Company, agency, temporary workers: how does the tripartite relationship work?
Company, agency, temporary workers: what is the tripartite relationship in temporary work?
Are you a temporary employment agency, user company or temporary worker? Whatever your role in the tripartite temporary employment relationship, you'll want 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 temporary work?
Here's a look at the triangular relationship that is unique to the temporary employment sector!
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 available on a temporary basis to user companies, whom it recruits and pays on the basis of an agreed qualification" (Article L1251-2 of the French Labour Code). It therefore handles the recruitment of temporary staff to meet the specific needs of client companies, as well as all HR management: drafting employment contracts, organising medical examinations, paying salaries, etc.
👉 The user company can come from any business sector. Its problem is a temporary need for labour for a particular profile, which it wishes to recruit in the form of temporary employment. We will see later when a user company can use temporary staff.
👉 the temporary worker is employed by the temporary employment agency. They sign a temporary employment contract defining their working relationship and their 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 comply with the obligations incumbent upon it, and must be aware of the rights and duties that apply to it.
Let's take a look at the characteristics of these documents, which formalise 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 contain 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 concluded between the temporary employment agency and the temporary employee.
Signing this contract formalises the relationship between the employer (the temporary employment agency) and the temporary worker.
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 it is not forbidden to hire the employee at the end of the assignment, etc.
☝️ Like fixed-term contracts, temporary employment contracts 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 summarised 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 misconduct by the employee;
- the power of management is exercised by the user company, in other words, it is the user company that assigns tasks and directives to the employee and sets the rules, including working hours.
When should you use temporary staff?
As a user company, you should be aware that the use of temporary work is strictly regulated by the Labour Code. Its purpose must not be to permanently fill a position linked to the normal running of the company. On the contrary, its purpose is to meet a temporary, one-off need, in the form of a specific assignment.
Temporary staff may be used for any of the following purposes
- replacing an absent employee for the following reasons :
- temporary suspension of the employment contract
- temporary adoption of a part-time working arrangement
- waiting for the employee to take up 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 redundancy),
- employing labour for seasonal work,
- 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 as a result of a labour dispute, or to carry out particularly dangerous work (Article L.1251-10 of the Labour Code).
What are the commitments and responsibilities of each party?
For the temporary employment agency
- Searching for and selecting profiles that meet the needs of the user company it is working for;
- administrative management of the recruitment of a temporary employee, i.e. :
- on the part of the EU: the DPAE, checking professional qualifications, the temporary employment contract, invoices, etc;
- on the part of the temporary worker: the assignment contract, issue and payment of pay slips, Pôle emploi certificate, etc.
For the user company
- towards the employee :
- taking measures to guarantee the health and safety of temporary workers at their place of assignment throughout the duration of the contract. For example, provision of personal protective equipment;
- Duty to provide information about vacancies on permanent contracts, where this is the same for all employees of the company;
- 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 an accident at work;
- transmission of timesheets to the temporary employment agency, to enable the agency to manage the temporary employee 's pay;
- payment of invoices for the service contracted within the stipulated deadlines.
For the temporary employee
- towards the temporary employment agency:
- compliance with the assignment contract signed with the temporary employment agency ;
- signature of his timesheet, necessary for the establishment and payment of his remuneration;
- to the user company:
- undertaking to honour the terms of the contract: working hours, health and safety rules, equipment required, days worked, absences, etc.
- compliance with the company 's internal rules and regulations for all employees hired by the company;
- responsibility for carrying out the tasks assigned by the company,
- following the training courses organised 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 temporary work in 2021
With the digitalisation of the temporary employment market in full swing, new opportunities are opening up for the tripartite relationship.
If you are a candidate, the use of digital technology will give you a better understanding of temporary employment opportunities and an optimised recruitment process that is simpler, more efficient and adapted to your digital habits.
If you are a user company, you can use online temporary work in a variety of ways:
- either by using a web platform to manage your recruitment process electronically ;
- or by using the services of a 100% online temporary employment agency;
- or by working with a temporary employment agency undergoing a digital transformation, which retains physical offices but offers a wide range of digital services.
If you are 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 from the competition;
- optimise recruitment and assignment by automating low added-value 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 temporary employment management software and application that accelerates your digital transformation and dematerialises all your information flows (agencies, customers, candidates). As an added bonus, you'll also be offered support in building a winning strategy for digitalisation and growth!
Article translated from French