Temporary work
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A temporary work agency, or temp agency or temporary staffing firm finds and retains workers. Other companies, in need of short-term workers, contract with the temp agency to send temporary workers, or temps, on assignement to work at the other companies. Temporary employees are also used in work that has a cyclical nature that requires frequent adjustment of staffing levels
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[edit] Temporary agencies
A temporary agency may be distinct from a recruitment firm, which seeks to place permanent employees, but there is often a large overlap: a permanent employee may start out as a trial temporary worker.
Many temporary agencies specialize in a particular profession or field of business, such as general industrial labor, accounting, health care, technical or secretarial. Some even "specialize" in odd-jobs.
A temporary agency may have a standard set of tests to judge the competence of the secretarial or clerical skills of an applicant. An applicant is hired based on their scores on these tests, and is placed into a database. Companies or individuals looking to hire someone temporarily contact the agency and describe the skill set they are seeking. A temporary employee is then found in the database and is contacted to see if they would be interested in taking the assignment.
Temporary agencies usually are paid approximately twice the hourly rate of the actual payment given to the placed employee. For example, if a secretary is temporarily placed by an agency, the agency may charge the company $15.00 an hour, but give $7.50 an hour to the worker. Other agencies, charge $2–5 above what the employee earns per hour worked. Therefore, if an employee is to earn $320 a week he might earn $240 a week, before taxes and this might change depending on the amount of hours worked and overtime. The previous example is of an employee earning $6.00 an hour versus what the agency charges the company: $8.00. The employee might work overtime and earn time and a half of what the agency pays but the agency is also charging the company time and a half for hours worked and so it is evident that the agency is obtaining a higher profit margin. The full cost to the client employer is also deductable.
[edit] Temporary workers
When a temporary employee agrees to take on an assignment, he or she receives instructions pertaining to the job. Information is provided on the correct attire to wear, hours of work, the wage to be paid, and who to report to upon arriving. If a temporary employee arrives to a job assignment and is asked to perform duties not described to him or her when accepting the job, he or she is expected to call the agency and speak with a representative. If he or she then chooses not to continue on the assignment based on these discrepancies, they will most likely be subject to loss of pay and will scupper their chances of job opportunities.
It is up to the temporary employee to keep in constant contact with the agency when not currently working on an assignment; by letting the agency know that they are available to work they are given priority over those who may be in the agency database but have not made it clear that they are ready and willing to take an assignment. A temporary agency employee is the exclusive employee of the agency, not of the company in which they are placed. The temporary employee is bound by the rules and regulations of their direct employer, even if they contrast with those of the company in which they are placed. For example, if a temporary employee is asked by the company in which they are placed to lift a heavy box, they may respond "I am sorry, my agency does not allow me to perform that task. I wish I could help. Please feel free to contact my supervisor there for more information."
Temporary employees are in a constant state of employment flux because they are never guaranteed consistent employment, nor are they assured of a solid start or finish date for their assignment. A temporary employee's assignment can be ended at any time, even in the middle of its projected time frame, without explanation. This causes potential turbulence in cases of discrimination, which is usually handled internally between the employee and the agency.
[edit] Permatemp
The classic permatemp situation results when a worker classified as "temporary" works alongside regular employees doing similar work for a long period. By claiming that the employee is only temporary, the worksite company avoids paying for benefits and employer taxes. It also tangentially benefits because it has no responsibility to the employee—permatemp employees can be fired or laid off at any time, as they have no career service protection or seniority. Temporary employees are often ineligible to apply for jobs open to regular employees.
