temp to perm?

willis999

hi, how long is it before a company you are working for on a tempory basis through a temping agy, has to offer you perm contract?
or is that no the case?
any help please

klondyke

Never, as far as I know, or unless there has been a change siince I used to do a lot of temping. That doesn't mean, either, that they can't offer you a permanent post - quite often I was offered, but equally, if say, covering a maternity leave, then it is just possible the person you are covering may not come back, in which case there is a possibilit, but not a certainty that you may be offered the post. A lot of my jobs were in government offices, where perm staff were civil servants, but lots and lots of temp work. Saves them paying for pensions etc - though conditions on that and holiday pay have improved since my young day.

Have to admit, I tended to turn down permanent as the grass was always possibly greener in next job!

Bean_Counter

I agree that the answer is probably never.

However it is worth pointing out that case law in this area is moving rather rapidly. Specifically at whether longer term agency workers should be in fact treated as employees of the client rather than employees of the agency. This is important in terms of the rights this gives in terms of how easy it is for clients to get rid of agency staff, amongst other things.

If you have trouble sleeping, you could google on recent cases of Brook St Bureau (UK) Ltd v Dacas (2004) EWCA Civ 217 & Cable & Wireless Plc v Muscat (2006) EWCA Civ 220. However, the employment appeals tribunal tried to 'stem the tide' of these decisions in James v Greenwich Council (2006) UKEAT 0006_06_1812, which is why it seems to be a bit up in the air at the moment.

Important thing to remember is that as an agency or temp worker, you still have rights.

cazziebo

willis999 wrote: »

hi, how long is it before a company you are working for on a tempory basis through a temping agy, has to offer you perm contract?
or is that no the case?
any help please

there is never a requirement for the client company to offer the temporary worker a permanent contract with them. However, law has changed to increasingly protect agency workers - to the extent that there is often no benefit for the client to keep temps long term. A few years ago it also became illegal to charge a "temp to perm" fee, so more employers are taking temporary staff on if they fit after 3 or 6 months. the longer a temp stays the more the temp has a case to call the client company the "employer".


It is likely that the client company's direct employees will be on better terms and conditions than temporary workers. However, as an agency worker, your agency will be deemed to be your employer and after a year, you will have the same rights as any other worker (not ts and cs) but rights to a refer to a tribunal in case of unfair dismissal, proper disciplinary and grievance procedure etc

hope that helps