“Eclipse Couriers” (http://goo.gl/llrwP5) by Alexander Baxevanis (http://goo.gl/9lq0O5) is licensed under CC BY 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Hello, my dears!

The other day, going through some archival posts, I noticed a glaring hole in our article pool. I noticed that, while I talked about some variation of the words owner driver almost every other week, I had never actually bothered to define where the limits of this professional title begin and end. That is to say, I had offered plenty of advice to this type of contractor, but never given my readers any way of checking whether or not they fell under that umbrella!

This post is a way to rectify silly aunt Gertie's mistake. I have taken to the almighty Google and done a little research, so that I could figure out what it exactly means to be an owner driver. I think I managed to get a pretty good idea, but I'm sure you lot will tell me otherwise in your e-mails next week!

Right then: where does the definition of 'owner driver' begin and end? Well, obviously, it begins at the beginning: if you have a van and you drive around making deliveries of your own accord, you can certainly use the title. Most man-and-van outfits fall under this umbrella, whether their owner is the only driver or whether he or she is helped by a couple of other people.

Similarly, if you're working for a large outfit, but you're an independent contractor with your own vehicle and schedule, you guessed it - you're also an owner driver. Just because you're under contract to a large company, doesn't mean your status changes. You only stop belonging to this group if you sign a contract that forces you to use a company vehicle - which changes your status from independent contractor to something else entirely.

Let's imagine, however, that you made a bit of money from your man-and-van or freelance contract exploits, and started your own business. You were no longer driving, and were simply in charge of running everything from the comfort of your office. You had a fleet of vans that other people drove, but you yourself were never on the road. If you found yourself in this type of situation, it would be safe to say that you no longer belonged to the group "owner driver". Why, you ask? Simple: because you are no longer doing any driving! So you could not really call yourself a 'driver' anymore, could you?

Well, there you have it – I hope this has helped clear up any confusion and I apologise for the oversight! Until next time, my dears.

Ta-ra!

Gertie x