Answers to Everyday Questions : What is a temp job ?

Temp jobs, shorthand for temporary employment, are offered by companies who need specific jobs to be filled in temporarily. When companies do this, they find hiring new employees an expensive option since the job needed would only be done in a few weeks or months, depending on the client’s needs.

Plenty of companies specialize in finding temporary staff for companies in need of short-time services. These businesses work by compiling hundreds of applicants in different niches. When a company needs a person to fill up an accounting seat, the employment agency would just call in their registered applicants who would fit the job description.

Most temporary workers are employed for a professional staffing agency, instead of directly to the company. As such, a company in need of temporary workers would pay the staffing agency a negotiated rate for a worker or set of workers, while the staffing agency would pay the employees with a deduction from that rate. There is usually none or minimal on-the-job-training available for temporary workers. As such, people applying for temp jobs should adapt to different types of working environments quickly.

Generally, a temp job has a definite starting and end date, but most jobs are left open-ended. Some companies could hire a temp employee indefinitely. However, the paychecks would still go through his or her staffing agency. Because of this, when companies want to keep a temp employee and give him or her a permanent employment, the staffing agency may keep it from happening due to contract agreements. However, some agencies allow clients to provide a substantial fee in exchange for the release of the employee. Unfortunately, even though companies want a temp employee for the job, the expenses may seem not worth it and eventually discouraging the company.

Most temp jobs pay just above or exactly as the minimum wage with none or little benefits. Most of the time, a temp employees paycheck is deducted with taxes and other fees required by law. Depending on the staffing agency, payments can be daily, weekly, bi-monthly or monthly. The staffing agency would also be responsible for assigning jobs to temp employees; so they may assign its employee for a temp job for several weeks or give a one-day task to complete.