer is usually vicariously liable. This guide explains the law, how to identify the correct defendant, and how to claim against a fleet insurer.
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A company vehicle hit me: how to claim against an employer (UK)
Company vehicles - cars, vans, lorries and specialist vehicles driven by employees as part of their job - are involved in a large proportion of UK road accidents. Estimates from the Department for Transport suggest that company and fleet vehicles account for around a third of all miles driven in Great Britain, and their collision rates per mile are the subject of significant insurer attention.
For the non-fault driver, a company vehicle collision often has advantages over a collision with a private motorist: the employer is likely to carry higher insurance limits on a fleet policy, the employer's details are often visible on the vehicle, and the vehicle's whereabouts and driver identity are traceable through the operator's records. The key legal concept is vicarious liability: the employer's responsibility for negligence committed by an employee in the course of employment.
Vicarious liability: the employer pays
Vicarious liability is the principle that an employer is responsible for the torts (civil wrongs) of their employees committed in the course of employment. The leading case is Lister v Hesley Hall [2001] UKHL 22, though its principles run through decades of earlier authority. The Supreme Court in Barclays Bank v Various Claimants [2020] has confirmed that the test is whether the employee's wrongful conduct was so closely connected to their employment that it is just to hold the employer liable.
In the road accident context, this is usually straightforward: a driver of a company vehicle, making a delivery, visiting a client, or travelling between work sites as part of their job, is acting in the course of employment when they collide with your car. The employer's fleet insurer meets the claim.
The position is more complex where the driver was making a personal detour (going to pick up lunch, visiting a friend on the way to a job) at the time of the collision. Whether a detour takes the driver outside the course of employment depends on the degree of departure from the authorised route and purpose. Minor deviations generally remain within employment; significant detours may not. This is a question for a solicitor or accident management company to assess on the specific facts.
Where the driver was using the company vehicle for wholly personal purposes - weekend use, commuting where commuting is not part of the job - the employer is less likely to be vicariously liable. However, the vehicle's own insurance policy must still cover third-party risks; even if the employer is not vicariously liable, their insurer is required under section 151 RTA to meet the third-party claim.
DETAIL
03
Section 3 of the walkthrough.
Identifying the employer and their insurer
The company name is often displayed on the vehicle's door, cab, or trailer. Photograph this at the scene. Even if the vehicle is unmarked, the registration plate leads to the registered keeper via the DVLA vehicle enquiry service at gov.uk/get-vehicle-information-from-dvla. The registered keeper is typically the fleet operator or leasing company, and the fleet operator's insurer can be identified from the Motor Insurance Database.
Fleet policies are held by the Motor Insurance Database in the same way as individual policies. An insurance search through the MID, available via the askMID service, returns the policy details. However, fleet policies may list the employer rather than the individual driver, so confirming the policy holder requires a further step.
Where the vehicle is a lease car, the leasing company is the registered keeper but the employer is the operator. Both may be relevant defendants depending on the facts: the employer for vicarious liability, the leasing company if there was a defect in the vehicle that the leasing company was responsible for maintaining.
The driver's employer details can be obtained from the driver at the scene. Under section 172 of the Road Traffic Act 1988, an employer who keeps records of which employee was driving which vehicle on a given date is required to disclose this information when requested by the police or a person with a legitimate claim interest.
Fleet insurance and claim handling
Fleet insurers are professional claims handlers accustomed to managing high volumes of commercial vehicle claims. They move quickly after an incident, often contacting the driver within hours. This means the insurer has an account of the incident from the driver before you may have had an opportunity to instruct an accident management company.
The early fleet insurer contact often includes an approach to your vehicle for repair: they may offer to repair your car at one of their approved repairers, arrange a replacement vehicle from their hire fleet, and generally present their service as seamless. You are not obliged to use the at-fault insurer's repair network or hire fleet. As a non-fault driver you are entitled to use an independent repairer and an independent hire company, with the credit costs recovered from the at-fault insurer.
Using an independent accident management company ensures that your engineer's inspection is truly independent, your replacement vehicle matches your needs rather than the at-fault insurer's available fleet, and your interests are managed by someone who is not the at-fault insurer's agent.
Claiming when the driver had no authority to drive
Occasionally a company vehicle collision involves a driver who was not authorised to drive the vehicle - a colleague who borrowed the keys, a family member of an employee, or a driver whose licence check had revealed a disqualification that the employer did not act on. These scenarios involve additional legal analysis.
Where the driver was a colleague who took the vehicle without authority, the employer may not be vicariously liable for that driver's negligence. However, the vehicle's insurer is still required under the RTA to meet the third-party claim, and the insurer can then seek recovery from the unauthorised driver.
Where the employer knew or should have known that the driver was disqualified and permitted them to drive anyway, the employer has a direct liability in negligence for that failure of oversight. Licence check records are disclosable in proceedings.
Take action
If you have just been in a non-fault collision, the fastest way to protect your claim is to open the file with us inside the first hour. We dispatch recovery, lodge the relevant CCTV requests inside the retention window, and notify the third-party insurer for you.
We do not provide legal advice. This article is general guidance for UK drivers. Personal injury enquiries are referred only with your consent to authorised legal or regulated partners. Specific limits, retention windows and process steps may change; the position at the date of any individual collision will govern the handling of that claim.
Frequently asked questions
- The company says the driver was not on company business at the time - how do I challenge this?
- The driver's tachograph data, mileage records, fuel receipts, job management system entries and mobile phone data (if obtained in proceedings) can all establish where the driver was and what they were doing at the time. A solicitor can obtain this through pre-action disclosure. The burden of proving the driver was outside the course of employment is on the employer asserting it.
- The vehicle was a self-employed contractor's van, not an employee - does that matter?
- Potentially. Vicarious liability traditionally requires an employment relationship. The law on liability for the acts of independent contractors is more restrictive. However, where the 'contractor' was in practice under the control of the principal (as with many gig-economy delivery drivers), courts have found employment-like relationships that attract vicarious liability. The substance of the relationship, not the label, is what the court assesses.
- The company is trying to settle quickly and at a low figure - should I accept?
- Early offers from fleet insurers often undervalue claims. Do not accept any settlement without an independent engineer's report confirming your vehicle's pre-accident market value, and without taking advice on any injury element. An accident management company handles the negotiation and ensures you do not settle for less than you are owed.
- What if the company has gone into administration?
- The fleet insurer is still liable under section 151 RTA even if the employer is insolvent. The claim is made directly against the insurer. Identify the insurer from the MID and pursue them directly. The Financial Services Compensation Scheme provides a backstop if the insurer itself becomes insolvent.
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