Temporary work or temporary employment (also called gigs) refers to an employment situation where the working arrangement is limited to a certain period of time-based on the needs of the employing organization. Temporary employees are sometimes called "contractual", "seasonal", "interim", "casual staff", "outsourcing", and "
freelance
''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance w ...
"; or the words may be shortened to "temps". In some instances, temporary, highly skilled professionals (particularly in the
white-collar worker
A white-collar worker is a person who performs professional service, desk, managerial, or administrative work. White-collar work may be performed in an office or similar setting. White-collar workers include job paths related to government, co ...
fields, such as
human resources
Human resources (HR) is the set of people who make up the workforce of an organization, business sector, industry, or economy. A narrower concept is human capital, the knowledge and skills which the individuals command. Similar terms include ' ...
,
research and development
Research and development (R&D or R+D), known in some countries as OKB, experiment and design, is the set of innovative activities undertaken by corporations or governments in developing new services or products. R&D constitutes the first stage ...
,
engineering
Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...
, and
accounting
Accounting, also known as accountancy, is the process of recording and processing information about economic entity, economic entities, such as businesses and corporations. Accounting measures the results of an organization's economic activit ...
) refer to themselves as
consultants
A consultant (from "to deliberate") is a professional (also known as ''expert'', ''specialist'', see variations of meaning below) who provides advice or services in an area of specialization (generally to medium or large-size corporations). Cons ...
. Increasingly, executive-level positions (e.g., CEO, CIO, CFO, CMO, CSO) are also filled with
interim executives or
fractional executives.
Temporary work is different from
secondment
Secondment is the temporary assignment of a member of one organization to another organization. In some jurisdictions, .g., Indiasuch temporary transfer of employees is called "on deputation".
Job rotation
The employee typically retains their s ...
, which involves temporarily assigning a member of one organization to another. In this case, the employee typically retains their salary and other employment rights from their primary organization. Still, they work closely with other organizations to provide training and share experiences.
Temporary workers may work
full-time or
part-time depending on the individual situation. In some instances, temporary workers receive
benefits (such as
health insurance
Health insurance or medical insurance (also known as medical aid in South Africa) is a type of insurance that covers the whole or a part of the risk of a person incurring medical expenses. As with other types of insurance, risk is shared among ma ...
), but usually benefits are only given to
permanent employees as a
cost-cutting
Cost reduction is the process used by organisations aiming to reduce their costs and increase their profits, or to accommodate reduced income. Depending on a company’s services or products, the strategies can vary. Every decision in the produ ...
measure by the employer to save money. Not all temporary employees find jobs through a temporary
employment agency
An employment agency is an organization which matches employers to employees. In developed countries, there are multiple private businesses which act as employment agencies and a publicly funded employment agency.
Public employment agencies
One ...
. With the rise of the Internet and
gig economy
The gig economy is the economic system by which a workforce of people (known as gig workers) engage in freelance and/or side-employment.
Description
The gig economy is composed of corporate entities, workers and consumers. The Internal Reve ...
(a labor market characterized by the prevalence of short-term contracts or freelance work as opposed to permanent jobs), many workers are now finding short-term jobs through
freelance marketplace
''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employment, self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long- ...
s: a situation that brings into being a global market for work.
A temporary work
agency, temp agency or temporary staffing firm finds and retains workers. Other companies in need of short-term workers contract with the temporary work agency to send temporary workers, or temps, on assignments to work at the other companies. Temporary employees are also used in cyclical work, requiring frequent staffing adjustments.
History

The staffing industry in the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
began after
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
with small agencies in urban areas employing housewives for
part-time work as office workers. Over the years, the advantages of having workers who could be hired and laid off on short notice and were exempt from paperwork and regulatory requirements resulted in a gradual but substantial increase in temporary workers, with over 3.5 million employed in the United States by 2000.
There has been a
paradigm shift
A paradigm shift is a fundamental change in the basic concepts and experimental practices of a scientific discipline. It is a concept in the philosophy of science that was introduced and brought into the common lexicon by the American physicist a ...
since the 1940s in how firms utilize temporary workers. Throughout the
Fordist era, temporary workers made up a rather marginal proportion of the total
labor force
In macroeconomics, the workforce or labour force is the sum of people either working (i.e., the employed) or looking for work (i.e., the unemployed):
\text = \text + \text
Those neither working in the marketplace nor looking for work are out ...
in
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...
