Yaku Driver Employment Policy
Version 2026-10-15 · Published October 15, 2026
This policy describes hourly employee delivery work in Washington through Yaku. Drivers hired under this policy are employees, not independent contractors. Your individual written offer identifies your legal employer and employment terms.
1. Applying and starting employment
Applying and acknowledging these policies is not an offer of employment or permission to start work. Before you begin, your employer must provide a written offer identifying the employing legal entity, start date, wage, regular payday, workweek, expense arrangements, and employment contact, and complete work-eligibility and payroll onboarding. Do not send identity documents or banking details to the support email below.
Employment is hourly, nonexempt (eligible for overtime), and at will. Either you or your employer may end the relationship at any time, subject to applicable law. At-will status does not permit discrimination, retaliation, or interference with protected leave. This policy does not guarantee employment for a particular duration.
2. Flexible shifts and attendance
You may choose among available shifts. There are no guaranteed minimum weekly hours, and you are not required to remain available, monitor the app, or respond to messages outside working time. Once you claim a shift, attend it or follow the shift-release procedure displayed in the app. If you cannot release it there, contact your employment contact or support as soon as practicable. A cancellation cutoff does not override protected leave, emergencies, or accommodation rights.
Required availability during a shift, including waiting for assignments, is working time. Contact your employment contact if a schedule change creates a problem. Any applicable scheduling protections continue to apply.
3. Hourly wages, tips, and overtime
The starting base wage for 2026 is $21.30 per hour, Seattle’s 2026 minimum wage, or a higher rate required by applicable law or your written offer. Tips are additional and do not reduce the base wage. Applicable minimum-wage increases apply when they take effect. Employee payroll includes required withholding and a Form W-2.
All hours worked for the same employer are combined within the established seven-day workweek. Hours over 40 are paid at least 1.5 times your regular rate, calculated as required by law. Approval requirements do not remove the right to payment for work actually performed. App earnings are estimates; payroll must include all compensable time and required adjustments.
4. Record all work and report corrections
Record all work, including required training, preparation, on-duty waiting, deliveries, required travel between assignments, and work after the scheduled end of a shift. Ordinary commuting is generally not paid. Never work off the clock. A missing punch, GPS interruption, automatic clock-out, or app failure does not cancel your right to pay.
Report incorrect or missing time to your employment contact or support@yaku.co, including the shift date, actual start and end times, any interrupted meals, and what needs correcting. Keep your own record if the app is unavailable. Your employer must review corrections and pay all time owed; reporting an error will not result in retaliation.
5. Rest and meal breaks
You receive a paid, duty-free rest break of at least 10 minutes per four hours worked, near the midpoint when possible, and must not work more than three hours without a rest break. Rest breaks cannot be waived. Coordinate coverage with your employment contact; waiting while responsible for accepting orders is not a duty-free break.
For shifts longer than five hours, take a meal period of at least 30 minutes beginning between the second and fifth hours. Additional meals apply to longer or extended shifts as required by Washington law. A meal is unpaid only when you are fully relieved of duties. If you must remain on duty or your meal is interrupted by work, the whole meal period is paid, and you still receive 30 minutes of mealtime excluding interruptions. Report missed or interrupted breaks through the correction process above. Do not skip a required break to complete a delivery schedule.
6. Paid sick and safe time
Leave accrues from your first day at least one hour per 40 hours worked, including overtime hours. You may use accrued leave after 90 calendar days of employment. The accrual year is January 1 through December 31; at least 40 unused hours carry over. Your employer provides notice of accrual, use, and available balance at least monthly. Paid leave is compensated at your normal hourly compensation as required by law.
Seattle’s more protective rules apply to covered work. Employer size is measured in worldwide full-time equivalents: below 50, accrual is one hour per 40 worked with 40 hours carryover; 50–249, one per 40 with 56 hours carryover; 250 or more, one per 30 with 72 hours carryover (108 for a qualifying combined PTO plan). Your pre-work leave notice identifies the applicable tier. These are carryover amounts, not annual limits on accrual or use.
Qualifying uses include your or a covered family member’s illness, treatment or preventive care; protected domestic-violence, sexual-assault or stalking needs; qualifying workplace, school or care closures; and preparing for or attending qualifying immigration proceedings. Seattle includes a family member’s school or care closure for any reason. All other legally protected uses remain available.
Notify your employment contact or support as soon as practicable when you need leave. You do not have to find a replacement or make up the shift. Do not include a diagnosis or immigration details in a support message. Protected leave is not an attendance violation. If you return within 12 months after separation, unused leave is reinstated as required by law unless it was fully paid out, and prior employment counts toward the waiting period.
7. Vehicles, expenses, and safety
Before using a vehicle for work, confirm a valid license, safe vehicle, and insurance that covers the intended delivery use. A personal policy may exclude delivery work. Your employer must confirm any required coverage and the written vehicle, mileage, phone, and other business-expense arrangements before your first shift. This policy does not authorize deductions or make you responsible for all business expenses. Required business expenses must not reduce wages below applicable legal protections.
Keep mileage and expense records and submit them to your employment contact under those written arrangements. Report collisions, injuries, unsafe conditions, or coverage concerns promptly. Follow traffic laws and never operate the app while driving. Employee workers’ compensation rights are separate from vehicle insurance.
8. Inactivity and separation
Not claiming shifts may prompt an employment review, but this policy sets no automatic termination deadline. Before separating someone for inactivity, the employer reviews available work, communications, protected leave, injury, and accommodation needs and gives the employee an opportunity to explain. A shift ending automatically is not an employment termination. Final wages are due no later than the next regular payday; payroll and leave records remain subject to retention and reinstatement obligations.
9. Questions, protections, and policy acknowledgments
Contact your employment contact or support@yaku.co for help with wages, leave, breaks, expenses, safety, accommodations, or these policies. You may also contact government agencies directly. Retaliation for raising concerns, reporting injuries, requesting protected leave, or exercising workplace rights is prohibited. Nothing here limits lawful discussion of pay or working conditions or protected collective activity.
Acknowledging this version records that you received and reviewed it; it is not a waiver of legal rights, an arbitration agreement, or consent to contractor classification. Future material employment-policy changes will be communicated before they apply. See the Driver Privacy Policy for the app’s information practices.