HR SERVICES FOR DISTRIBUTION AND LOGISTICS COMPANIES

New warehouse staff should have a comprehensive induction to cover essential information, including:

• Their duties and responsibilities
• Introduction to the team
• Layout and facilities at the workplace
• Health and safety policies and procedures
• Fire safety information (fire exits, assembly points, etc)
• Details about the business – mission, values, policies
• Any other rules and regulations that must be followed

Clover HR can help you create a comprehensive induction checklist and implement induction processes for new employees, be it warehouse workers, drivers or any other role in the distribution and logistics industry.

Drivers’ hours should be covered by the employee’s handbook and terms of employment. This should be done in a way that reflects the possibility of treating drivers’ hours infringements as gross misconduct. This should also be reflected in the disciplinary procedure documentation in case a disciplinary process is triggered.

If your drivers will be transporting goods in the EU, they will be subject to the EU drivers’ hours rules and regulations. According to those, mobile workers must not exceed:

• 48 hours per week on average over a period of 17 weeks
• No more than 60 working hours in any given week
• For a daily working hours total of 6-9 hours, at least a 30-minute rest break (can be taken as two 15-minute breaks)
• For a daily working hours total of more than 9 hours, at least a 45-minute rest break (can be taken as two or three breaks of a minimum of 15 minutes)
• If working overnight, there must be at least 10 hours of rest time in any 24-hour period (technical or organisational reasons can affect this)

Yes, you can employ casual drivers on a zero-hour basis, and they will be entitled to all statutory rights under their zero-hours contract.

You are allowed to hire a 16 or 17-year-old to work in a warehouse, but young worker rules would apply to them, which include:

• No more than eight working hours a day and 40 hours a week
• If a working day is more than 4.5 hours, at least one 30-minute break is required
• Between two working days in any 24-hour period, they must have at least 12-hour break
• Two consecutive rest days (48 hours) taken each week
• If the above is not possible, then at least 36 hours together and the remaining 12, as soon as possible

You must put in place a company dashcam/surveillance footage policy which includes:

• Information on how the recordings will be used, stored and processed
• The length of time private data will be stored for (should never be longer than absolutely necessary)
• Clear processing for communicating your dashcam policy to the drivers and other users
• Notification on the vehicle alerting the public to the fact that dashcams are in use
• Tight policies for secure storage and access to all recorded footage

This depends on the conditions of employment. If the driver is self-employed and works for you casually, then they have the right to work for other businesses as well. If they have a permanent contract with your business, it will typically prevent them from working for other employers while they are working for your business.

You could attempt to improve the driver’s attendance by:

• Ensuring expectations regarding attendance are clear
• Identifying the reasons for poor attendance
• Providing incentives for better attendance
• Implementing repercussions for poor attendance

• You should always investigate each accident in a timely way, following your internal procedures, i.e. own fault accidents
• Always consider re-training as an option if appropriate. Evidence of such is key for effective management
• Be mindful that there may be different causes, which include a range of issues that may be a result of capability and/ or conduct issues
• Invoke the correct procedure and engage with an Occupational Health Provider and Employee Assistance Programmes as necessary

Your self-employed drivers should provide you with information on the following:

• Drivers’ hours and requirements for recording and reporting in line with appropriate rules and regulations (particularly if they are fulfilling a number of roles and contracts for different suppliers)
• Evidence of licence checks, medical checks and continuous professional development/ training to meet the requirements of the operating licence and demonstrate the necessary competence of all workers regardless of their status.

Be mindful of IR35 requirements. Any information you require must be in line with the requirements applicable to self-employed employees, regardless of their role.