. Typically, temporary workers were white women in
pink collar
A pink-collar worker is someone working in the care-oriented career field or in fields historically considered to be women's work. This may include jobs in the beauty industry, nursing, social work, teaching, secretarial work, or child care. W ...
,
clerical
Clerical may refer to:
* Pertaining to the clergy
* Pertaining to a clerical worker
* Clerical script, a style of Chinese calligraphy
* Clerical People's Party
See also
* Cleric (disambiguation)
* Clerk (disambiguation)
{{disambiguation ...
positions who provided companies with a stopgap solution for permanent workers who needed a leave of absence when on vacation or illness.
In contrast, in the
Post-Fordist
The concept of post-Fordism was originally invented by the economist Robin Murray (economist), Robin Murray in the British magazine ''Marxism Today'' in 1988. It referred to the emergence of new Methods of production, production methods defined by ...
period, characterized by
neoliberalism
Neoliberalism is a political and economic ideology that advocates for free-market capitalism, which became dominant in policy-making from the late 20th century onward. The term has multiple, competing definitions, and is most often used pe ...
,
deindustrialization
Deindustrialization is a process of social and economic change caused by the removal or reduction of industrial capacity or activity in a country or region, especially of heavy industry or manufacturing industry.
There are different interpr ...
and the dismantling of the
welfare state
A welfare state is a form of government in which the State (polity), state (or a well-established network of social institutions) protects and promotes the economic and social well-being of its citizens, based upon the principles of equal oppor ...
, these understandings of temporary labor began to shift.
In this
paradigm
In science and philosophy, a paradigm ( ) is a distinct set of concepts or thought patterns, including theories, research methods, postulates, and standards for what constitute legitimate contributions to a field. The word ''paradigm'' is Ancient ...
, the idea of the temporary worker as a stopgap solution to permanent labor became an entirely normative employment alternative to permanent work.
Therefore, temporary workers no longer represented a substitute for permanent workers on leave but became semi-permanent, precarious positions routinely subject to the threat of elimination because of company product fluctuations. In today's temporary labor force, both people and positions have become temporary, and temporary agencies use the temporary workers systematically and plan instead of impromptu.
Temporary employment has become more prevalent in America due to the rise of the Internet and the gig economy. The "gig economy" is defined as a labor market characterized by the prevalence of short-term contracts or freelance work instead of permanent jobs. It is a common misconception that participation in the gig economy is a relatively new method of employment. However, finding work in the gig economy is similar to the employment style before the
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution, sometimes divided into the First Industrial Revolution and Second Industrial Revolution, was a transitional period of the global economy toward more widespread, efficient and stable manufacturing processes, succee ...
. It is the "one-person, one-career model" that society is accustomed to, and the gig economy is disrupting a relatively recent phenomenon. Before the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century, it was common for one person to take on multiple temporary jobs to piece together livable earnings.
Post-Fordism
As the
market
Market is a term used to describe concepts such as:
*Market (economics), system in which parties engage in transactions according to supply and demand
*Market economy
*Marketplace, a physical marketplace or public market
*Marketing, the act of sat ...
began to transform from
Fordism
Fordism is an industrial engineering and manufacturing system that serves as the basis of modern social and labor-economic systems that support industrialized, standardized mass production and mass consumption. The concept is named after Henry ...
to a post-order regime of
capital accumulation
Capital accumulation is the dynamic that motivates the pursuit of profit, involving the investment of money or any financial asset with the goal of increasing the initial monetary value of said asset as a financial return whether in the form ...
, the social regulation of labor markets and the very nature of work began to shift. This transformation has been characterized by an
economic restructuring
Economic restructuring is used to indicate changes in the constituent parts of an economy in a very general sense. In the western world, it is usually used to refer to the phenomenon of urban areas shifting from a manufacturing to a service sect ...
that emphasized
flexibility
Stiffness is the extent to which an object resists deformation in response to an applied force.
The complementary concept is flexibility or pliability: the more flexible an object is, the less stiff it is.
Calculations
The stiffness, k, of a ...
within spaces of work,
labor markets
Labour economics seeks to understand the functioning and dynamics of the Market (economics), markets for wage labour. Labour (human activity), Labour is a commodity that is supplied by labourers, usually in exchange for a wage paid by demanding ...
