Company Drivers and Overtime: How Do You Calculate Duty Hours and Eligibility?

Dear All,

When a company executive hires a driver for a company-sponsored car, how should duty hours be calculated? Is he eligible for overtime if he works more than 48 hours in a week? What is the normal practice to address this situation?

Please guide.

Thanks,
CM Joshi

Dear Joshi, I hope the following information will help you.

The Normal Practice of Overtime (OT) for Drivers of Company-Sponsored Cars

Situation 1: The driver is recruited by the company and is on the company's payroll.
OT: As applicable to any other employee of the company.

Situation 2: The driver is 'hired' by the company through outsourcing to a contractor and is not on the company's payroll.
OT: Differs from company to company and may include some questionable practices.

Situation 3: Even though the car is company-sponsored, the driver is hired by the executive, and the company pays a fixed amount of the driver's salary to the executive, who then pays it to the driver.
OT: It is a personal arrangement between the executive and the driver, and the company should not involve itself for its own benefit.

Please provide full details if your case does not fit into any of the above situations.

Warm regards.

Dear Mr. Hansdah, kindly guide on how to engage a driver without violating any overtime laws.

Points to Remember:

1. Duty from 0700 hrs to 1930 hrs.
2. On Sundays, the driver is sometimes engaged.
3. Hiring from service providers does not absolve the company as we are the principal employers.

Regards,
Sanjeev Agraj
[Email Removed For Privacy Reasons]

Driver is also an employee, so how will compliance not be applicable? All employees are covered by all terms of statutory compliances, whether they are on-roll employees or contractual employees.

Regards,
Rajbir Sr. Executive HR