Temporary Employees: Who Are They, and What Laws Govern Them?
Who Are Temporary Employees?
A worker who seeks for a job through a temporary agency is referred to as a temporary employee. In other words, the individual worker is also referred to as a leased or contingent employee, but it boils down to the same thing.
The temporary agency, also known as a professional employer organization, handles all human resource functions related to all employees under its mandate. The employees work on a limited time span as opposed to the day-to-day basis of conventional workers. Their contract is short-term and is often projected-oriented arrangement.
Who is The Actual Employer of Temporary Workers: The Company or Agency?
Temporary employees acquired through an agency remain to be employees of that agency. Depending on the application of employment law, the employer of the leased workers can be an enjoined employer with the temporary agency (if they wish to do so).
Do Employment Laws Apply to Temporary Workers?
The same employment laws for regular employees cover leased workers. However, some companies take advantage of the situation and deny these employees the general workers’ rights. In some cases, contingent workers are miscategorized as private contractors due to the nature of their work. Their jobs are short-term and project-based, hence the room for their employee rights to be abused.
Why Do Companies Hire Temporary Employees?
The practice of leasing employees on short-term basis is not new. However, it begs the question why employers should use temporary workers instead regular, day-to-day workers. Here are some of the reasons:
· Saves on wages: permanent employees can adversely weigh on companies’ revenues. To cut on wages, employers decide to go for short-term workers
· In cases of fluctuating workload: some companies have fluctuating workload. It wouldn’t be economical to keep employees on a permanent basis in such a case. Employee leasing is the best approach here.
· To fill in for a temporary absence: when regular employees are caught up with emergencies that bar them from coming to work, it can be tricky for a company. Temporary workers can help with such a predicament.
· To accommodate part-time workers: permanent employees can request for part-time working. During their absence, leased workers could help with the extra workload.
While these are good reasons companies opt for leased employment, some employers do it for ulterior, often illegal, reasons:
· Avoid paying employee benefits, which can cut down payroll amounts up to 30%
· Make it easy for them to lay off employees
· Prevent workers from joining unions
· Avoid instances of compensating workers
Just be sure to keep your reasons for hiring part time employees legal and you won’t have any problems down the road.
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