Existing Drivers

TC Cars Driver Agreement

This agreement will provide you the driver with the rules and regulations that you must adhere to, to enable you to operate as a self-employed TC Group driver. Once you have read and agree to abide by the rules and regulations set out by the TC Cars Group you will be asked to sign the handbook. Should you fail to adhere to the guidelines you will be asked to leave.

Payment of rent

Rent is paid in advance for the week ahead. The week starts on a Sunday and rent is due by midnight every Monday, the driver door is open Saturday and Sunday also for any cash payments. You will be shown how to do this by the manager that is chairing the induction. The easiest way to pay your rent is by BACS transfer, details can be found in your pack. Full time rent is £120. And Part time is £100 for three shifts. Rent paid after midnight on a Monday incurs a late fee which is currently £150. If you are unable to work due to illness or mechanical breakdown and need your rent carrying over you must text contact Lee 07948352009 or John 07792328548 who deal with any rent issues. Please contact before 5pm on a Friday or rent will not be carried over for the next week.

Dress Code

The dress code required at the TC Cars Group is as follows. TC logo polo shirt black or white, white cotton shirt preferably with logo, any coats cardigans or jumpers must be black again preferably with logo, plain black trousers with plain black shoes. Tracksuit tops, hoodies of any description and coats with stripes and patterns are not allowed. Trainers are allowed but must be completely black including sole. Logoed uniform can be purchased from John at PB Sports, Chelmsley Wood Industrial Estate, 8 Waterloo Avenue, B37 7QQ 0121 770 8000. Drivers who are caught not wearing correct uniform will be suspended for a period up to 24 hours up to the discretion of who is dealing with you, persistent offenders will be asked to leave the company.

Vehicles Livery & Cleanliness

Vehicles must have door signs; we provide stickers or magnets if you choose magnets it is advisable to put them in your boot after each shift as replacements are charged at £10.00 each. You will also be given two clings (TC Logo stickers) and two driver codes to be displayed in front and rear screens, Birmingham drivers do not have to display clings. It is your job to keep your vehicle in a clean and roadworthy state, Road Managers and Management are out there checking. Should you be stopped and checked please afford the manager the respect he or she deserves, he or she are only doing their job. The penalty to be given is at their discretion and can be anything up to 24 hours’ suspension. Upon receiving whatever penalty DO NOT ring other managers trying to have it rescinded as this WILL NOT happen.

Driver Paperwork & Updates

Your badge plate & insurance is your responsibility and must be kept up to date in the office should you fail in any part of this you will be taken out the system. John Gregory ( john@tccars.co.uk ) our night manager is in charge of maintaining paperwork in the office. All updates are to be given to him or asked to be put in his tray. If it is an update and we do not need the original, you can email a copy to John on the address above.

Equipment

The only equipment we provide is the Paypal device that is used to accept credit & debit card payments. Upon receiving this you will be required to pay a £30.00 deposit. If you leave TC group and return the device in full with charger undamaged you will receive your deposit back. If the device is lost / stolen or damaged, a payment of £60.00 is required for a replacement.

Office

Drivers are only allowed at office to pay rent or if requested to do so by management. The office has no driver facilities as this was one of the terms of the planning permission.

Starting Shift

Before logging on please ensure your car is fuelled, devices (PDA & Paypal) are charged and sufficient float to at least cater for a £3.00 fare and being given a £20.00 note. Should you need to finish your shift at a certain time please inform the staff at the start of your shift, this will be the only reason that will allow you to call off a job.

Accepting Jobs

Once you have accepted a job please go straight to it. Do not refuel or pop to the shop as all this should be done before making yourself available for work. In the unlikely event of a puncture or breakdown inform the office straight away to enable staff to pass your job on. If you do get a puncture you will not be allowed a job for an hour from point of call, why I hear you cry. Believe it or not we have had drivers get punctures had job passed on got their personal F1 crew that live in the boot of their car and changed the wheel in 6.8 seconds and want to go back on rank first of course. Moral of the story, we have been in the industry a long time and know a few of the scams.

