Complex subcontracting chains create significant human rights risks for truck drivers, generating a race to the bottom on costs and a lack of visibility in fragmented, multi-tier subcontracting chains. Multi-tiered contracting also often leads to ‘value leakage’, where each subcontractor in the chain extracts costs and profits and little of the original value remains for the ultimate provider of transport to cover their costs or income.
As drivers often work across borders, they frequently fall into jurisdictional gaps where labour laws are poorly enforced. They often have no way to report abuses to the lead company or access legal remedies.
That race begins with the contract rate being tendered by client companies. Multi-tier subcontracting exists because each tier takes a margin from a price set at the top – and the further down the chain, the less is left to pay a driver to drive legally.
Non-standard forms of employment (NSFE) are often used in road transport to deny drivers their legally entitled rights, protections and conditions of employment. These include informal, precarious, migrant, temporary or agency work, dependent self-employment, gig work, and other forms of employment deviating from the conventional employer-employee relationship.
Misclassification of employment status is a root cause of many human rights risks in road transport. NSFE can be arranged and scheduled to resemble, or often exceed, the working patterns of full-time employment. For example, cross-border drivers may be employed through sequential, temporary contracts that continue for months or even years.
Migrant drivers and posted and subcontracted workers face discrimination – spanning verbal abuse, intimidation, extortion and physical violence – based on nationality, language or immigration status. This can include verbal abuse, intimidation, unequal treatment by the authorities or service providers, and in some cases, extortion or physical violence. These risks are compounded by lone working and isolation, lengthy periods away from home, and a lack of access to basic sanitation and decent housing.
Drivers often lack written contracts, or sign contracts in a language they do not understand, leading to inconsistent and substandard wages, working hours, and social protections, and increasing the risk of exploitation. Illegal recruitment fees frequently create debt bondage, effectively stripping workers of their right to freedom of movement.
Different jurisdictions for the employment contract and the driver’s habitual place of work can pose additional human rights risks: a driver may be subject to the contractual provisions and protections of a jurisdiction with lower standards, yet work in one or several jurisdictions that require higher standards.
For more on subcontracting and precarious employment, see the Risks Across Transport guidance.
Misclassification
Misclassification of truck drivers as independent contractors, owner-operator drivers or self-employed workers is a key systemic risk. The ILO Guidelines identify non-wage-earning drivers – the genuinely self-employed and misclassified – as particularly vulnerable, as they are excluded from fundamental labour rights, including minimum wage protections, working time regulations, social security and collective bargaining.
Drivers are often economically dependent on a single company but are classified as self-employed, shifting costs and risks – such as fuel, maintenance, insurance and equipment – onto the worker. The result is income instability and financial pressure, forcing drivers to work excessive hours or accept unsafe conditions to earn a living wage.
Misclassification also limits access to occupational safety and health protections and reduces accountability for working conditions. Drivers may lack training, support or access to grievance mechanisms, making it difficult to report hazards or seek remedy. The ILO Guidelines highlight that these conditions contribute directly to unsafe driving practices and increased accident risk.