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.

Photo Credit: Shutterstock/Rawpixel.com

The post Temporary Employees: Who Are They, and What Laws Govern Them? appeared first on UELG.

The definition and the status of a temporary or leased employee can be described simply as employees who do not have the status of common law employees, which are employees who have access to all of the benefits and job security that an employer may provide. This simplified explanation does require elaboration.

A temporary employee, as the name suggests, is usually hired for a pre-determined period. A temporary employee may be hired by the employer directly or through a temporary staffing agency. Temporary workers are covered by the same employment laws as regular or “permanent” workers are. A temporary staffing agency is responsible for withholding all taxes and other funds for the benefits it may provide. If an employer hires the temporary worker, then it is responsible for the necessary payroll withholding. Temporary workers are sometimes mistakenly classified as independent contractors, and the result is the denial of their rights as employees prescribed by the law.

California law has stipulated the requirements for classifying an employee as a temporary agency employee. These requirements include the right of the agency to assign and reassign a worker, but the workers have the right to refuse an assignment and remain on the agency’s hiring list. The agency negotiates with the client employer about working conditions and other applicable work-related matters.The worker’s wages are paid from the agency’s account. The agency has the right to hire and fire workers.

California law also requires that client employers have a shared civil liability with temporary staffing and leasing agencies to ensure the payment of wages and the procurement of worker’s compensation insurance. Client employers are also responsible for work site compliance with occupational and health standards. This means that a client employer cannot avoid its legal duties or liabilities under the Cal/OSHA laws.

Leased employees are employees of employee leasing companies that are often called professional employer companies. The leasing company supplies a company with the entire workforce for extended periods, rather than a defined day-to-day period. The leasing company assumes responsibility for the employee payroll, taxes and other human resources functions. The employer can transferr the responsibilities for human resource and payroll issues to a leasing agency. The employer retains the right to determine job assignments and compensation, and the employer can hire and fire a leased employee, but the leasing company cannot.

One significant difference, among several, is the leased employee feels more like an employee with a stronger connection to the employer. Leased employees also receive more benefits than temporary employees do. A temporary employee does not usually have a strong bond to the client company.

If you, or someone you know, are facing legal issues in the workplace United Employees Law Group has answers, Call Today for your free and confidential case review. Please feel free to CONTACT US with any questions about this blog or your exact situation.

Photo Credit: Shutterstock/ Africa Studio

The post What Is A Temporary Or Leased Employee? appeared first on UELG.