, employment relationships,
wages
A wage is payment made by an employer to an employee for work done in a specific period of time. Some examples of wage payments include compensatory payments such as ''minimum wage'', '' prevailing wage'', and ''yearly bonuses,'' and remune ...
and
benefits. Indeed, global processes of
neoliberalism
Neoliberalism is a political and economic ideology that advocates for free-market capitalism, which became dominant in policy-making from the late 20th century onward. The term has multiple, competing definitions, and is most often used pe ...
and market rule contributed greatly to this increasing pressure on local labor markets towards flexibility. This greater flexibility within
labor markets
Labour economics seeks to understand the functioning and dynamics of the Market (economics), markets for wage labour. Labour (human activity), Labour is a commodity that is supplied by labourers, usually in exchange for a wage paid by demanding ...
is important at the global level, particularly within
OECD
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; , OCDE) is an international organization, intergovernmental organization with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and international trade, wor ...
countries and liberal market economies (see
liberal market economy).
The temporary labor
industry
Industry may refer to:
Economics
* Industry (economics), a generally categorized branch of economic activity
* Industry (manufacturing), a specific branch of economic activity, typically in factories with machinery
* The wider industrial sector ...
is worth over €157 billion per year, and the most prominent agencies are spread across over 60 nations. The biggest temporary work agencies are most profitable in ''emerging'' economies of the
Global North
Global North and Global South are terms that denote a method of grouping countries based on their defining characteristics with regard to socioeconomics and Global politics, politics. According to UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the Global S ...
and those that have undergone
market liberalization,
deregulation
Deregulation is the process of removing or reducing state regulations, typically in the economic sphere. It is the repeal of governmental regulation of the economy. It became common in advanced industrial economies in the 1970s and 1980s, as a ...
, and (re)regulation.
Temporary work opportunities and restrictions vary around the world. Chile, Columbia, and Poland have the highest percentage of temporary dependent employment at 28.7%, 28.3%, and 27.5%, respectively. Romania, Lithuania, and Estonia have the lowest temporary dependent employment percentages, ranging from 1–4%. The United Kingdom has 6% temporary employment, Germany has 13% temporary employment, and France has 16% temporary employment. In many countries, there are no restrictions on the type of temporary work that is legal, including the United Kingdom, Canada, China, Sweden, and Denmark. The United Kingdom has in place the
Temporary Agency Work Directive 2008, which ensures equal pay and treatment of temporary workers. Similarly, Brazil enforces full-time employment regulations to part-time employment and outsourcing. In some countries, including Brazil, there is a wage gap between temporary and permanent workers, but this is due to violations of legislation that specify equal wage determination. In other countries, prohibitions are placed on temporary employment in fields such as agriculture, construction, and non-core employment.
In Mexico, a temporary employee is, "prohibited to perform the same work as regular employee",
making temporary work illegal.
Gig economy-based temporary work is prevalent around the world. Uber, for example, operates in North, Central, and South America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, East, South, Southeast Asia, Australia, and New Zealand. Airbnb advertises listings in 191 countries around the world with the most in Europe.
The desire to market flexible, adaptable temporary workers has become the temporary work industry's driving, monetary-oriented objective. This has caused individual agencies to adopt practices that focus on competition with other firms, that promote "
try before you buy" practices, and that maximize their ability to produce a product: the temporary worker. Through this process, the ideal temporary worker has today become largely imagined, produced, and marketed by temporary agencies.
Agencies
The role of a temp agency is as a third party between the client employer and the client employee. This third party handles remuneration, work scheduling, complaints, taxes, etc., created by the relationship between a client employer and a client employee. Client firms request the type of job that is to be done and the skills required to do it. Client firms can also terminate an assignment and file a complaint about the temp.
Work schedules are determined by assignment, which is determined by the agency and can last for an indeterminate period, extended to any point, and cut short.
Because the assignments are temporary, there is little incentive to provide benefits, and the pay is low in situations with a lot of labor flexibility. (Nurses are an exception to this since there is currently a shortage).
Workers can refuse assignment but risk going through an indeterminate period of downtime since work is based on the availability of assignments, which the agency cannot "create", only fill.
Whether the work comes through an independent gig economy source or a temp agency, when a temporary employee
agrees to an assignment, they receive instructions pertaining to the job. The agency also provides information on correct work attire, work hours, wages, and whom to report to. If a temporary employee arrives at a job assignment and is asked to perform duties not described when they accepted the job, they may call an agency representative for clarification. If they choose not to continue on the assignment based on these discrepancies, they will most likely lose pay and may undermine chances at other job opportunities. However, some agencies guarantee an employee a certain number of hours of pay if there is no work once the temporary employee arrives or the work is not as described. Most agencies do not require an employee to continue work if the discrepancies make it difficult for the employee to do the work.
