How to recharge a traffic fine correctly, transparently and without disputes to the driver who committed the offence.
When an employee drives a company car and a traffic fine is issued, that fine first arrives at the company. After all, the company is the registered keeper. Many organisations then want to recharge the amount due to the driver who actually committed the offence. That is possible, provided you handle it carefully and transparently.
For company vehicles, the registered keeper receives the fine — in practice, the employer. Whether you may then recharge that fine to the employee depends on two things: the agreements you have put in place about this and the nature of the offence. It is wise to include clear agreements about traffic fines in the employment contract or an additional policy, so there is no ambiguity for either party.
Please note: this is general information and not legal advice. If in doubt, always have your agreements and approach reviewed by a lawyer or employment-law specialist.
It is important to keep two concepts apart. Registered-keeper liability means the fine goes to the registered keeper, regardless of who was driving. Fault is about who actually committed the offence. Recharging is about the latter: you want to place the fine with the driver who was in the vehicle at the time of the offence. An accurate trip record or a solid link between vehicle, date and driver is essential for this.
A transparent recharging process looks like this:
Most friction around recharged fines comes from unclear communication. A driver who receives a vague request without context is more likely to push back. So send a personalised payment request by email and SMS that clearly states the offence, the location, the date and the amount. Because every step is logged — sent, opened, clicked and paid — you know exactly where a request stands and you always have a well-documented case file if questions arise.
Want to see the whole process in context? Read the overview page on managing traffic fines across your fleet.
For company vehicles, the registered keeper (the company) receives the fine. Whether and how you can recharge it depends on the agreements in the employment contract and the nature of the offence. Set clear agreements about this in advance and consult a lawyer if in doubt.
Using the licence plate and the time on the fine, you link the fine to the driver who was in the vehicle at that moment. In Fleetfines you select the relevant driver from your driver database.
Yes. Besides a full payment, you can offer a payment plan so a larger amount is settled in several instalments.
Because all communication and payment statuses are recorded per fine, you always have a complete and transparent case file. That makes any dispute easy to substantiate.
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