Free Trucking Company Employee Handbook Template

1.Welcome

Welcome to {{Company Name}}. Every load we move carries our name down the highway, and our customers — and everyone sharing the road with us — depend on safe, on-time drivers and the team behind them. This handbook explains how we work together and the rules we all follow — on safety, compliance, equipment, conduct, pay, and time off. {{Add a line or two about your fleet, lanes, and freight.}} It is not a contract and does not cover every situation; when you are unsure, ask {{dispatch / the safety manager}}.

Open with a short, genuine welcome and one or two lines on your mission and values. This sets the tone before the policies begin.

2.Employment Basics

• Equal opportunity: {{Company Name}} is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of any characteristic protected by applicable law.
• Employment relationship: {{Describe your employment relationship — e.g., employment is at-will where permitted by law, meaning either party may end it at any time, with or without cause}}.
• Employee classifications: {{Define full-time, part-time, temporary, and exempt vs non-exempt as you use them}}.
• Probationary / introductory period: {{Length and what it means, if you use one}}.

At-will employment is not valid everywhere — outside the US, and in some agreements, different rules apply. Confirm the correct wording for every location you employ people with your attorney.

3.Code of Conduct

• Treat every co-worker, shipper, receiver, and member of the public with respect; we do not tolerate harassment, bullying, or discrimination of any kind, including conduct based on any characteristic protected by applicable law. Report concerns to {{your manager / the safety manager}}, and we {{do not tolerate retaliation}} for a good-faith report.
• Never drive when you are too tired, ill, or impaired to drive safely, and never be pressured to. Tell dispatch; you will not be disciplined for refusing an unsafe load or an unsafe schedule.
• Record your duty status honestly. Falsifying logs, inspection reports, or delivery paperwork is grounds for {{termination}}.
• No unauthorized passengers, pets, or personal cargo in company equipment; {{state your rider and pet policy}}.
• Protect the load and the customer’s property: secure cargo, keep seals intact, and follow each customer’s site rules.

Cover professional behaviour, anti-harassment and anti-discrimination, attendance, dress, and conflicts of interest. Say how to report a concern and state a clear no-retaliation commitment.

4.Working Hours, Pay & Timekeeping

• Pay: {{describe how drivers are paid — per mile, per hour, per load, or a percentage — plus detention, layover, breakdown, and stop pay, and how non-driving work time is paid}}. {{State whether the federal Motor Carrier Act overtime exemption applies to your drivers, and how state overtime law applies.}}
• Office, shop, and warehouse staff record all time worked using {{the time clock}}; non-exempt staff earn overtime as required by {{the law where you work}}.
• We pay {{weekly}} on {{payday}} by {{direct deposit}}, with {{describe settlement statements and how to dispute a pay item}}.
• Expense advances, per diem, and reimbursements: {{describe fuel cards, tolls, scales, lumper fees, and receipts}}.
• If your pay or settlement looks wrong, tell {{payroll}} within {{the period you set}} so we can correct it.

State the standard schedule, pay periods, how overtime is handled for non-exempt staff, and how time is recorded. Wage-and-hour rules are heavily regulated — match them to your jurisdiction.

5.Time Off & Leave

• Home time and paid time off: {{describe home-time policy by route type and how PTO accrues and is requested}}.
• Sick leave: {{describe paid or unpaid sick time; many states and cities require paid sick leave}}. Tell dispatch as early as possible if you cannot take a load.
• Holidays: {{list the holidays you observe and holiday pay for drivers under dispatch}}.
• Legally required leave — family, medical, jury duty, military, voting — {{describe what applies to a company your size}}.
• Report any on-the-job injury immediately; workers’ compensation and any related leave are handled per {{your state’s law}}.

List paid time off, holidays, sick leave, and any legally required leave (such as family, medical, or jury duty). Required leave varies widely by location — verify each entitlement before you publish.

6.Benefits Overview

This section summarizes the benefits {{Company Name}} offers, including {{health insurance, retirement plan, and any others}}. Official plan documents govern in all cases; where this summary and a plan document differ, the plan document controls. {{Describe eligibility and enrolment.}}

Keep benefits descriptions short and point to the official plan documents for detail. Never let the handbook contradict an insurance or retirement plan document.