A ''temporary work agency'' may have a standard set of
tests
Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to:
* Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities
Arts and entertainment
* ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film
* ''Test'' (2014 film) ...
to judge the competence of the secretarial or clerical skills of an applicant. An
applicant is hired based on their scores on these tests and is placed into a database. Companies or individuals looking to hire someone temporarily contact the agency and describe the skill set they are seeking. A temporary employee is then found in the database and is contacted to see if they would be interested in taking the assignment.
It is up to the temporary employee to keep in constant contact with the agency when not currently working on an assignment; by letting the agency know that they are available to work, they are given priority over those who may be in the agency database who have not made it clear that they are ready and willing to take an assignment. A temp agency employee is the exclusive employee of the agency, not of the company in which they are placed (although subject to legal dispute). The temporary employee is bound by the rules and regulations of the temp agency, even if they contrast with those of the company in which they are placed.
Benefits for client firms
There are several reasons as to why a firm utilizes temp agencies. They provide employers a way to add more workers for a short-term increase in the workforce. Using temps allows firms to replace a missing regular employee. A temp worker's competency and value can be determined without the inflexibility of hiring a new person and seeing how they work out. Utilizing temp workers can also be a way of not having to pay benefits and increasing the salaries of regular employees. A firm can also use temp workers to vary compensation in what would normally be an illegal or impossible manner. The role of temp workers in the work space can also have the effects of coercing regular employees into taking more work for less pay. Additionally, temp workers are less likely to sue over mistreatment, which allows firms to reduce the costs of employment in high-stress, regulated jobs.
Growth of temporary staffing
Temp agencies are a growing part of industrial economies. From 1961 to 1971, the number of employees sent out by temporary staffing agencies increased by 16 percent. Temporary staffing industry payrolls increased by 166 percent from 1971 to 1981, 206 percent from 1981 to 1991, and 278 percent from 1991 to 1999. The temporary staffing sector accounted for 1 out of 12 new jobs in the 90's.
In 1996, there was $105 billion worldwide in staffing agency revenues. By 2008, $300 billion was generated worldwide in revenues for staffing agencies.
The Temporary Staffing Industry accounts for 16% of job growth in the U.S. since the great recession ended, even though it only accounts for 2% of all-farm jobs.
This growth has occurred for several reasons. Demand for temporary employment can be primarily attributed to employers' demand, not employees.
A large driver of demand was in European labor market. Previously, temporary employment agencies were considered quasi-legal entities. This reputation shied potential client employers away. However, in the latter half of the 20th century, a shift would be predominated by legal protections and closer relationships with primary employers. This, combined with the tendency for growth of the TSI in countries where there are strict regulations on dismissal of hired employees but loose regulations on temporary work, means that growth is much faster compared to industrialized nations without these labor conditions.
Abuse in the temporary staffing industry
Staffing agencies are prone to improper behavior just like any other employer.
There have been cases of some temp agencies that have created and reinforced an ethnic hierarchy that determines who gets what jobs.
An additional ramification of temp workers "guest" status is at the bottom of the workplace hierarchy, which is visually identifiable on ID cards, in different colored uniforms, as well as the encouragement of more "provocative dress".
Their "guest" status often means temp workers are unable to access on-site workplace accommodations and are not included in meetings despite the length of their time working at the client firm.
This is all compounded by a working system in which temps must file complaints about clients through the temp agencies, which, often enough, disqualifies them not only from another assignment at that firm but also from receiving an assignment from that temporary agency upon review.
Since a client firm is harder to replace than a client employee, and there is no disincentive to not give a complaining employee an assignment, there is an incentive for agencies to find employees who are willing to go along with the conditions of client firms, as opposed to severing ties with firms that routinely violate the law.
Occupational safety and health
Temporary workers are at a high risk of being injured or killed on the job. In the U.S., 829 fatal injuries (17% of all occupational fatalities) occurred among contract workers in 2015. Studies have also shown a higher burden of nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses among temporary workers compared to those in standard employment arrangements.
