What is temporary work?

In an employment relationship that includes temporary work, the employment relationship between employer and employee is separated from the actual workplace. The employer is a temporary employment agency or personnel service provider that lends its employees to companies or other clients who need a worker. The personnel service provider, in turn, concludes a contract with the client company.

Temporary employment contracts

In the contract between the lending and the client company, the duration of the assignment and the qualifications of the lent employee or applicant are specified. Furthermore, the usually rather short contract on temporary work regulates responsibilities for instruction and the provision of safety clothing.

However, a guarantee to complete a specific amount of work or a particular assignment is not provided. The actual employment contract is concluded between the employee and the personnel service provider. Collective bargaining minimum regulations, statutory notice periods and employment law provisions apply here.

In addition to classic employment contracts, regulations for commercial employee leasing are also part of the legal framework. The period of leasing is no longer limited, and employees can now be lent to a company on a long-term basis.

Temporary work contracts can also be used to recruit new employees or applicants. If the working relationship develops positively and the client company and the employee agree to conclude a direct employment contract, this is often a desired outcome for all parties involved. Many temporary employment agencies also operate placement services. For the client company, a placement fee may be charged for shorter periods of employee leasing. As a rule, however, this fee is waived after six months of work.

Benefits of temporary work

For the client company, temporary work has the advantage that no personnel reserves need to be kept for peak workloads. Especially in areas that do not require extensive training, it is possible to respond flexibly to market demands.

With the now permitted long-term employee leasing, the client company no longer bears the costs for absence days due to illness, vacation or personal reasons, nor the costs of recruitment procedures. These costs are included in the hourly rates and are therefore easier to calculate. The effects on quality, workplace climate and long-term personnel development must be analyzed and evaluated individually by each company.

But companies that prefer to build a stable in-house workforce can also get to know potential new employees through temporary work and hire them permanently if they are suitable.

The possibility to prepare a direct employment relationship via temporary work can offer advantages for both the company side and the employee side.

As an employee and applicant searching for a suitable job, temporary work gives you the opportunity to get to know not only different fields of activity but also different companies and their corporate cultures. This can be particularly interesting or even important at the beginning of a career or during a phase of reorientation.

Options in temporary work

Because the employment relationship with the temporary employment agency continues despite the different assignments, the various placements do not show up on the CV as frequent changes of employer. The employer can form an impression of a potential employee's qualifications and commitment during a temporary employment relationship. This combination of temporary work and placement is used relatively often, especially for qualified technical and commercial positions.

For employees, temporary work can also be a way to bridge difficult phases in the search for a classic employment relationship. Such phases can be caused by macroeconomic or sector-specific reasons, but also by regional peculiarities or personal circumstances. Ideally, temporary employment can help to improve or compensate for insufficient qualifications through experience or to demonstrate qualities that may not be presented in the best light during a formal application process.

Framework for temporary work

The framework conditions for employee leasing are determined by the current statutory provisions. The rights and obligations of the parties to a classic employment relationship must be sensibly divided between two contracts from an economic and employment law perspective.

This essentially means that employment law conditions regarding notice periods, regulations on vacation and absence times, as well as other collectively relevant provisions are assigned to the contract between the employee and the temporary employment agency.

Workplace safety, on the other hand, must be guaranteed by the client company. This includes, on the one hand, the provision of the necessary equipment, but also the appropriate work organization and the instruction of new employees, including newly lent employees. Which company provides personal protective equipment is determined by the lending agreement.

Legal regulations on temporary work

These basic rules have applied more or less since the introduction of temporary work in Germany, despite all legislative changes. What changed in the legislation was the extent to which temporary agency work was permitted. Initially, only contracts for short periods could be concluded, which could only be extended within a narrow framework. The purpose of these provisions was to prevent permanent employment relationships from being replaced by the more non-binding temporary work contracts for the client company.

Employment relationships with the lending company also had to be independent in duration from the contracts with client companies. These regulations were largely relaxed, especially since 2003, against the backdrop of considerations that temporary employment relationships, due to their greater flexibility, could be a means of combating unemployment.

Employees can now also be lent for longer periods. Conversely, the temporary employment agency can now also hire them for a specific assignment for a single client company, subject to statutory notice periods.

Sectors and fields of activity

The majority of temporary workers are male unskilled laborers in the industrial sector. However, this is by far not the only area where temporary employment relationships can be interesting. Personnel shortages in the service and commercial sectors are also covered by temporary work. Highly qualified commercial, technical and medical-technical or engineering fields are also covered by employee leasing.

Especially in the commercial sector and in higher qualified positions, temporary employment relationships serve companies not only to bridge peak workloads or compensate for sudden absences, but also as a means of recruiting new personnel. However, not every company covers all areas. Some temporary employment agencies specialize in certain activities, others cover several occupational fields. There are also differences in geographic coverage.

Smaller leasing companies tend to operate regionally, while the industry leaders operate nationally or even internationally. For both client companies and interested employees, aligning one's own expectations with the possibilities of the client company can ultimately only be achieved in comparative personal discussions.