What is a Temporary Worker?
If you are a recent graduate with no job prospects or are still out of work since the crash of 2008 maybe it's time to start seeking permanent employment using a different method; become a temporary worker. A temporary worker refers to the workers who are brought onto a work site to perform the "regular workload" of what should be done by a permanent employee. The work has to get done but the employer doesn't have the "overhead" to staff a permanent employee so they hire temporary employees which are expected to leave after a certain period of time.
Temps as they are often referred to by the terms "independent contractors", "seasonal", or "freelance". However, these are inaccurate. A temporary worker is the employee of a "Temporary Agency" or "Employment Agency". They are not the same as "seasonal" or "freelance" workers.
For example agricultural workers are often "temporarily employed" during harvesting season but they are the "temporary or interim staff" of the people needing the agricultural work. A person can apply directly to a "seasonal" position such as with the local "parks" department for what is "temporary work" during the summer. This means that these workers are "seasonal" but they are still direct employees of the company they applied to.
Freelancers and Independent Contractors are workers that operate as their own business entity. They have EIN and business licenses and receive business tax breaks; they are not employees of anyone, except their own company entity under their business license. Freelancers and Independent Contractors can hire temporary agencies the same as "regular employers" to handle their payroll and to find them work. But again, they are operating as their own business paying a "fee" to the temporary agencies.
A temp is paid by the agency that has "placed" them on assignment for that agency's client. The client pays the agency. At no time is the "temp" ever the employee of the client; only the agency that has placed them with the client. That's not to say they can't become permanent with the client after a "trial" period. This is why many workers become temporary workers. It allows them to show off their expertise and job skills directly to a client that can "hire" them away from the temporary or employment agency. The client pays a "finder's fee" to the agency to hire the temp away from them unless they have a contract to the contrary.
Temporary workers may work full-time or part-time, depending on the individual case. With more and more companies preferring to outsource their workloads to 'temps' many employment agencies offer benefits such as health insurance in order to attract a large and varied professional body of temporary workers to place on assignments.
Not all temporary employees find jobs through a temporary Employment agency.
by I. Vitt Argent, 06/22/12 producer of Career Talk with Dr. Ande CEO of The Successful Job Seeker Contributor to Help Me Find a Job Blog author of, The Temporary Employees' Handbook: A Guide to Success & The Successful Job Seeker
