You may have heard of companies using temporary employees to supplement their staff, but how can’t it help you? Temporary help can be the solution you have been looking for, but first you need to understand the benefit to yourself and your company. Today we will look at payroll benefits, and how this directly affects your bottom line.
\nWorker’s Comp\nThat dreaded component of hiring someone. KILL ME NOW! Depending on your type of business, and the amount of accidents you have had, your workers comp could be twice that of a staffing agency. Staffing agencies usually have a good comp policy that is kept to a pretty low mod rating. When you utilize a temporary staffing agency, the employees you bring on are automatically covered by their worker’s comp policy. You could still be held accountable for a negligence suit unless you have a waiver of subjugation in your contract, but their WC takes the brunt of the hits. This is a huge savior to most companies, especially those with a high risk products (ie. demo, asbestos, recycling, etc), as an unfortunate accident on your site does not raise your worker’s compensation modifier.
\nUnemployment\nAnother huge downside to hiring employees is the prospect of unemployment, and the paperwork an unemployment claim causes. As a temporary employee is not an employee of your company, the unemployment claim does not go against your insurance. Any and all unemployment claims are brought against the temporary staffing agency, and their insurance is responsible for covering the claims. Also, the sheer amount of paperwork caused by unemployment is a good enough reason to switch to temps. Your HR department does not need to be bogged down with unemployment claims from someone who did not last three weeks. Let a staffing agency handle the day-to-day of your workforce.
\nStaffing agencies can become the HR department of your company, especially for season employees, and those positions you have a high turnover. The entire reason staffing agencies exist is to give companies employees they may only need for a day. Use the tools that are at your disposal and quit taking up the valuable time of your internal staff.
","excerpt":"You may have heard of companies using temporary employees to supplement their…"}}}},{"node":{"title":"Top 8 Questions to Ask Before Choosing a Temporary Staffing Company","id":"92eaf0c0-a6d2-5864-91d0-f6bb273ab592","slug":"top-8-questions-to-ask-before-choosing-a-temporary-staffing-company","publishDate":"August 25, 2020","heroImage":{"title":"TAG","fluid":{"aspectRatio":1.8494208494208495,"src":"//images.ctfassets.net/zmk00p7dshmo/6gxES7L1XD5WLIOQ5uwdpI/84a34d025d546e65fe33ea57a98c10af/TAG_Logo_vert.png?w=1800&q=50","srcSet":"//images.ctfassets.net/zmk00p7dshmo/6gxES7L1XD5WLIOQ5uwdpI/84a34d025d546e65fe33ea57a98c10af/TAG_Logo_vert.png?w=450&h=243&q=50 450w,\n//images.ctfassets.net/zmk00p7dshmo/6gxES7L1XD5WLIOQ5uwdpI/84a34d025d546e65fe33ea57a98c10af/TAG_Logo_vert.png?w=479&h=259&q=50 479w","srcWebp":"//images.ctfassets.net/zmk00p7dshmo/6gxES7L1XD5WLIOQ5uwdpI/84a34d025d546e65fe33ea57a98c10af/TAG_Logo_vert.png?w=1800&q=50&fm=webp","srcSetWebp":"//images.ctfassets.net/zmk00p7dshmo/6gxES7L1XD5WLIOQ5uwdpI/84a34d025d546e65fe33ea57a98c10af/TAG_Logo_vert.png?w=450&h=243&q=50&fm=webp 450w,\n//images.ctfassets.net/zmk00p7dshmo/6gxES7L1XD5WLIOQ5uwdpI/84a34d025d546e65fe33ea57a98c10af/TAG_Logo_vert.png?w=479&h=259&q=50&fm=webp 479w","sizes":"(max-width: 1800px) 100vw, 1800px"},"ogimg":{"src":"//images.ctfassets.net/zmk00p7dshmo/6gxES7L1XD5WLIOQ5uwdpI/84a34d025d546e65fe33ea57a98c10af/TAG_Logo_vert.png?w=1800&fl=progressive&q=50"}},"body":{"childMarkdownRemark":{"timeToRead":3,"html":"1.\tHow many worker’s compensation injuries have you had in the past year?
\nTemporary staffing is important to so many industries – mainly because the worker’s compensation and liability are covered for the employee by the temporary staffing agency. However, temporary employees being injured on your job can be a problem for you and your company, especially if OSHA gets involved. Try to figure out which temporary agencies are employing safe workers, it will save you stress down the line.
\n2.\tAre the temporary workers 1099 independent contractors or W-2 employees?
\nAs crazy as it sounds, some temporary staffing agencies have their employees as 1099. This means a few things-\nA.\tThat the bill rate you are paying them does not cover worker’s compensation, liability or SUTA/FUTA.\nB.\tThe temporary workers can sue your company directly if they are injured on the job site.\nC.\tThe temporary staffing agency is pocketing the bill rate other than the wages the employee is receiving.\nD.\tThe temporary worker is probably not carrying a worker’s compensation policy on themselves, especially if they are an unskilled worker. If they do have a personal WC policy, chances are it does not have the limits necessary to work on your site/facility.
\nJust because the temporary staffing agency sends over a certificate of insurance for their company, does not mean the worker is covered if they are an independent contractor. You need to find out if the worker is an actual employee of the agency before you allow them on your site.
\n3.\tDo the employees pay a fee to use the agency’s equipment?
\nBelieve it or not, some agencies charge their employees a fee to use their PPE, tools, or other equipment. Many times the agency simply takes it out of the employee’s check at the end of the day. It is unethical, but not illegal in most cases. Asking this question will let the agency know that you are not ok with excess charges to the employee.
\n4.\tDo they charge an ACA fee?
\nMost temporary staffing agencies charge an ACA fee now. This can be anywhere from 1-5% on top of the bill rate. Knowing this fee in advance can assist with budgeting.
\n5.\tHow often are bill rates raised?
\nThe contractual bill rate is set at the beginning of the relationship. This cost includes worker’s compensation, SUTA, FUTA, liability, and the employee wages with all applicable taxes. This rate is usually set by the temporary staffing agency and depends on the location and job title. With minimum wage increases, bill rates are almost guaranteed to increase, however, some staffing agencies raise their bill rate every year regardless of minimum wage increases. Asking this at the beginning of the relationship will alleviate surprises later on.
\n6.\tDo they have an umbrella policy?
\nIt is common knowledge that temporary staffing agencies cover worker’s compensation and liability, but sometimes that liability is not enough to cover damage. An umbrella policy being in place will help cover any excess damages that their liability policy did not cover.
\n7.\tWill they charge you a minimum if you do not like the workers?
\nMany times temporary staffing agencies have policies in place that allow for not charging if you are not satisfied with the worker. Staffing agencies as a general rule have a 4 hour minimum for each employee. Asking this question shows the agency that\nA. they need to send you quality employees, or you will be sending them home, and\n__B. __If they do not send quality, you are not planning on paying for the time wasted.\nYou can usually tell if an employee actually wants to work within the first 2 hours, and if he/she does not, a simple phone call will ensure that the employee does not come back and you are not invoiced for the time.
\n8.\tWho do you contact for any invoicing issues?
\nTemporary staffing agencies are owned in many different forms. Some of partnerships with a corporate office doing all of the invoicing, some are privately owned and outsource the invoicing, some are corporate-owned and do invoicing in-house. The person you receive the invoice from is not necessarily the person who handles a billing issue. Often times the individual you should be speaking with is someone in the office building that send you the employee. If you try to contact the corporate office who only sent out the invoice and knows nothing of the employee, it can be a headache. Knowing this ahead of time can help your accounts payable department immensely.
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