Temporary staff through an agency solve a real problem — seasonal peaks, cover for absence, a short-term project — and they carry obligations that businesses using them frequently do not realise they have taken on.
You are not simply a customer
The main thing to understand: using a temporary employment service does not place the workers entirely outside your responsibility. Depending on how long the placement runs and what they earn, the law may treat the client as the employer, or as jointly responsible with the agency for certain obligations.
The framework has been the subject of significant litigation, and the position for longer placements below the earnings threshold is materially different from what many businesses assume. Confirm the current position rather than relying on the agency's assurance.
Check the agency properly
- Are they registered as required, and can they show it?
- Are they up to date with UIF, the Compensation Fund and tax — can they produce a letter of good standing?
- Do they actually pay the workers what the placement charge implies, and on time?
- What vetting have the workers had, and can they evidence it?
- What happens if a worker is injured on your premises?
An agency that cannot answer these quickly is one whose problems will become yours.
Read the agreement
Who is responsible for what — supervision, safety, discipline, and the consequences if something goes wrong. What the indemnities say, and whether they are worth anything given the agency's size.
Pay attention to any clause about taking the worker on permanently. Placement fees for doing so are normal and occasionally substantial, and it is better to know the number before somebody turns out to be exactly who you need.
Treat them as people, not headcount
Temporary staff on your premises are working alongside your employees, and how they are treated is visible to everybody. Induct them properly, include them in the safety briefing, and make sure they know who to ask.
It is also the practical answer to most problems attributed to agency staff: somebody unfamiliar with the work, given no induction, produces worse results and has more accidents.
Do not use it to avoid employment
Where somebody is needed permanently, engaging them through an agency indefinitely to avoid the obligations of employment is a strategy the law has moved specifically to address.
It also costs more in fees over time than employing them, and it produces a person with no commitment to a business that has shown none to them.
General guidance, not legal advice. The regulation of temporary employment services is complex and has changed; take proper advice on your own arrangements.