Assisting Passengers

Believe it or not folks you are in the SERVICE industry you would be surprised to find out how many do not know. Upon arriving at a supermarket get out of your vehicle open the boot and assist with shopping and at destination there are three benefits to this, one takes less time to do job, two customers will be happy and continue to use us, three increase your earnings with tips. The same should apply to airport bookings. Do not sit in the car and pop the boot.

Correct Route

Since time began all routes taken are to be shortest unless instructed otherwise by the customer, even then you must explain that their preferred route will cost more if they are happy with that you can then proceed. Please remember shortest and fastest can have a massive bearing with cost of journey to which the customer is not always aware, it is up to you and good service to explain this to the customer. A lot of driver complaints arise from this where a driver asks customer “do you have a preferred route?” to which the customer mostly replies “fastest please” driver starts to rub his hands knowing full well he will make an extra fiver on this particular job. Upon reaching the destination and the passenger is asked for the fare they now believe they are being over charged and make a complaint. When driver is challenged by the office the drivers always answer “they asked me to go that way not my fault” well yes it is you are a professional driver talk to your customers and keep them informed.

Overcharging

Each complaint of overcharging will be dealt with on its own merit, however if you are found to of overcharged you will have to return the WHOLE fare and not just the overcharge. Habitual offenders will be asked to leave as this will not be tolerated.

Meters

The meter must be used on all cash jobs, if you fail to do so the passenger is within their rights to walk away without paying anything to you the driver. The meter should be displayed in your vehicle where it is clearly visible to passengers. Again habitual offenders will be asked to leave the company.

Waiting Time

Can only be charged once you have arrived at pick up point, the first five minutes is free if it is a pre booking the five minutes must start from time of booking. When the five minutes has been exhausted you may start the waiting time on the meter which is currently set at £0.30 per minute/£18.00 per hour. Wait and return journeys are charged at round mileage and do not charge first mile twice.

Bidding On Work

How to bid on work will be shown to you at the end of the induction. Please remember when bidding on work, if successful you will have to complete job you will not be allowed to call off it just because you do not like the look of it. Only bid on a job if you believe you can arrive within ten minutes’ subject to traffic obviously.

Please remember customers are the main priority, happy customers are returning customers.

To aid us in building new areas, drivers are expected to run for work, when circumstance dictates an operator will send the closest vehicle and there is no limit to how far you can be sent for work, just whoever is closest. Should you feel aggrieved do not waste time phoning the office, the end result is you do the job or receive a 24-hour suspension. The only way to be taken off a Job is if you have informed the office that you need to finish your shift at a certain time and the job will take you over that time.

Account Work

The prices on account work can vary, either TC group fare structure or a fixed fare, they are non-negotiable. Please remember no one is allowed to refuse work without penalty. Currently all account monies are paid via BACS transfer on Thursday. Any jobs accrued from 00:00 Sunday to 23:59 Saturday will be paid on the Thursday after. Any jobs after this time would be paid the following Thursday. Always check account balance on a Monday via rent sheets on your PDA, if you believe there is an error contact Jade Carr (Accounts Manager) via email jade@tccars.co.uk should you wait till Thursday then raise the issue it may not be resolved. Please be aware Jade finishes at 15.00 hours.

Refusing Work

This was mentioned in the previous paragraph, to clarify the only times you can refuse to do a job are as follows, you have informed office you need to finish shift at a certain time, you have another booking such as school contract etc. and the booking must be in the office or it is a passenger that you do not pick up again the office should be informed and in the office log.

Taking Another Drivers Job

If you take another drivers job without the permission of the operator, you will have to return the fare to the office who will in turn give it to the driver who should have received it. Drivers that do not return the fare will receive a 24-Hour suspension. Worse still god forbid you had an accident you are not insured as the job is not booked through the office.

Dead Jobs

Drivers are expected to give sufficient time before calling a dead job; this will generally mean five minutes after your first ring back or five minutes after booking time. Drivers must also wait at pick up location to call the job dead and await confirmation from the office. If you are calling dead jobs early or moving before the office have tracked you, you will be expected to go back or wait longer.

Emergency (Code 13, Dynamite etc.)

