Use of Temporary Staff on the Increase Again

A recent report from the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) has shown that employers are recognising again the importance of using agency workers for both short and long term employment, and 86% expect the use of temporary staff to continue or grow in the next three months. This is good news for the recruitment industry and also hopefully for freelance workers.

Good quality temporary staff benefit organisations in times of financial instability when many employers may be choosing not to fill vacant posts until the climate improves; however, this can present problems in dealing with the peaks and troughs of everyday workflow as well as staff illness and holidays. An obvious source of temporary staff is recruitment agencies and employing temps means fewer overheads and less administration for the employer. This is true of freelancers as well, who can also offer a high quality service but with greater flexibility. They probably have their own premises to work from with their own equipment and as they charge only for the work actually undertaken, costs will be reasonable. This is not always true of the agency temp who is usually hired for the day and may be at a loose end by the afternoon tea break.