What should a corporate chauffeur contract include? A clause-by-clause checklist

What is a corporate chauffeur contract for?

A corporate chauffeur contract fixes what your company gets, what it pays and what happens when something goes wrong. It matters most for monthly or multi-month arrangements, where a dedicated car and driver serve one team. For one-off bookings, a shorter set of booking terms is enough.

This is a checklist, not legal advice. Have your own legal team review the contract, and confirm what applies to your company and any free zone. That is the only disclaimer on this page.

Choosing a supplier comes first. Our transport RFQ checklist covers sourcing. When a draft arrives, use the clauses below. If you already know you need one, the chauffeur contracts page explains how Assure structures them.

Which clauses belong in the contract?

Twelve topics cover most disputes. The table lists them, with the question each clause should answer.

#	Clause	The question it must answer
1	Parties and scope	Who are the contracting entities, and which cars and services are covered?
2	Hours	What are the daily hours, the working days and the start location?
3	Overtime	What counts as overtime, who approves it, how is it charged?
4	Replacement car	What happens if the car breaks down or is in service?
5	Leave and sickness cover	Who drives when the regular chauffeur is away?
6	Tolls, fuel, parking	Which are in the rate, and which are passed through?
7	Cancellation	How late can a booking change, and what is charged?
8	Liability and insurance	What cover applies to passengers, luggage and third parties?
9	Data handling	Who sees passenger lists and itineraries, and for how long?
10	Invoicing and VAT	What does an invoice show, and when is it due?
11	Service standards	How are punctuality, vehicle condition and conduct measured?
12	Termination	How can each side exit, and what happens to open bookings?

How should the contract state hours and overtime?

Write the working day as start time, end time, days of the week and the place the clock starts. For a full day, say whether the clock starts at the garage, the first pickup or your office.

The UAE government portal says private sector workers work 8 hours a day or 48 hours a week. Overtime is capped at 2 extra hours in a day. A worker who works five consecutive hours has the right to a break. Hours fall by 2 a day during Ramadan. These are employment rules for the supplier’s driver, and they shape what a fair booking looks like. A day that regularly needs 12 hours of driving needs two drivers or a relief rota.

State these points:

1. The standard block, for example 8 or 10 hours.
2. How overtime is triggered, and who may approve it (name the person, not the department).
3. How overtime is charged: per hour, per half hour, or in blocks.
4. Whether waiting time at airports and venues counts inside the block.
5. How the Ramadan hours change the block, if at all.

The rate itself belongs in a schedule. Our guide to corporate chauffeur pricing models shows the common structures.

What happens if the car breaks down or the chauffeur is away?

A replacement clause is the most useful term to negotiate, and the one most often left vague. Cover three cases: the car is unavailable, the chauffeur is on leave, and the chauffeur is sick.

Ask the contract to say:

• how quickly a replacement arrives, in minutes, within the city.
• that the replacement car is the same class or better.
• who tells your assistant, and how (a call or a WhatsApp message).
• whether the chauffeur change is announced in advance for planned leave.
• what credit applies if no replacement arrives.

Assure has not published a replacement-car service level. Ask for the terms in the proposal, and have them agreed in the contract rather than assumed. The same applies to partner cars, which are available through our partner network, subject to availability.

Who pays for tolls, fuel and parking?

Name each cost and say whether it sits in the rate or on the invoice. Salik in Dubai and Darb in Abu Dhabi charge per gate crossing. The Abu Dhabi Mobility announcement says the Al Qurm and Ghantoot Darb gates charge every crossing, 24 hours a day, from 4 May 2026. Our guides explain how Salik tolls work and how Darb gates work in Abu Dhabi.

Cost	Option A	Option B
Salik and Darb	Included in the rate	Passed through, with a statement of crossings
Fuel	Included	Included up to a mileage allowance, then charged
Parking at venues	Included	Charged at cost on the invoice
Cross-emirate trips	Included	Quoted by trip before the day

Pick one option per line and write it down. For passed-through costs, add a clause that the invoice lists each item with date and amount.

How should cancellation and no-shows work?

State the notice window for each type of booking and what is charged inside it. Typical models use a cut-off before the pickup time, after which the booking is charged in full or in part. Airport pickups tied to a flight number should follow the flight status, so a delayed flight does not count as a late change.

Cover these points:

• the cut-off time for free changes.
• what happens if the executive does not appear (a no-show).
• how flight delays are treated.
• whether a monthly block can be moved, swapped between days or banked.
• how force majeure events such as severe weather are handled.

What belongs in the liability and insurance clause?

Ask the supplier to state the cover it carries, and attach the certificate. Look for cover for passengers, for luggage, and for third parties, and check who handles an accident on the day: the driver’s report, the supplier’s desk and the insurer.

Also settle:

• who pays traffic fines incurred during the booking.
• who is responsible for items left in the car.
• whether the supplier will name your company on an insurance certificate when asked.
• what reporting you get after an incident.

Our duty of care checklist covers the safety questions behind this clause.

How should passenger lists and itineraries be handled?

A chauffeur company sees names, phone numbers, addresses and sometimes travel plans. The UAE government portal says Federal Decree-Law No. 45 of 2021 applies to the processing of personal data and requires the consent of the data owner, with exceptions. Owners can ask for correction and can restrict processing.

Put practical rules in the contract, and take legal advice on the wording:

1. Who at the supplier may see passenger lists and itineraries.
2. That the driver receives only the legs he or she is driving.
3. How long records are kept after a booking.
4. How records are deleted, and who confirms it.
5. What happens if a list is sent to the wrong person.

A non-disclosure agreement is a separate document. Assure has not confirmed NDA terms, so ask for them in the proposal if your work needs one.

What should invoicing and VAT terms say?

Write the invoice cycle, the due date and what each invoice contains. The UAE government portal states the VAT rate is 5 per cent. Ask whether quoted prices include VAT, and ask for the supplier’s tax registration number (TRN) on the invoice. The Federal Tax Authority offers a TRN verification tool on its VAT page.

Settle these terms:

• invoice frequency (per booking, weekly or monthly).
• the due date, and whether credit terms exist (Assure has not confirmed credit terms, so ask for them in the proposal).
• how disputed lines are raised, and by when.
• cost-centre or passenger references, so finance can allocate charges.
• how price changes are notified, and how much notice you get.

Our guide on VAT on chauffeur services explains what the charge covers, and how corporate chauffeur accounts work shows a typical monthly invoice.

How should service standards and termination work?

Standards turn good intentions into something you can check. Name the measures: arrival before pickup time, vehicle cleanliness, chauffeur dress code and language needs, and the response time of the 24/7 desk. Say how you review them, for example in a monthly call.

For termination, write both exits:

1. Convenience. Either side may leave with a stated notice period, such as 14 or 30 days.
2. Cause. Either side may leave sooner after a stated breach that is not fixed within a stated number of days.
3. Open bookings. Confirmed bookings after the end date are honoured or refunded.
4. Handover. Records, cards, tags or access passes are returned.

If you are weighing a contract against other options, read full-day chauffeur versus company car versus ride-hailing. The wider corporate chauffeur hub lists the services a contract can cover.