Overtime management for transport and fleet operators

Where drivers pick up extra hours

Overtime in a fleet looks different in each business line, so the rules for recording it must too. Before writing a policy, list where your drivers actually lose time, because the fix for a late client logout is not the same as the fix for a four-hour wait at a factory gate.

• Staff transport: late logouts, extra drops and passengers who miss the cab
• City distribution: waiting at customer docks for unloading
• Long-haul: loading delays, check posts and breakdowns on the highway
• Workshop: night recovery of a broken-down vehicle
• Control room: covering a colleague who did not report

City duties: count from the punches

For drivers who punch at the start and end of a duty, ZeniaHR works out overtime every night from the punches. With overtime starting at the end of the duty, nothing under half an hour counted and the rest rounded down in quarter hours, the numbers are hard to argue with. Deepak is on duty B, 12:30 pm to 8:30 pm, with a gross of ₹26,400. A client shift overruns and he punches out at 11:05 pm, 2 hours 35 minutes late, which rounds down to 2.5 hours. With a 30-day month his day rate is ₹880 and his hourly rate ₹110, so his overtime is 2.5 x ₹110 x 2 = ₹550.

Include the pre-trip vehicle check inside the duty timing. If drivers must report 15 minutes early to check tyres, oil and documents, that is work, and it should sit inside the shift rather than being unpaid time before it. Ask supervisors to note the reporting time on the duty chart as well.

Long-haul trips: hours come from the trip sheet

A driver on a five-day run to Kolkata does not punch every evening, so his hours have to come from the trip sheet, loading and unloading times and any log the vehicle keeps. Many fleets pay trip allowances for time on the road, but an allowance is not a substitute for overtime where the rules require it. Work out duty hours per trip, compare them with the prescribed limits, and where overtime is due, add the amount as an overtime payroll input for that driver before the run.

Caps, rest and consent

For a driver, an overtime cap is a safety rule as much as a cost rule. Fix a monthly ceiling that respects the overtime limits your state has notified, review drivers close to it every week, and give a rest gap after any long overtime day before the next duty. Keep each driver's written consent to overtime on file. The fleet supervisor approves or rejects claims in the team view, HR approves second, and a bulk approval at month end should come only after checking the client's trip log.

How to set it up in ZeniaHR

1. Switch on the overtime policy for depot-based duties and count overtime after shift end, with the pre-trip check included inside each duty.
2. Leave the minimum at 30 minutes with rounding down in 15-minute steps, and make approval compulsory so the fleet supervisor and then HR sign off every claim.
3. Enter a multiplier of no less than 2 for working days, weekly offs and holidays alike.
4. Set a monthly cap per driver in line with your state's limits, and review drivers near the cap every week.
5. For long-haul trips, work out overtime from trip sheets and add it as an overtime payroll input before the payroll run.
6. Bulk approve city duty overtime only after checking it against the client's trip log.

Read more about overtime in ZeniaHR.

Roles this applies to

Frequently asked questions