Many people are concerned about the impact that an IRP can have on their employment, and about the reputational damage that can come from having an IRP disclosed to their employer.
As a result of this, a question we get from some of our clients is whether or not they have to tell their employer about their IRP. The answer, unfortunately, is, that it depends.
If a condition of your employment is breached, then your employer can discipline, demote or terminate you.
If a condition of your employment is that you maintain a valid driver’s license, then by receiving an IRP you would be in breach of a condition of your employment.
In those circumstances, unless you have a plan to not have to drive in your employment for 90 days, you will probably need to disclose the IRP to your employer.
However, you may not need to disclose the circumstances as to why your license was suspended.
By this, we mean you could tell your employer that your driver’s license was suspended, but without telling them why.
They may ask about your suspension, and then you will make the decision about whether or not to disclose this information.
But depending on what is in your employee contract, you may not have to explain specifically, why your license was suspended, you only have to notify them that it was.
This gets a lot more difficult for people who are required by their employer to maintain a clean driver’s abstract. Because an IRP shows on your driver’s abstract, even if you can manage your employment for 90 days without driving, having a clean driver’s license may mean that you need to disclose that you received an IRP.
Many people are required, for their employment, to submit to routine driver abstract checks, to confirm that it continues to not reflect any convictions, prohibitions or other incidents.
In those circumstances, bringing the IRP to the attention of your employer would be required, because the driver’s abstract and its cleanliness is a requirement of your employment.
You should always seek legal advice from an employment lawyer yourself, in a circumstance where an IRP may amount to a breach of your employment contract.
Another circumstance that may lead to you having to disclose an IRP to your employer is a situation where you’re driving a company vehicle at the time you get the prohibition.
Because an impoundment is mandatory, your employer’s property is now gone. As the person entrusted with an employee vehicle, you have a responsibility to the employer to look after that vehicle.
In addition, your employer has legal rights to dispute the vehicle’s impound and may be able to get the vehicle released early. But if you don’t tell them about the IRP, it could hinder this process for them.
Of course, this could be a very awkward conversation, but in those circumstances, the employer may be able to mitigate their damages, and by telling them and giving them the opportunity to do this, you may also be able to help yourself, and mitigate your own consequences.
Another situation where it may be advisable to bring your IRP to the attention of your employer is where you’re facing a referral to the Ignition Interlock Program as a result of receiving an IRP.
If you are facing this referral, and you need to drive a company vehicle, you may no longer be able to do that.
Again, all of these examples relate to either your ability to perform your employment or where your driver’s license is a condition of your employment.
But what about individuals who do not have driving as part of their jobs? If you are working from home, there should be no reason you need to tell your employer about an IRP.
If your job doesn’t require driving, and you don’t need to submit a driver’s abstract for any other reason, then you don’t need to disclose getting an IRP as it is not related to your employment.
Because an IRP is not a criminal offence, it’s not really any of your employer’s business if it doesn’t impact your ability to perform your job. So, in those circumstances, there is no obligation to disclose it.
There is an exception to this, and it applies in situations where there is some pressing obligation to disclose this type of incident.
This arises more often in the case of individuals who are part of regulated professions; lawyers, doctors, veterinarians, realtors, etc.
The rules governing regulated professions would require, in some circumstances, that an IRP be reported to the regulatory body.
Every regulated profession is different and so the obligation to report an IRP will depend on the rules governing your profession, and you should seek legal advice before making any report.