The Employment Status of Temporary Agency Workers

Abstract

In contrast to traditional standard employment relationships, various forms of atypical or nonstandard employment have emerged and established over the last century in practically all developed economies. A popular example for such non-standard employment constitutes the increasing use of temporary agency work. Instead of hiring their own employees, companies that are in need of workers can resort to temporary work agencies to get provided with workers without having to enter into an employment contract. As those workers are on the payroll of the temporary work agency, the hiring company is only obliged to pay a commission fee to the latter without however being concerned with typical employer responsibilities, particularly the dealing with dismissals and possible claims arising from them. While generally appreciated by companies, temporary agency work also gives rise to various concerns. Along with issues of discrimination and marginalisation, the general employment status of agency workers raises questions and problems stemming from the triangular character of the agency work constellation where three parties are actively involved. With respect to fundamental employment rights, it is crucial to determine the employment status of agency workers as otherwise, those workers are likely to miss out on fundamental legal protection. This paper presents the reasons for the increased popularity of temporary agency work and addresses the issues presented above. It analyses different legal approaches taken in different jurisdictions in order to tackle the problems and reveals advantages and weaknesses.