Temporary Employees

Temporary employees are hired to assist employers to meet business demands yet allow the employer to avoid the cost of hiring a regular employee. Sometimes, it is the expectation of the employer that if the temporary employee is successful, the employer will hire a temporary employee.

A temporary employee who demonstrates a good work ethic, fits the company culture, learns quickly, regularly lends a helping hand, and doesn't need a manager to tell them what to do next, may receive an offer of employment. This is a win for both the employer and the temporary employee.

Most frequently, though, hiring temporary employees serves a business purpose for the company and the objective is to hire temps rather than taking on the cost of a regular employee.

In some instances, the temporary employee may want to work part-time without committing to a full-time job within a company. Temporary employees who are pursuing a career as a freelance writer or developing their own product with the intent to start a company are good prospects as temporary employees.

Why Hire a Temporary Employee

Business purposes include seasonal customer demand, temporary surges in manufacturing orders, an employee on sick or maternity leave, and short-term, clearly defined work such as that of a census worker.

Temporary employees allow employers to maintain a cushion of some job security in employment for regular workers. Employers can let the temporary employees go first in a business or economic downturn.

Hiring a Temporary Employee

Temporary employees work part or full-time. They rarely receive benefits or the job security afforded regular staff. A temporary assignment can end at any time depending on the employer’s needs. In other ways, temporary employees are often treated like regular employees and attend company meetings and events.

When using temporary employees or seasonal employees, do not feel that you are compelled to hire them just because they’ve worked for you for ninety days or more. In fact, examine the success of a temp at thirty days.

If you are not certain that they will make a superior employee, replace them with another temp. Your supervisors tend to settle for good enough because the temp comes to work every day and does the job.

The supervisor sees this as an opportunity to not have to constantly train new temps and this is appreciated. It is not, however, the way to obtain a superior staff. We tell supervisors they may hire the top 5% or so of their temporary staff members – only the very best.

Employers will experience increased difficulty when scheduling temporary employees due to the rules of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Here's a summary of how it affects how you schedule temporary employees and how many days they can work before they are eligible for health care through the temporary employer.

Temporary employees are hired directly by the company or they are obtained from a temporary staffing agency. If an agency provides a temporary employee, the employer pays a fee over and above the compensation collected by the employee.

Temporary employees, who work through an agency may have paid benefits such as health care insurance. These employees remain the employee of the agency, though, not the employee of the company where they are placed.

Also Known As: temps, contingent workers, contract employees, consultants, seasonal workers