What does a temporary worker do?

Índice Show

Employment Statuses

Employing staff can be a minefield even for the best of us! One of the confusing aspects can be understanding the difference between employment statuses and what each one can mean for your employees. Today’s blog will hopefully shine some light on the topic.

Employment Statuses

There are four employment statuses to choose from:

Permanent Full Time
Permanent Part Time
Casual
Temporary

Here is an explanation of each employment status:

Permanent Full Time Employee

Full-time employees have been employed on an ongoing basis for an average maximum of 38 ordinary hours per week. They are entitled to:

Annual leave
Personal leave
Public holidays
Parental leave
Long service leave
Superannuation guarantee
Period of notice if job is terminated

Permanent Part Time Employee

Part-time employees work less than 38 hours per week but these are usually set hours and/or days. They are entitled to:

Annual leave
Personal leave
Public holidays
Parental leave
Long service leave
Superannuation guarantee
Period of notice if job is terminated

Casual Employee

Casual employees do not have regular work hours and are not guaranteed to get regular work. They are paid for the hours worked and receive a loading (usually 25% but you must check the relevant award as this can vary) to compensate them for not receiving the same benefits as full or part-time workers. Casuals can be entitled to penalty rates, loadings, and allowances – again check your award for further details. Casuals are entitled to:

2 days unpaid carers leave per occasion
2 days compassionate leave per occasion
Community service leave (except paid jury service)
Unpaid parental leave
2 days unpaid adoption leave
Superannuation guarantee
A day off on public holidays unless a work day has been arranged between the worker and the employer
A maximum of 38 hours per week, plus reasonable additional hours
After a period of regular employment across 12 months (and if the position is to continue), casuals are entitled to flexible working hours and parental leave
Casuals may also be entitled to long service leave and paid parental leave

Temporary Employee

Temporary employees are engaged for a specific period of time either via a fixed-term contract or to assist in a particular project which has an end date. These employees are also considered to be temporary if they replace permanent employees who may have taken long service leave, parental leave, or who are injured. Workers engaged via an agency would also be classified as temporary. Temporary employees are eligible for the same entitlements as described above depending on whether they are employed on a full-time, part-time or casual basis.

More information about this topic can be found on the Fairwork website.

I hope you now have a clearer understanding of the difference between the 4 employment statuses than you did before! This is a very basic description of employment statuses. For more specific information related to your industry and employees, please refer to your award.

Your small business may not have enough employees to cope with sudden increases in workload, such as a spike in orders around Christmas. You could hire another worker, which becomes a permanent expense. While she may stay busy temporarily, she may have nothing to do after demand dies down. Temporary employment can address this issue in a more cost-effective manner.

Definition

Temporary employment means hiring an employee for a contracted period. These contract or temp workers fulfill all the functions of regular employees and can help during increases in demands, or when your full-timers take vacations or go on maternity leave. They can also provide expertise for situations outside your company's normal work range. For example, if your business undergoes an extensive financial audit, you can hire a temporary accountant to guide you through the process.

Pros

Temporary employees typically require no benefits, and are thus less expensive than a full-time hire. You pay them only for hours worked, and don't have to worry about their taking vacations or holidays. If their performance is unsatisfactory, you can simply terminate them immediately without undergoing time-consuming processes. You can also try out a potential permanent worker by hiring him for a temporary position. If he works out, you can offer a full-time position. If not or if the budget suddenly dries up, you can fire him, which offers flexibility in staffing.

Cons

Each time you hire new temps for the same position, you need to train them, which eats up your time. Given that they are on the job for only a short period, they never develop the depth of knowledge or long-term work relationships experienced by longer hires. Temps do not have the same loyalty to your company as full-timers. If they feel their needs are not being met, they may simply not show up for work, and get a temporary position somewhere else.

Hiring

You can go through the same hiring process for temporary employment as you would for full-time positions: place ads, read resumes, interview candidates and make a selection. But this may prove too time-consuming, especially if you need a worker only for a few days or a week. A more efficient method is to go through a temporary employment agency. In exchange for a fixed hourly rate, it finds workers to meet your needs, handles their payroll and other human resources issues, and replaces them immediately if they prove unsatisfactory. Depending on what you need done, an agency can send you a temporary worker in as little as a few hours.

If your business's staffing needs are seasonal--for example, you need extra workers during the holidays or during busy production periods--then temporary employees could provide the flexibility you need to grow. Temporary employees, as the name indicates, are hired only for limited periods of time. So they are only there when you need them for specific growth spurts.

Temps also have other advantages. Because most temporary help companies screen--and often train--their employees, entrepreneurs who choose this option stand a better chance of obtaining the quality employees they need.

In addition to offering pre-screened, pre-trained individuals, temporary can help contain your overhead and save time and money on recruiting efforts. The cost of health or unemployment benefits, workers' compensation insurance, profit-sharing, vacation time and other benefits doesn't come out of your budget, since many temporary help companies provide these resources to their employees.

A growing number of entrepreneurs use temporary workers part time at first to get a feel for whether they should hire them full time. As a result, many temporary help companies have begun offering an option, temporary-to-full-time programs, which allow the prospective employer and employee to evaluate each other. Temporary-to-full-time programs match a temporary worker who has expressed an interest in full-time work with an employer that has like interests. The client is encouraged to make a job offer to the employee within a predetermined time period if the match seems like a good one.

How do you make the most of your temporary workers once they've come on board? For one, "don't treat them any differently from your other employees," the American Staffing Association (ASA) advises. "Introduce them to your full-time workers as people who are there to help you complete a project, to relieve some overtime stress or to bring in some skills you might not have in house."

And don't expect temporary workers to be so well trained that they know how to do all the little (but important) things, such as operating the copier or answering the phone. "Spend some time giving them a brief overview of these things, just as you would any new employee," advises the ASA.

Another strategy for building a better relationship with your temporary workers is to plan ahead as much as possible so you can use the same temporary employees for an extended period of time-say, six months. Or try to get the same temporary employees back when you need help again. This way, they'll be more productive, and you won't have to spend time retraining them.