Ensuring that your vision is good enough to drive safely may seem like common sense for a lot of people, but worryingly it’s something that often gets overlooked by employers.
At present, there is no legal obligation for employers to make sure their drivers comply with minimum sight requirements. Once a driver has passed the mandatory driving test sight assessment, they are not required to prove the fitness of their eyesight again during their working lives.
However, in 2011 this is set to change. New EU legislation is due to be introduced, making it mandatory for all employees who drive whilst on company business to have their eyes tested regularly in order to keep their licences.
Research by Specsavers Corporate Eyecare has discovered that 60 per cent of employers do not have a policy in place to test the eyesight of their employees. So how will these new regulations be implemented and what will it mean for the nation’s businesses?
The current proposal is that holders of commercial licences (category C & D vehicles) will have to have their eyes tested every five years and holders of private licences (i.e. bikes, cars and most vans) every 10-15 years. Each EU member state has until 2013 to translate the directive into national law.
However, at a time when many businesses are struggling to make ends meet, a lot of employers will no doubt be questioning who will fund the sight tests – the company or the driver?
“Ultimately the duty of care lies with employers and many employees will be expecting them to fund the cost of eye tests,” said Jill Davies, Westfield Health Chief Executive.
“It is their responsibility to ensure that any person driving as part of their work has sufficient vision to do so safely. Employers will be looking for the most cost-effective way to ensure staff can gain access to optical care whenever they need it – whilst keeping additional administration and paperwork to a minimum.
“A corporate-paid health cash plan is an obvious solution, as staff can manage their own sight tests, booking appointments at a time and place convenient to them and claiming back the cost of the test and glasses (up to the limit provided) directly from the policy provider.
“For a relatively small investment, this system helps the company to ensure its drivers meet the necessary requirements, whilst avoiding incurring additional paperwork internally.”
Cash plans enable employees to claim back the cost of optical care other forms of healthcare including dental treatment, physiotherapy and diagnostic consultations.
Jill said: “It’s important to remember that regular sight tests are not only invaluable for assessing the strength of your vision, they can also pick up on a number of underlying health problems such as glaucoma, diabetes, cataracts, high blood pressure and even life-threatening tumours.
“By choosing the right plan, employers can introduce a high value benefits scheme for their whole workforce, enabling the company to give something back to staff without implementing costly pay rises.
“Staff receive the benefit of having access to good eye care and other healthcare – without the cost. And employers get the peace of mind that they are taking every step to ensure that the new legislation is being met.”