Company, agency, temporary workers: how does the tripartite relationship work?
Company, agency, temporary workers: how does the tripartite relationship work?
Are you a temporary employment agency, a user company or a temporary worker? Whatever your role within the tripartite temporary employment relationship, you'd like to know more about the main principles that govern it.
What are the fundamentals of the tripartite relationship, and what do you need to know about the temporary employment contract? What are the commitments and responsibilities of each party? And what are the new challenges brought about by digital temping?
Here's an in-depth look at the triangular relationship specific to the temping industry!
What is the tripartite relationship in temporary work?
The 3 players in temporary work
Temporary work is based on a tripartite relationship between the following stakeholders:
- the temporary employment agency (or ETT),
- the user company (or EU),
- and the temporary worker.
👉 The temporary employment agency is an intermediary between the EU and the temporary worker. It is responsible for "making employees temporarily available to user companies, whom it recruits and remunerates on the basis of an agreed qualification" (Article L1251-2 of the French Labor Code). It therefore handles the recruitment of temporary staff to meet the occasional needs of client companies, as well as all HR management: drafting employment contracts, organizing medical check-ups, paying salaries, etc.
👉 The user company can come from any business sector. Its problem is a temporary need for manpower for a particular profile, which it wishes to recruit in the form of temporary employment. We'll look a little further on at the situations in which a user company can resort to temporary employment.
👉 the temporary worker is employed by the temporary employment agency. He/she signs a temporary employment contract defining the professional relationship and his/her commitments to the agency.
What is a temporary employment contract?
There is not just one temporary employment contract, but two separate employment contracts signed by the parties involved. Each party undertakes to respect the obligations incumbent upon it, and must be aware of its rights and duties.
Let's take a look at the characteristics of these documents, which formalize the contractual relationship between the various parties.
The provision contract
The secondment contract is signed between the user company and the temporary employment agency.
To comply with the law, this document must include a certain amount of compulsory information, such as :
- the reason for using the services of a temporary employment agency,
- the duration of the contract
- the place and time of the assignment, etc.
The assignment contract
The temporary employment contract or assignment contract is signed by the temporary employment agency and the temporary employee.
The signing of this contract formalizes the relationship between the employer (the temporary employment agency) and the temporary employee.
This document must include the following compulsory information
- the reason for the assignment,
- the place and time of the temporary assignment,
- the duration of the assignment,
- gross hourly pay and end-of-assignment allowance,
- any trial period,
- an indication that hiring the employee at the end of the assignment is not prohibited, etc.
☝️ Like a fixed-term contract, a temporary employment contract may have a precise or imprecise term, depending on the circumstances.
Summary diagram of the tripartite relationship
The power relationships between these players can be summarized as follows:
- disciplinary power is exercised by the temporary employment agency over the temporary worker. In other words, the temporary employment agency is in a position to apply sanctions in the event of employee misconduct;
- the power of management is exercised by the user company, in other words, it is the company that entrusts the employee with assignments and directives, and sets the rules, including working hours.
When should I use temporary staff?
As a user company, you should be aware that the use of temporary staff is strictly governed by the French Labor Code. Its purpose must not be to permanently fill a position linked to the company's normal operations. On the contrary, its purpose is to meet a temporary, one-off need, in the form of a specific assignment.
Possible cases of temporary employment include
- replacing an absent employee for the following reasons :
- temporary suspension of employment contract,
- temporary adoption of a part-time schedule,
- waiting to take up a position on a permanent contract,
- permanent departure from the company, followed by a job loss.
- support for a temporary increase in the company's activity (unless this occurs within 6 months of an economic layoff),
- employment of seasonal workers,
- replacing a company director, etc.
On the other hand, it is forbidden to use a temporary worker to replace an employee whose contract has been suspended due to a collective labor dispute, or to carry out particularly dangerous work (Article L.1251-10 of the French Labor Code).
What are the commitments and responsibilities of each party?
For the temporary employment agency
- search for and selection of profiles in line with the needs of the user company it is working for;
- administrative management linked to the hiring of a temporary employee, i.e. :
- on the EU side: DPAE, professional qualification check, temporary employment contract, invoices;
- on the temporary worker's side: assignment contract, issue and payment of pay slips, Pôle emploi certificate, etc.
For the user company
- towards the employee :
- take measures to guarantee the health and safety of temporary workers at their place of assignment throughout the duration of the contract. For example, the provision of personal protective equipment;
- providing information on open-ended contract vacancies , where this is the same for all company employees;
- provision of the same access to collective facilities and benefits as company employees (restaurants, transport, etc.).
- towards the temporary employment agency:
- obligation to inform the temporary employment agency in the event of a workplace accident;
- transmission of timesheets to the temporary employment agency, to enable it to manage the temporary employee 's payroll;
- timely payment of invoices for the contracted service.
For the temporary employee
- towards the temporary employment agency:
- compliance with the assignment contract signed with the temporary employment agency;
- sign the timesheet required to establish and pay his remuneration;
- to the user company:
- commitment to honor the terms of his contract: working hours, health and safety rules, required equipment, days worked, absences, etc.
- compliance with the company 'sinternal rules and regulations for all employees hired by the company;
- responsibility for carrying out the tasks assigned by the company,
- follow training courses organized by the EU.
👉 To create a relationship of trust and fruitful collaboration, each party must know and respect its rights, duties and responsibilities.
The tripartite relationship and digital temping in 2021
With the digitalization of the booming temporary employment market, new opportunities are opening up for the tripartite relationship.
If you're a candidate, the use of digital technology means you'll be better informed about temporary employment opportunities, and your recruitment process will be simpler, more efficient and better adapted to your digital habits.
If you're a user company, online temping can take a number of different forms:
- either by using a web platform to manage your recruitment process in a paperless way ;
- using the services of a 100% online temping agency;
- or by working with a temporary employment agency undergoing a digital transformation, which retains physical offices but offers a wide range of digitalized services.
If you're a player in the temporary employment sector, and in particular a network of temporary employment agencies, going digital is now a springboard for staying competitive. A temporary staffing platform gives you all the tools you need to go digital, while meeting your business challenges:
- nurture your relationship with client companies and candidates, and offer them a service of excellence to set you apart;
- optimize recruitment and assignment by automating low value-added tasks;
- secure employment contracts and sign them electronically in full compliance and at any time.
🌟 That's what Troops offers, an all-in-one SaaS temp management software and application that accelerates your digital transformation and dematerializes all your information flows (agencies, customers, candidates). As an added bonus, we'll help you build a winning digitalization and growth strategy!
Article translated from French