The Differences Between Temporary and Permanent Staffing Contracts

The workforce today can be placed into different categories depending on the requirements set out in their employment contract. Two main categories include temporary and permanent staffing. Staffing agencies have the responsibility to identify what’s required for the role each client is looking fulfilled and to ensure they provide adequate workforce temporary and permanent staffing solutions.

Temporary staffing

Temporary staffing involves hiring an individual on a non-permanent contract basis. These workers can include the following:

• employees hired by a company for short-term work
• self-employed workers hired to work short-term/temporary jobs
• those employed for casual work with no contractual conditions
• agency workers working on behalf of an employment agency

Permanent staffing

Permanent staffing is where an employee is hired to work on an ongoing basis. There’s no end date to their contract. They can be employed on either a full-time or part-time contract, depending on the employer and their recruitment needs. Full-time contracts generally involve working for up to 35 hours per week or more. Benefits are often included in the contract for permanent staff, regardless of whether they’re working on a full-time or part-time contract. However, depending on the type of employment, different stipulations can be involved.

Differences between temporary and permanent staffing

The nature of temporary and permanent employment is different in many ways. Here are some of them and what’s involved when agencies work between the two different types of employment:

1) Contract length – As briefly mentioned, those employed permanently don’t have any set time for their contract to end, whereas temporary employment involves an eventual termination of the contract. Temporary jobs rarely last for more than one year and can often involve hiring self-employed or agency workers to complete one-off jobs. In both cases, appropriate workforce temporary and permanent staffing solutions are needed for the differing roles, contract lengths, and type of employment involved.

2) Hiring process – The process often takes longer when an employee is assessing applications for permanent jobs. Several interviews may be required as candidates work through several stages when completing the process. It can also involve taking into consideration the skills the candidates display for growth within the company, and willingness to expand into more demanding roles. However, the same attention generally isn’t required when employing workers temporarily. Since the contract has an end date, the employer doesn’t need to focus on the possibility of skill development, at least to the same degree.

3) Employee benefits – Benefits packages included in permanent contracts often involve more perks, such as insurance and retirement cover. Workforce temporary and permanent staffing solutions involves trying to provide benefits for both, often ensuring that employees working on a temporary contract will at least benefit from health insurance.

Some self-employed workers or independent contractors may have to obtain health insurance and other benefits themselves. Therefore, they may not be entitled to the same benefits as others who workforce temporary and permanent staffing solutions can support.

4) Salary – Employees working on a permanent contract generally are paid at an hourly rate or on a salary basis. Those receiving a salary may differ in terms of hours worked, and more flexible working hours may be required to fulfill the role. Wages are usually received by permanent employees by weekly, fortnightly, or monthly-based payment.

Temporary working contracts usually require employees to keep a record of hours work on a timesheet and are paid at an hourly rate. An exception might be for self-employed or independent contractors receiving a set pay for one-off jobs they complete.

Workforce temporary and permanent staffing solutions provided by agencies often enable both types of employees to receive overtime pay when they work longer hours than their contract entails.

As discussed, different dynamics can be experienced by employees depending on the type of contract tied to the job. Temporary and permanent job roles are more distinct than they are similar. The contract length for temporary jobs has an end date, whereas permanent employment involves an ongoing contract. The hiring process involved for permanent jobs roles is generally more intense and takes longer than when dealing with temporary job applications. Permanent working employees are generally entitled to more benefits. While both often receive their salary on an hourly rate basis, temporary employees must complete a timesheet for records. However, regardless of the differences, workforce temporary and permanent staffing solutions are put in place by agencies to try and provide them both with as much support as possible.