Canceling on new driver

I wouldn't pay him anything. That's me. If this was your fault then that maybe a little different. Not enough to pay him for though. He is at home. What expenses can he have, other than life? This is business. You are paying for him to get there. That's cool. Who's going to pay if he dumps your truck how many miles away? You will be paying again. I think your in for a ride if he expects you to pay him for being at home. I would just tell him he will have an opportunity to work harder to make it up. A big company wouldn't pay him, I don't understand why you would.

 

Correct. Im6Under - it's not a 'screw you' attitude. The OP has a one truck business. He's not going to have money lying around to pay somebody to do nothing - who's not even on the payroll yet. Yes, you can do it - if the good will is worth it to you. But, as tight as the industry is getting, and as available as drivers are, on the face of it it's not good business sense.

Now that we know driver is at home, NOT incurring the additional charge of living in a motel, etc., I'm even less interested in paying him for doing nothing - and he's still not on my payroll.

The question the businessman has to ask here is: "how important is this particular driver to me and my business". Maybe it's absolutely essential in this case - but I rather doubt it. To the OP, it's obviously worth $50/day to keep the guy from picking up another job while everybody waits for the insurance or whatever.

If the insurance company says "no joy", that's $50/day gone - with zero return. Might as well have burned it. Not only that, you've lost all the work days that a driver WOULD have worked - going into the future when you finally do get a driver hired.

Sure, from the point of view of the guy at the dirty end of the stick ( most of us ) just about any 'wait and see' pay is found money. All kinds of cool. But from the point of view of the company - you have to weigh the risks...

If I were an Owner, in this economy (knowing the massive amounts I know about the industry - keep that in mind. Ha!), I would NOT be inclined to pay anybody 'wait and see' money. I might put him up in a hotel and feed him, since the problem is not his doing, but nothing beyond that.

That the OP is willing to pop $50 says A) he's doing acceptably well as a business,, B ), he really wants that particular driver, and C) he's a heck of a nice guy, and I want him to hire me, too!

 

Well put. I'm not much of a sugar coater.

 

I admire your willingness to pay your driver! I also believe that what goes around comes around, and if your driver knows anything about the industry, he will be grateful and hopefully as loyal to you as you are to him!

 

If he's local pay nothing. Waiting is normal. If he is incurring costs to wait for the truck, hotel / food, help him out with some per diem money. Wow how nice it would be to have a boss like you that actually cares about his driver. Cheers to you.

 

Excellent advice.