There are many possible contributing factors to the high rates of injuries and illnesses among temporary workers. They are often inexperienced and assigned to hazardous jobs and tasks,
[Boden L, Spieler EA, Wagner G. 2016. The changing structure of work: Implications for workplace safety and health in the U.S. United States Department of Labor/Occupational Safety and Health Administration.] may be reluctant to object to unsafe working conditions or to advocate for safety measures due to fear of job loss or other repercussions,
and they may lack basic knowledge and skills to protect themselves from workplace hazards due to insufficient safety training. According to a joint guidance document released by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), both staffing agencies and host employers (i.e., the clients of staffing agencies) are responsible for providing and maintaining a safe and healthy work environment for temporary workers. Collaborative and interdisciplinary (e.g., epidemiology, occupational psychology, organizational science, economics, law, management, sociology, labor health and safety) research and intervention efforts are needed to protect and promote the occupational safety and health of temporary workers. In 2022, NIOSH and partners released a set of occupational safety and health best practices for host employers of temporary workers. Checklists to foster adoption of the best practices and a slide deck staffing companies can use to educate their host employer clients about the best practices are also included.
Pros and cons
Pros
* Easy hire: Those meeting technical requirements for the type of work are often virtually guaranteed a job without a selection process. In this sense, it could be argued that finding work as a temporary worker would be more accessible. Also, in some cases, agencies will hire temporary workers without submission of a résumé or an interview
* Potential for flexible hours which can lead to happier employees
* There is an opportunity to gain experience—companies are all unique, so the temporary worker will be exposed to a plethora of different situations and office procedures
* Some companies do not hire internally and use these staffing services only. They are an excellent gateway to get employment with a certain company.
* ''Try before you buy'': temporary staff allows a business to try a worker as part of its team and confirm that they are a good fit before taking them on board long-term if needed.
* Temporary work can be extremely lucrative for those in less wealthy countries.
* Temporary work with internet-based companies offer a source of supplemental income.
* Temporary work may be a way in which someone who has retired can re-enter the workforce.
Cons
Workers, scholars, union organizers, and activists have identified many cons of temporary work, including the gig economy. These include:
* Lack of control over working hours and the potential for immediate termination for refusing an assigned schedule.
* Positions often are with
high turnover rates. Research suggests that plants choose temporary workers over permanent ones when they expect output to fall, which allows them to avoid costs associated with laying off permanent employees
* ''Lack of reference'', since many employers of experienced job positions do not consider work done for a temporary agency as sufficient on a résumé
* In the United States, the gradual replacement of workers by temporary workers resulted in millions of workers being employed in low-paid temporary jobs.
* In the U.S., the hourly wage paid to a temporary worker is 75% to 80% of what direct-hire employees are paid. Additionally, they often receive few or no employment benefits, such as health insurance, and seldom become full-time employees from their temporary positions.
* Unlike temporary workers hired through a staffing agency, many people in the gig economy do not report their income to the IRS, resulting in an estimated $214.6 billion in the United States alone of unreported income. This can result in fines or jail time.
* In South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, temporary workers often suffer from overworking.
* The temporary workforce can become oversaturated, leading to other issues such as wage deflation.
* When a company hires internationally, there is no legal precedent for using the laws of the hiring company's country of origin or the temporary worker's country of origin.
Legal issues
Scholars have argued that
neoliberal
Neoliberalism is a political and economic ideology that advocates for free-market capitalism, which became dominant in policy-making from the late 20th century onward. The term has multiple, competing definitions, and is most often used pej ...
policies have been prominent in erasing the standard employment relationship. This
precarious new model of employment has greatly reduced the worker's ability to negotiate and, in particular, with the introduction of advanced technology (that can easily replace the worker), reduced the temp's bargaining power.
Internet-based companies such as
Uber
Uber Technologies, Inc. is an American multinational transportation company that provides Ridesharing company, ride-hailing services, courier services, food delivery, and freight transport. It is headquartered in San Francisco, California, a ...
and
Handy have come into conflict with authorities and workers for circumventing labor and social security obligations. It has been suggested that
labour regulations in North America do little in addressing labour market insecurities and the precarious nature of temporary labour. In many cases,
legislation
Legislation is the process or result of enrolling, enacting, or promulgating laws by a legislature, parliament, or analogous governing body. Before an item of legislation becomes law it may be known as a bill, and may be broadly referred ...
has done little to acknowledge or adapt to the growth of non-standard employment in Canada.
California Assembly Bill 5 in 2019 addressed the issue of contract workers, including those in the gig economy, and set stricter requirements that must be satisfied for a worker to be classified as a contractor and not an employee, as employees receive more worker protection and benefits than contractors. In 2018, Kentucky (HB 220), Utah, Indiana (HB 1286), Iowa (SF 2257), and Tennessee (SB 1967) passed laws specifying certain on-demand gig economy workers as "marketplace contractors" and classifying them as independent contractors.
In the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
, temporary work is regulated by the
Temporary Agency Work Directive and the Member States' laws implementing that directive.
