HRMS software for logistics and transport companies

Are your delivery partners employees or gig workers?

That depends on how they work, not on what the contract calls them. The Code on Social Security, 2020 creates a separate social security route for gig and platform workers, but it does not turn them into employees. Aggregators listed in the Code contribute between one and two per cent of annual turnover, capped at five per cent of what they pay to gig and platform workers, from a date the Central Government notifies.

Classification is decided by the substance of the arrangement, not the label on the contract. A rider who works fixed shifts, wears your uniform, follows your supervisor's instructions and cannot decline work looks like an employee whatever the agreement calls them, and misclassification creates arrears of PF, ESI and other benefits rather than a saving. The gig economy glossary entry covers the test. If your delivery staff are employees, Engage tracks them like any other field employee. If they are genuinely independent, they belong outside payroll.

How do you record working hours for drivers?

Hours and rest for transport workers are regulated under the OSH Code and the rules made under it, and overtime is paid at not less than twice the normal rate of wages under the Code on Wages. The difficulty is evidence. Paper trip sheets are filled in after the fact and rarely match the vehicle's movements.

Engage records the start and end of the working day with location, and field tracking keeps the route and stops in between. That gives HR a defensible record of hours for overtime and rest calculations, and gives operations the same data for route efficiency without a second app.

Is warehouse loading work allowed through contractors?

Section 57 of the OSH Code bars contract labour in an establishment's core activities, but loading and unloading is one of eleven categories excluded from the definition of core activity, provided the establishment is not set up for that work. A transport company whose business is moving goods should be cautious about relying on that exclusion for work that is central to what it sells.

The contract labour provisions apply at fifty or more contract workers on any day in the preceding twelve months, counted across all contractors. Peak season is when warehouses cross that line. The principal employer must provide welfare facilities for contract workers directly and must pay their wages if the contractor fails to. The contract labour glossary entry explains the exceptions.

How do multi-hub companies handle state-wise deductions?

A logistics company with hubs in several states owes professional tax, Labour Welfare Fund and minimum wages at each hub's state rate, and keeps a separate holiday list per state. Engage applies each levy by the employee's assigned location, and moving someone to another hub means changing the location on their record.

How should trip expenses and advances be handled?

Run advances and claims through one flow, so each trip advance is reconciled against the tolls, fuel top-ups, food and overnight stays it paid for. In Engage, staff raise expense claims from the app with the bill attached, managers approve on mobile, and approved amounts flow into payroll. Tour advances are requested and settled through the same flow, so finance stops chasing paper receipts.