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Labour Hire - The Way of the Future |
A study commissioned by the Recruitment and Consulting Services Association Limited ("RCSA") has found that labour hire arrangements are employees' method of employment of choice. Labour Hire was more advantageous than traditional employment because it provides greater flexibility to manage a family and social responsibilities. The study has found that Labour Hire workers were treated just as well as traditionally employed employees by the organisation's management and although there may be some truth in the Union's claim that Labour Hire workers were being treated unfairly and exploited the study has found that this is isolated.
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The study found four main reasons for why employees were happy to undertake Labour Hire arrangements with employers:
- Less workload, not having to take work home or doing any unpaid overtime;
- Greater balance between work and family;
- Diversity of work;
- Better matching of employee skills and employer demands.
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The employers surveyed in this study were small size firms to very large size firms. The employers' main motivation for hiring Labour Hire workers included:
- Temporary shortage of labour;
- Temporary high volume of work;
- The need to reduce staff costs.
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| An important finding of this study was that the main reason employees entered into Labour Hire arrangements was because they needed a short term increase in staff in order to meet the demand of their work load. Employers were offering these Labour Hire employees the same conditions that they offered to their own direct employees. |
Also surveyed in this study were Labour Hire Employees. Their experience of their treatment by employers as Labour Hire employees as opposed to direct employees was favourable. Employees found that they were treated very similarly to direct employees and also were paid award rates and not below award rates as has been suggested by the union. Further employees found it was valuable that they were able to have the flexibility of Labour Hire appointments. Some employees also preferred the casual loading that resulted in higher annual leave entitlements. Labour Hire employees also found that they were not more likely to get injured than direct employees and they had just as much access to unions. |
http://www.rcsa.com.au/folders/facts/mediareleases.asp# |
peter.mcnamara@cml.com.au
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