HR Support for Transport & Logistics
From working time regulations and TUPE transfers to driver retention and managing a mixed workforce, we understand the unique HR challenges facing transport and logistics businesses across the UK.
Book a Free ConsultationWhy Transport Businesses Need Specialist HR
Transport and logistics is one of the most operationally demanding sectors in the UK, and the HR challenges reflect that. Your workforce is spread across depots, on the road, and at client premises. Many of your people work variable hours, rotating shifts, or nights. You rely on a mix of permanent employees and agency workers, each with different legal obligations. And when contracts change hands, TUPE transfers can happen quickly, bringing new staff into your business with terms and conditions you did not set.
Getting HR wrong in transport carries real consequences. A driver dismissed without proper process can bring an unfair dismissal claim. Using agency drivers without understanding the Agency Workers Regulations can lead to equal pay claims after the 12-week qualifying period. Poorly managed absence or high turnover disrupts your routes and costs thousands in recruitment. And when you win or lose a contract, mishandling the TUPE process can mean protective awards, inherited liabilities, and a workforce that feels unsettled from day one.
At Rebox HR, we work with haulage companies, courier firms, freight forwarders, warehouse operators, and fleet businesses across the Midlands and beyond. We focus on the HR issues that directly affect your people and your operations: building contracts and policies that work for transport, managing disciplinaries and grievances for staff you rarely see in the office, handling TUPE when contracts move, and helping you recruit and keep the drivers your business depends on. We can support your business on-site if required or work with you remotely.
HR Challenges in Transport & Logistics
Every sector has its unique HR pressures. Here are the challenges we help transport & logistics businesses overcome.
Absence and Performance on the Road
Managing absence and performance in transport is harder than in most sectors because your staff are rarely in one place. A driver calls in sick at 5am and your route is uncovered. A warehouse operative's attendance has been declining but their line manager works a different shift. A driver has had a series of minor incidents but nobody has addressed it formally. We help you put proper absence management policies and return-to-work procedures in place, train your managers to have difficult conversations, and run formal disciplinary or capability processes when needed, including attending hearings at your depots.
Working Time and Drivers' Hours
Transport workers are subject to two overlapping sets of rules: the EU drivers' hours regulations (retained in UK law) governing driving time, breaks, and rest periods, and the Road Transport (Working Time) Directive covering total working time, including loading, unloading, and administrative tasks. Mobile workers are excluded from the standard 48-hour opt-out available to most employees, meaning you cannot simply ask drivers to sign a waiver. Average weekly working time must not exceed 48 hours over a reference period, night workers must not exceed 10 hours in any 24-hour period, and breaks of at least 30 minutes are required after 6 hours of work. We help you build rotas and contracts that comply with both sets of rules.
Agency Workers and Mixed Workforces
Most transport businesses use a mix of permanent drivers, agency workers, and sometimes self-employed subcontractors. Under the Agency Workers Regulations 2010, agency drivers are entitled to the same basic pay and working conditions as your permanent staff after a 12-week qualifying period at your site. Misclassifying workers as self-employed when they are actually employees (or workers) can result in HMRC enforcement, back-dated holiday pay claims, and tribunal cases. We review your workforce structure, ensure your contracts reflect the true working relationship, and help you manage agency workers compliantly.
TUPE on Contract Changes
TUPE transfers are a fact of life in logistics. When you win a new distribution contract, the staff who were delivering that service for the previous provider may transfer to you under TUPE, bringing their existing terms, conditions, and continuous service with them. When you lose a contract, the reverse applies. Getting TUPE wrong can be expensive: failure to inform and consult carries a protective award of up to 13 weeks' gross pay per affected employee, and you can inherit liabilities for any claims the previous employer failed to resolve. We manage TUPE transfers end to end, from due diligence and employee liability information through to consultation, measures letters, and post-transfer integration.
Driver Recruitment and Retention
The UK has faced a well-documented driver shortage for years, and competition for qualified drivers remains intense. Recruitment costs in transport are high, and losing a trained driver means weeks of disruption while you find and onboard a replacement. The causes are varied: an ageing workforce, poor perception of the industry, long and antisocial hours, and competition from the gig economy. We help transport businesses build employment packages that attract and retain drivers, including competitive pay structures, shift patterns that support work-life balance, wellbeing initiatives, career progression pathways, and employee engagement strategies that reduce turnover.