The emergency button should only be used when you are being threatened or feel in danger. This need to be pressed twice for other drivers to be alerted. When the emergency button has been pressed all drivers will get your location automatically on the map screen. The operator will put all work on hold and update drivers via messages. All drivers are expected to attend that are in the vicinity, the office will be monitoring the situation and noting clear drivers that do not attend.

Once the incident has been dealt with the driver that has called the emergency (God willing all being well) will be asked to attend the office to fill out the emergency form preferably before he restarts work.

Emergency should not be used for runners or passenger soiling vehicle it is called an emergency for a reason.

K9 Support

There are a number of support dogs in the community the most recognisable being the guide dog for the blind, here are other support dogs you may encounter;

• Hearing dogs.

• Mobility assistance dogs.

• Diabetic alert dogs.

• Seizure alert dogs.

• Seizure response dogs.

• Psychiatric service dogs.

• Seizure response dogs.

All of these dogs will be wearing high viz jackets and cannot be refused unless you have a valid medical certificate

Suspensions

Both road and office managers can issue suspensions time will be at the discretion of the manager dealing with it and WILL NOT be overturned by another manager so please do not ring round other managers to overturn it should you do so the suspension could be doubled. Should new evidence come to light a conversation will take place with the manager that issued the suspension to see if another course of action is required. Office staff can put you on stop until a manager is available to discipline accordingly.

Verbal Abuse

Any verbal abuse directed at any member of staff could result in instant dismissal. If you feel aggrieved contact a member of the management team. Do not take it upon yourself to call and inflict retribution yourself, it will not be tolerated. Please remember that all calls are monitored and can be used in evidence for and against you.

Suspensions

Both road and office managers can issue suspensions time will be at the discretion of the manager dealing with it and WILL NOT be overturned by another manager so please do not ring round other managers to overturn it should you do so the suspension could be doubled. Should new evidence come to light a conversation will take place with the manager that issued the suspension to see if another course of action is required. Office staff can put you on stop until a manager is available to discipline accordingly.

Complaints

All complaints are dealt with on their own merit and a copy of the outcome will be kept on your file. A driver who reaches three complaints will receive a written warning that lasts six months. If you receive another complaint in this time you will be asked to leave the company. When the six-month period elapses your warning will be written off but not the complaints. If you receive another complaint you will automatically be put back on a written warning. If a complaint is deemed severe enough you will be asked to leave with immediate effect.

Discipline Meetings

Should you start to receive minor complaints within a short space of time you will be asked to come to a meeting at the office normally on a Thursday at 11.30. If it is a bad complaint you will be asked to come in without collecting other complaints. This is designed to talk you through the mistakes you are making and discuss any issues, hopefully you take it all on board and move forward in the correct manor.

Driver Complaints

If you have a complaint about a member of staff (office/manager) Please ask to speak to one of the three directors.

If you have a complaint about an incorrect booking or being sent on a job or any other office issue contact Lisa Williams (Call Centre Manager) and Lisa can show you the reasons why. Everything is logged from a driver action to route and call this can all be shown to you on the screen which will explain the whys and wherefores.

Lost Property

Any items found in your vehicle must be returned to the office with immediate effect or at least at the end of your shift latest, do not take home.

Mobile Phones & Smoking

You should all be aware of the laws regarding mobile phones. We also ask that you do not take calls via blue tooth devices while POB it is bad etiquette. Wait until you have dropped off and call who ever back.

Again you will all know the law regarding smoking in a work place which of course your vehicle is, so please when you are on rank step out of the vehicle to have a smoke.

Bus Driver Returns

Bus drivers will be expected to carry out their returns, if you feel you can’t please inform the office so they can pass to a driver that can do both journeys.

Holidays

You will be required to pay £7.50 per week that you are on holiday, this will enable us to keep your activation code live. Failure to do so will mean upon your return you will be required to pay a £50.00 activation fee.

Finishing your Shift

We would like to ask all drivers to make sure that at the end of their shift they press the finish button, await confirmation from the office and log out. Failure to do so will not only give false readings but burn your data as well.

Accident Management

If you should be unfortunate enough to be involved in an accident and is a non-fault accident, we only allow replacement vehicles from Central Cab Care of Coleshill. No other company will be accepted or allowed.