Avoid unpleasant surprises with your temps.
At Procur, we're committed to doing our job in a way that makes the most sense and causes the least inconvenience to our customers. This can sometimes be harder than it sounds because we have an attitude about doing things right, and it's not always as flexible or customer-friendly as we'd like. Purely because we know the rules for temporary workers - and because we follow them to the letter. Even if it comes at a cost on the "popularity scale" every now and then.
In return, we can guarantee that there will be no unpleasant surprises, extra bills or boring newspaper front pages because you - through no fault of your own - had employees who were not employed, engaged or paid according to the rules.
But what are the rules for temporary workers?
Well, it's not that simple, because it actually depends on several factors. First and foremost, whether your company has signed up to a collective agreement - i.e. not just leaning on, following or being "inspired by" in selected areas - but has signed up to it and follows it to the letter. Secondly, it matters if your temp agency has signed a collective agreement that covers your field of work.
If neither your company nor your temp agency has signed a collective agreement?
It's simple for the temp agency because they are obliged to comply with the Temporary Agency Workers Act, which has regulated conditions in the temporary agency sector since 2013. In particular, section 3, 1, the so-called equal treatment clause, which states:
The temporary employment agency must ensure that during the temporary worker's deployment to a user undertaking, the temporary worker, with regard to the length of working hours, overtime, breaks, rest periods, night work, holidays, public holidays and remuneration, has at least conditions equivalent to what would have applied pursuant to legislation, collective agreements or other binding general provisions if the temporary worker had been employed directly by the user undertaking to perform the same work assignment.
While this may seem simple, it's complicated because the user company is not a party to a collective agreement that sets out the working hours, when allowances are payable and other employer-employee relationships. Therefore, non-contractual employment requires that all these matters are specifically agreed between the partners. At the same time, this means that the collective agreements' requirements for minimum wages, etc. do not apply. The salary must also be agreed between the partners.
However, when it comes to hiring temporary workers, this doesn't mean that it's a free-for-all and that temporary workers work for starvation wages. The basic assumptions of supply and demand apply here. Temporary workers know the Danish labor market so well that they are aware that there is a "market price". Therefore, they naturally go where the conditions are best and where they get the most out of their work.
Read more here: Get qualified and skilled temporary workers
If your company has signed a collective agreement, but your temp agency has not?
It's also quite simple, because in this case the company must follow the collective agreement - and the temporary agency must, based on the Temporary Workers Act, follow the terms and conditions that apply in your company. This means that the temporary workers must be hired, work and be paid according to the provisions of the collective agreement. Unless a local agreement has been concluded, written down and adopted, which has been approved by both the employer, employee and their respective unions, local associations and union representatives. In addition, over time, so-called customs - informal agreements - may have emerged, such as flexitime, time banks and the like at user companies.
If local agreements and practices are confirmed by the company, then the special terms and conditions will also apply to temporary workers posted to the company. The company is responsible for providing information about the rules that apply to temporary workers so that the agency can draw up a correct employment contract. And the agency is responsible for ensuring that the temporary worker's working hours and remuneration are in accordance with what has been agreed.
Temporary worker legislation clearly states that temporary workers must not be treated worse than the company's other employees. They cannot be hired at a lower salary because they are temporary workers. However, they can actually be offered more pay if it makes sense to attract employees for specific tasks.
If both the company and the temp agency have signed a collective agreement that applies in the area?
Once the temporary agency has joined a collective agreement, the principle of equal treatment is no longer applicable. Instead, the exemption clause in §3, 5 applies. This means that the temporary agency no longer (necessarily) has to follow the terms and conditions under which the user company's employees are employed. Instead, the temporary agency must follow "its own" collective agreement. It is now also the temp agency's responsibility to ensure that temp rules and regulations are followed. Paradoxically, this actually allows the temp agency's employees to be hired at the minimum wage of the collective agreement - instead of offering the temps the same salary as the user company's own employees. Of course, this could just be a "theoretical possibility", as the temporary workers (as above) know the market and will go where the conditions are best.
Regardless of the conditions that apply to your business, it's a good idea to make sure that your temp agency knows - and follows - the rules for temporary workers, because you still have a responsibility to keep things "in order", e.g. in terms of chain liability, etc.
If the company has not signed a collective agreement, but the temp agency has?
Once the temporary agency has signed a collective agreement, the temporary workers must be hired and paid according to the terms of the collective agreement. Paradoxically, this means that employees who are hired as temps by an agency and hired out to the user company must be hired on the terms that apply in the temp agency - rather than the terms that apply in the user company.
So what should you do as a client of a temp agency?
First and foremost, you should be aware of the regulations regarding working hours, pay, allowances, etc. that apply in your company. Next, it's a good idea to check that your temp agency knows and understands the rules for temporary workers that your temps will be hired under. Just as you should be aware that "you can't just do..."
