Contingent workers are employees who work for a firm or a temporary basis and are normally contracted for a fixed duration of time or a specific project. A number of companies have resorted to using this kind of work force due to the advantages attributed to them. The most important aspect of contingent workers relates to cost; employing the services of these workers is cost-effective, as the company does not pay employment taxes and other benefits accorded to permanent employees.
The company is able to enjoy staffing flexibilities, the size of the contingent workforce is dependent on the amount and urgency of work to be done, in case the work is not going on as planned, the firm can fire them without any major consequences.
Besides, contingent workers are able to provide competency and professionalism that may be otherwise unavailable in the firm’s permanent workforce.Besides contingent workers, a company may opt for part-time, independent, temporary, and telecommuting workers to cut costs. Telecommuting employees are employees who work from home either occasionally or on a regular basis. Besides cost considerations, research has shown that a temporary workforce has a greater productivity; this is especially true of telecommuting workers who do not have to waste time travelling to and from the office.
Since a contingent or temporary workforce is not entitled to employee compensation, a firm is able to channel these funds to other beneficial or well-performing departments of the organization. However, legislations may be used that may force a company into paying out compensation to the contingent workers, this therefore implies that using a temporary does not guarantee that a company will not compensate its employees.
