Policy On Accident While On Probation?

Hi
does anyone have a policy for drivers who have accident while still on probation?
do you fire someone who has been employed as a driver but has an accident while on probation? whether the fault is the person or not.
I need to draft something quick and want to see whats already out there.
thanks

Dear friend,
Placing a new recruit to a particular post on a certain period of probation is to ascertain his suitability for confirmation. A driver whether appointed to drive a car or a goods vehicle , he acts as a care-taker as well as a confidant. If he fails in these qualities, how can you confirm him.However in a case of accident, all mitigating circumstances should be taken into account before termination.

Umakanthan Sir,
There is no word for appreciating you and your helping attitude and sharing your knowledge and expertise with others even after your retiremennt is a great help to the society in particular who are into initial stages of their carrier.
Thanks a lot for sharing your rich experience gained in your life time.
regds
Sami

Dear Friends,
The law does not distinguish between probationers and regular employees in a situation when an emp meets with accident or dies while in service.
He is entitled to all terminal benefits irrespective of his employment status. In this particular case, the driver is also entitled to full medical treatment under the provisions of Employees State Insurance Act.
The organization represented by HR has a responsibility to follow this approach. Other issues come later.
Hope this helps.
regards
PG

thanks PG. no one was hurt..but the car is damaged. the driver has been employed only two months. I cant find any law on this and need to write a policy as now, another driver has also had a minor accident. so we need to have a policy in place for such....

Can you actually have a policy in place for this ?

Can you have a policy that states, since you are on probation, you will be terminated in case of an accident that was not your fault, was an act of god or completely the fault of a jerk driving drunk on that day ?

Since the driver is on probation, there is nothing in law from terminating the driver during the probation period (we are not talking of denying compensation related to the accident, right ?)

However, if it was not his fault, is that fair ? More importantly perhaps, are you losing a good driver for no fault other than that he was in probation ?

How do you determine whose fault it was ? Mostly you will believe the passenger he was carrying.

Or if you have GPS devices fitted that tells you what speed he was driving will give you a good idea.

Take a different view now :

Suppose you make a policy saying that any driver having an accident during probation will be terminated.

So every new driver will drive VERY carefully during probation period. He will probably driver slower than necessary causing delays and probably causing damage to the car due to excessive driving in lower gear. Once he is out of probation, he will start speeding and acting reckless may be out of pent up frustration of previous periods.

I would say you do not need a policy.

Instead you need to take each case on its merits and decide.

Yes, I do concur with Saswata."Accident" is one of the words that elude a precise definition both etymologically and legally.That's why it has been defined legally as "an act of God ".Organization's general policy of staffing which covers matters such as recruitment, confirmation etc., would be suffice for the case of drivers also.

He is entitled for compensation from ESIC or from employer under EC Act or MV Act if it is not due to his fault(subject to other provisions of the Acts).If the accident is due to his negligence his performance is poor and he can be fired.
Varghese Mathew