Lawsuits have addressed some of the controversies about the status of temporary workers in the
sharing economy
The sharing economy is a socio-economic system whereby consumers share in the creation, production, distribution, trade and consumption of goods, and services. These systems take a variety of forms, often leveraging information technology and the ...
. For example, two class-action lawsuits settled in 2016 resulted in changes to
Uber
Uber Technologies, Inc. is an American multinational transportation company that provides Ridesharing company, ride-hailing services, courier services, food delivery, and freight transport. It is headquartered in San Francisco, California, a ...
's employment policies, including clarification of drivers' rights and the company's disciplinary procedures. Some of these policies include Uber agreeing to issue warnings to drivers before cutting them from the company's service, no longer deactivating drivers who commonly refuse rides, informing customers that tips for drivers are not included in the fare, and allowing drivers to create an association to contest terminations. However, the legal settlement did not establish whether these workers are employees or
independent contractor
Employment is a relationship between two parties regulating the provision of paid labour services. Usually based on a contract, one party, the employer, which might be a corporation, a not-for-profit organization, a co-operative, or any oth ...
s.
See also
*
Consulting
A consultant (from "to deliberate") is a professional (also known as ''expert'', ''specialist'', see variations of meaning below) who provides advice or services in an area of specialization (generally to medium or large-size corporations). Cons ...
*
Contingent work
Contingent work, casual work, gig work or contract work, is an employment relationship with limited job security, payment on a piece work basis, typically part-time (typically with variable hours) that is considered non-permanent.
According to ...
*
Contingent workforce
Contingent work, casual work, gig work or contract work, is an employment relationship with limited job security, payment on a piece work basis, typically part-time (typically with variable hours) that is considered non-permanent.
According to t ...
*
Day labor
Day labor (or day labour in American and British English spelling differences, Commonwealth spelling) is work done where the worker is hired and paid one day at a time, with no promise that more work will be available in the future, and outside t ...
*
Division of labour
The division of labour is the separation of the tasks in any economic system or organisation so that participants may specialise ( specialisation). Individuals, organisations, and nations are endowed with or acquire specialised capabilities, a ...
* ''
Denham v Midland Employers' Mutual Assurance Ltd''
*
Employment agency
An employment agency is an organization which matches employers to employees. In developed countries, there are multiple private businesses which act as employment agencies and a publicly funded employment agency.
Public employment agencies
One ...
*
Fractional executive
*
Gig worker
Gig workers are independent contractors, online platform workers, contract firm workers, on-demand workers, and temporary workers. Gig workers enter into formal agreements with on-demand companies to provide services to the company's clients.
...
*
Interim executive
*
Labour hire
Labour hire is a form of employment in which an employer directs their de jure employees ("labour hire employees", or "agency workers") to perform work at an external workplace, belonging to a client of the legal employer.
A labour-hire agency emp ...
*
Labour market flexibility
The degree of labour market flexibility is the speed with which labour markets adapt to fluctuations and changes in society, the economy or production. This entails enabling labour markets to reach a continuous equilibrium determined by the inters ...
*
Outsourcing
Outsourcing is a business practice in which companies use external providers to carry out business processes that would otherwise be handled internally. Outsourcing sometimes involves transferring employees and assets from one firm to another ...
*
Permatemp
Permatemp is a United States term for a temporary employee who works for an extended period for a single staffing client. The word is a portmanteau of the words '' permanent'' and ''temporary''.
It can also describe a semi-permanent structure or ...
*
Recruitment
Recruitment is #Process, the overall process of identifying, sourcing, screening, shortlisting, and interviewing candidates for Job (role), jobs (either permanent or temporary) within an organization. Recruitment also is the process involved in ...
*
Up or out
Up or out, also known as a tenure or partnership system, is the requirement for members of a hierarchical organization to achieve a certain rank within a certain period of time. If they fail to do so, they must leave the organization.
Examples ...
*
Zero-hour contract
A zero-hour contract is a type of employment contract in United Kingdom labour law, between an employer and an employee whereby the employer is not obliged to provide any minimum number of working hours to the employee.
In 2015, employers in the ...
*
Platform economy
The platform economy encompasses economic and social activities facilitated by digital platforms. These platforms — such as Amazon (company), Amazon, Airbnb, Uber, Microsoft and Google — serve as intermediaries between various groups of users, ...
References
Further reading
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Temporary Work
Employment classifications
Precarious work
pt:Contrato de trabalho#Contrato a termo certo