by Das Govind

Created on: June 01, 2009   Last Updated: June 03, 2009

Temporary employment can be a good thing, but the employee must consider the fact that the current job is only temporary. Many employees earn more money doing temporary work, but often have to keep moving around to find work. Temporary jobs can last a few days to a couple of years.

There are quite a few pros of temporary employment. Temporary employment means that employees get to choose if they want to work or not. Temporary employment does not weigh a person down like a permanent job. Temporary employees get paid a higher hourly rate then their permanent counterparts for doing exactly the same work. The temporary employee does not need to get involved in office politics as this he/she is not employed by the company, but contracted by an agency. This means that the temporary employees have the luxury of just having to do their work and go home. The temporary employee also does not have to attend meetings, and discuss appraisals with the head of department. Temporary employees get paid every week, that means they earn wages, so they always have money in their accounts. Temporary employees generally do sociable hours as they are very costly to put on weekends and night shift. If they do get some unsociable hour shift they make a KILLING financially.

Temporary employment has many cons as pros. The first con is that the job is only temporary. There is no real contract between the employee and the employer. The employee also is seen as a freelance worker, and can be given a one week notice at any time, unless the company really cannot recruit permanent staff. The temp has no real employment rights, and does not get any holiday pay, pension benefits, training and development or paid sick leave from the company. The temp also has to work for every cent earned, and has to take unpaid time off if required to. Many temporary employees are also thrown in the deep end by the company, and are given a large and hardest part of the work by jealous permanent members of the staff. Temporary employees are also not treated as well as permanent members of staff, and are often required to work unsupervised. They are also always at the mercy of management, as management has the power to let them go or keep them on. These employees also may have to cut rates and work for next to nothing when the market for their trade has gone sour. Incomes at a bad time for temping can also be unstable.

Learn more about this author, Das Govind.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.