WHAT IS A “TEMP”?
A “Temp” (short for Temporary Worker) is someone who is hired to work within your organisation for a period of time, but is not actually your employee.
WHY WOULD ANYBODY WANT TO BE A TEMP?
Workers who look for temporary work are usually wanting flexibility; they may be juggling other work and family commitments, or they may be in a period of life where travel or study is a higher priority. Working as a temp means they can take on short term contracts, and avoid being locked into permanent positions with minimal leave, or positions where the cultural fit isn’t ideal long term. Temp workers are not eligible for employee benefits (such as sick leave or annual leave) so they receive a higher pay to account for this.
WHY WOULD A BUSINESS HIRE A TEMP?
In a nutshell, hiring a temp is a highly flexible and convenient way to ensure adequate staffing levels, while minimising employment risk to your business.
Flexibility and Convenience.
Hiring a Temp is quick. Recruitment companies have a register of candidates who are pre-screened, interviewed, skill-checked, background checked, and ready to start work immediately. Hiring a temp through a recruitment agency can take the stress out of recruiting, and cut out the need to deal with people who aren’t really interested in working with you.
You get the chance to see if the candidate is the right ‘fit’ for your business. If not, you can end their employment at any time.
You will have flexibility, which is paramount in today’s competitive business world where organisations are continually endeavouring to minimise wastage and cut costs. The candidate can start/end work as per the needs of your business.
Minimise Risk
In today’s litigious environment where Australia’s Employment legislation has been criticised for being overly favourable to employees, many businesses have valid concerns about the risk of hiring their own staff. The Fair Work Act (with which all Australian business have to comply) can be onerous for employers, let alone confusing.
When a temp is hired by your business they are not your employee. The recruitment company is their employer, thus they take on the responsibility of complying with employment legislation. This is why recruitment companies have their own induction processes, and why they have specific policies, procedures and paperwork to ensure all candidates are suitably inducted into their temporary workplace (including OH+S inductions).
The recruitment company takes on the responsibilities of their employment; including WH+S, payroll tax, insurances, addressing performance issues, and paying the employee on time.
‘Casual’ staff
There is currently an ongoing debate in Australia about the legal definition of ‘casual’ work, and what benefits casual workers may or not be entitled to. It’s a topic that garnered some attention during the recent election, and is still being debated after a controversial court decision last year (for more information, you may want to read AHRI’s breakdown of Workpac-Skene.
Hiring a temp means you don’t have to worry about potential changes to legislation pertaining to ‘casual’ staff which could expose your business to unanticipated risks and costs.
Minimise Costs
If a company requires a high degree of workforce flexibility (whether driven by peaks/troughs in supply and demand, or perhaps a strategic business decision) having Temp staff in your workforce may be a way to minimise staffing costs. If all staff are permanent, a business has minimum staffing costs to meet, regardless of demand.
If temp staff are utilised instead, their work can commence/end as per the needs of the business.
HOW MANY BUSINESSES HIRE TEMPS? HOW COMMON IS IT?
HB recruitment has over 100 temps currently on placement with government and private sector clients within Toowoomba and the Darling Downs region.
HB Recruitment has been supplying both permanent and temporary personnel to government and private sector clients for over 20 years.
We will endeavour to fill any position required, for any industry. We specialise in administration staff, as well as labour hire, but have also hired accountants, mechanics, real estate sales people, lawyers, and more.
WHAT IF A TEMP ISN’T RIGHT FOR ME?
Hiring a Temp isn’t the solution for every business. You may prefer to hire staff on a permanent basis, because it’s more suitable for your needs, or perhaps you want to encourage staff loyalty.
HB Recruitment has over 25 years’ experience assisting business to find the right candidate for permanent positions in the Darling Downs and Toowoomba region. Whether you’re looking for a CEO or a Trade Assistant, we can assist.
If you are wondering if a temporary staff member may be the right choice for your business, or you want to discuss your recruitment needs, we would love to talk to you. We have a database of candidates ready to start work (many available immediately) who have been pre-screened, interviewed, skills-tested, and background-checked. Contact us on 07 46394410 to find out more