Health, Safety and Wellbeing
Transport and logistics carries inherent physical risks: manual handling injuries in warehouses, road traffic incidents, fatigue-related accidents from long or unsociable hours, and the mental health impact of lone working on the road. Under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, you have a duty to protect your employees regardless of where they work. For transport businesses, this means managing risks across depots, vehicles, client premises, and the road itself. We help you put health and safety policies in place that cover your specific operations, train managers to spot the signs of fatigue and poor mental health, and build a culture where your people feel supported.
How We Help Transport & Logistics Businesses
We work with transport and logistics businesses of all sizes, from owner-operators with a handful of drivers to large fleet operations with hundreds of staff across multiple depots. We build HR frameworks that keep you compliant with transport-specific regulations, protect your operator's licence, and give your managers the tools and confidence to handle people issues properly. Our team understands that your business runs around the clock and across multiple locations, so we flex to fit your operations.
- Audit your current HR policies and contracts against transport-specific regulations
- Draft compliant employment contracts for drivers, warehouse operatives, and office staff
- Manage disciplinary and grievance processes, including hearings at depots
- Handle TUPE transfers when you win or lose logistics contracts
- Implement HR software to track absence, holidays, and training records
- Deliver practical training for transport managers on employment law and people management
- Support redundancy consultations when restructuring depots or routes
- Create policies and procedures tailored to transport operations
Key Regulations We Help You Navigate
Staying compliant in the transport & logistics sector means understanding industry-specific legislation. We keep you up to date and protected.
Road Transport (Working Time) Directive
Implemented in UK law through the Road Transport (Working Time) Regulations 2005. Caps average weekly working time at 48 hours (no opt-out for mobile workers), limits night work to 10 hours per 24-hour period, and requires a 30-minute break after 6 consecutive hours of work. Applies to all mobile workers in road transport, not just drivers. Employers must keep records of working time for at least two years.
Agency Workers Regulations 2010
After 12 continuous calendar weeks in the same role at the same hirer, agency workers gain the right to the same basic pay and working conditions as comparable permanent employees. This includes pay, annual leave entitlement, rest breaks, and night work limits. Anti-avoidance rules (Regulation 9) prevent hirers from structuring assignments to avoid triggering the 12-week threshold. Penalties for non-compliance include compensation claims at tribunal.
Employment Rights Act 1996 (section 1)
Every employee is entitled to a written statement of employment particulars from day one. For transport workers, contracts need to address sector-specific matters: working time arrangements under the Road Transport Working Time Directive, shift patterns, what happens if a driver loses their licence, overnight or away-from-base allowances, and vehicle care responsibilities. Getting contracts right from the start prevents disputes and protects your business.
TUPE Regulations 2006 (as amended 2014)
Applies to service provision changes in logistics, such as when a distribution contract moves from one provider to another. Employees assigned to the organised grouping that carries out the service transfer automatically to the new provider. Their terms, conditions, and continuous service are preserved. The outgoing employer must provide Employee Liability Information at least 28 days before the transfer. Both employers have a duty to inform and consult affected employees. Failure to consult can result in a protective award of up to 13 weeks' gross pay per employee.
How It Works
Free Initial Consultation
We start with a no-obligation conversation to understand your business: your fleet size, workforce structure, depot locations, and the specific HR challenges you are facing. We explain how we work and what support would look like for your operation.
Tailored HR Plan
We design an HR support package around your transport operations. This might include a full policy review, new contracts for your drivers, manager training on working time compliance, or ongoing retained support. You only pay for what you need.
Ongoing Partnership
Your dedicated HR consultant becomes an extension of your team, available by phone or email for day-to-day queries, formal processes, and complex situations like TUPE transfers or restructuring. We can attend meetings at your depots or work with you remotely.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you work with small transport businesses or only large fleets?
We work with transport businesses of all sizes. Some of our clients are owner-operators with fewer than ten drivers, others run fleets of over a hundred vehicles across multiple depots. The HR challenges are often similar regardless of size. Smaller businesses face the same regulations around working time, agency workers, and TUPE as larger operators, but without an in-house HR team to manage them. That is where we come in.
Can you help with TUPE when we win or lose a logistics contract?