7.Workplace Health & Safety

• Follow the hours-of-service rules for property-carrying drivers: drive only after 10 consecutive hours off duty; no driving after the 14th consecutive hour after coming on duty; no more than 11 hours of driving in that window; a break of at least 30 consecutive minutes before driving more than 8 cumulative hours; and no driving after 60 hours on duty in 7 days or 70 hours in 8 days, with a restart after 34 or more consecutive hours off. {{Note any exceptions your operation uses.}}
• Record your duty status on {{the ELD}} accurately and on time, and carry the documents a roadside inspection requires.
• Inspect your vehicle before each trip and complete the post-trip report {{as our procedure requires}}; do not drive equipment with a defect that makes it unsafe, and report defects so they are repaired.
• Secure every load to the cargo-securement rules and re-check it {{at the intervals our procedure requires}}.
• Do not use a hand-held mobile phone while driving a commercial motor vehicle, and do not text while driving. {{State your hands-free policy and whether dispatch may contact you while driving.}}
• Wear your seatbelt, obey speed limits and {{the governed speed}}, and report every accident, citation, or cargo claim to {{the safety manager}} the same day.

Cover how to report injuries and hazards, emergency procedures, and any safety rules specific to your workplace. Reference the safety regulations that apply to your industry by name.

8.Licensing, Certification & Training

• Hold a valid commercial driver’s license with the class and endorsements your assignments require, and tell {{the safety manager}} immediately about any suspension, disqualification, or conviction.
• Keep a current DOT medical examiner’s certificate — at most 24 months between examinations, and more often if the examiner sets a shorter period — and give {{the safety manager}} a copy each time it is renewed.
• Drivers are subject to DOT drug and alcohol testing — {{list the test types in our program: pre-employment, random, post-accident, reasonable suspicion, return-to-duty, and follow-up}}. We query the FMCSA Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse before you perform safety-sensitive functions and at least once a year after that.
• {{Describe orientation, entry-level driver training if you provide it, and ongoing safety training, and who pays for it.}}
• {{Describe any training-cost repayment agreement; these are restricted in some states, so confirm yours with counsel.}}

List the licences and certifications the job actually requires, who pays for them, and who is responsible for keeping them current. Say what happens if one lapses — that is the question this section gets asked.

9.Company Vehicles, Tools & Equipment

• Tractors, trailers, and equipment are company property and are for company business only. Keep your assigned unit clean and report damage promptly.
• {{State your personal-conveyance policy — when and how a driver may use the tractor off duty — and how it is recorded.}}
• Fuel cards and company accounts are for authorized purchases only; keep every receipt and code it correctly.
• Park only in {{approved or secure locations}}, lock the cab, and keep the trailer sealed as the load requires.
• {{If trucks carry cameras, telematics, or GPS, say what is recorded, why, and who reviews it; some states regulate in-cab cameras and tracking.}}

Spell out personal use, passengers, and take-home rules for company vehicles, plus who replaces lost or broken tools. A take-home vehicle can be a taxable fringe benefit — check the treatment with your accountant.

10.Technology & Acceptable Use

• Use {{the ELD and dispatch system}} under your own login only; never share it or log in as another driver.
• Protect customer and load information — shipper and consignee details, seal numbers, and routes — and do not share it outside the company.
• Do not post photos of loads, customer facilities, or accident scenes on social media.
• Report a lost or stolen tablet or ELD device immediately.

Set expectations for company devices, accounts, email, and data. Be clear about what is monitored and what is private, and reference your data-protection obligations.

11.Confidentiality & Company Property

Employees are expected to protect {{Company Name}} confidential information, customer data, and intellectual property during and after employment, and to return all company property on departure. {{Reference your confidentiality or IP agreement where one applies.}}

Tie this to any separate confidentiality, IP-assignment, or data-protection agreement employees sign, rather than restating it all here.

12.Discipline & Leaving the Company

This section describes how {{Company Name}} addresses performance and conduct issues and what happens when employment ends — including notice expectations, final pay handled per applicable law, return of property, and any exit steps. {{Describe your progressive-discipline approach, if you use one, and keep it consistent with the at-will language above.}}

If you describe a progressive-discipline process, add that the company may depart from it at its discretion — otherwise it can be read as a promise that undercuts at-will employment.

13.Acknowledgement of Receipt

I acknowledge that I have received and read the {{Company Name}} Employee Handbook. I understand it summarizes current policies and is not a contract of employment, that employment is {{at-will, where permitted by law}}, and that {{Company Name}} may update these policies at any time. I agree to follow the policies it describes.

Have every employee sign and date this page, and keep the signed copy on file. It is your record that the handbook was received and understood.