Yes, TUPE is one of the most common reasons transport businesses come to us. When you win a contract, the staff delivering that service for the previous provider may transfer to you automatically under TUPE, bringing their terms, conditions, and continuous service. When you lose a contract, the reverse applies. We manage the entire process: due diligence on transferring employees, reviewing the Employee Liability Information, running consultation with affected staff, advising on any measures you plan to make, and handling the post-transfer integration. We have dedicated pages on both TUPE and redundancy if you want more detail.
What is the difference between drivers' hours and working time rules?
They are two separate sets of regulations that overlap. The EU drivers' hours rules (retained in UK law) govern driving time specifically: a maximum of 9 hours driving per day (extendable to 10 hours twice a week), a maximum of 56 hours driving per week, and mandatory breaks of at least 45 minutes after 4.5 hours of driving. The Road Transport Working Time Directive covers total working time, not just driving, including loading, unloading, vehicle maintenance, and administrative tasks. Average weekly working time must not exceed 48 hours, and unlike most other sectors, mobile transport workers cannot opt out of this limit. Both sets of rules apply simultaneously, and you need to comply with whichever is more restrictive at any given point.
Can agency drivers opt out of the 48-hour working week?
No. Mobile workers in road transport cannot opt out of the 48-hour average weekly working time limit. This is different from most other sectors, where employees can sign an individual opt-out under the Working Time Regulations 1998. The Road Transport (Working Time) Regulations 2005 specifically exclude the opt-out for mobile workers. This means you need to actively monitor and manage the total working time of both your permanent drivers and any agency drivers working at your sites, especially if they are also working for other agencies or employers during the same week.
Do you handle disciplinaries and grievances for transport workers?
Yes. We manage the full disciplinary and grievance process for transport businesses, from the initial investigation through to the hearing and any appeal. We understand the practical challenges of running formal processes in transport, such as drivers being on the road, shift workers being difficult to schedule, and incidents happening at client premises rather than your own depot. We can attend hearings at your depot, prepare your managers with scripts and guidance, draft all the letters, and ensure the process follows the Acas Code of Practice so it would stand up at tribunal if challenged.
What should our driver contracts cover?
Every employee is legally entitled to a written statement of employment particulars from day one (section 1 of the Employment Rights Act 1996, updated April 2020). For drivers, the contract needs to cover specific transport-related matters beyond the standard terms: working time arrangements (including reference to the Road Transport Working Time Directive), shift patterns, what happens if a driver loses their licence or receives penalty points, vehicle care responsibilities, overnight or away-from-base allowances, and any requirements around maintaining professional qualifications. We draft bespoke driver contracts that cover all of these areas and protect your business.
Can you help with health and safety in our warehouse operations?
Yes. Many of our transport clients also have warehouse, depot, or distribution centre operations where health and safety is a significant concern. We work alongside your operations team to ensure your HR policies cover workplace safety, manual handling, forklift operations, PPE requirements, and accident reporting. If you need dedicated health and safety support beyond HR, we offer that as a separate service and can integrate both so your people management and safety compliance work together.
How do you charge for your services?
We offer flexible pricing to suit different transport businesses. Most of our clients choose retained HR support, which gives you a dedicated consultant, unlimited phone and email advice, and a set number of included hours each month for a fixed fee. This works well for transport businesses that need regular, ongoing support. For one-off projects like a TUPE transfer, a redundancy programme, or a contract review, we can agree a fixed project fee upfront. We also offer pay-as-you-go support if you just need occasional help. Your initial consultation is always free and there is no obligation.
“I cannot emphasise enough how fortunate I feel to have such an incredible HR team supporting us every step of the way. Knowing they are just on the end of the phone has given us complete peace of mind.”
Relevant Services for Transport & Logistics
Retained HR Support
Ongoing expert HR support with a fixed monthly fee. Your dedicated consultant learns your fleet operations, driver workforce, and depot structure so they can provide advice that fits your business from day one.
Learn more →TUPE Support
End-to-end management of TUPE transfers when you win or lose logistics contracts. Due diligence, consultation, measures planning, and post-transfer integration handled for you.
Learn more →HR Training
Practical training for transport managers on employment law, handling disciplinaries, managing absence, working time compliance, and having difficult conversations with drivers.
Learn more →Ready to Get Your Transport HR on Track?
Whether you need contracts for your drivers, support with a TUPE transfer, or a full HR overhaul for your transport operation, we are here to help. Book a free consultation and let us show you how we work.
Book Your Free ConsultationOr call: 01327 640070