Temporary employment - the principle of equal treatment
According to the Temporary Employment Act (AÜG), the so-called "principle of equality" applies. This means that the temporary employment agency is obliged to ensure that the temporary workers is treated in the same way as the permanent staff in the hirer's company.
This equality extends across the entire employment relationship. This includes, for example, the essential working conditions. There must be no difference between the temporary worker and the permanent staff. Wages must also be paid at the same level and in the same way.
Here too, there has sometimes been a difference between the spirit of the regulation and its implementation in real life. Temporary workers are often paid less and have to put up with working conditions that do not always correspond to those of permanent employees. As temporary staff, the individual temporary workers The company is hardly in a position to enforce equal treatment vis-à-vis the hirer.
Objectives of the trade unions
Trade unions have tried to remedy this situation. This takes place within the framework of collective labour agreement negotiations and in the form of lobbying the government. The aim is to achieve various objectives:
- Temporary work may only be used to bridge existing staff shortages and is not permitted in particular if it is intended to undermine collective agreements.
- Temporary workers must receive the same pay as permanent workers from the first day of work.
- The working conditions must correspond to those of the core workforce from the first day of employment.
- Temporary workers are to receive an allowance of 10%. This rewards flexibility for employees, while increasing the motivation for employers to employ workers on a permanent basis.
- No synchronisation. This means that temporary employment agencies keep employees in paid employment even if they are not subcontracted. This gives employees the stability in their lives that they need.
- The maximum duration of temporary employment must be based on the job, not the person. This prevents another temporary worker simply being hired out after the maximum duration has expired.
- Temporary workers are to be considered like all other employees in the labour and co-determination laws.
In principle, all temporary workers have the same rights as all permanent employees. It is the temporary employment agency that pays the contributions to the Social security and also the Continued payment of wages in the event of illness ensures.
In addition, the statutory protection against dismissal. But it is precisely this that poses a problem. Typically, a temporary employment relationship only lasts a few months. However, statutory protection against dismissal only comes into effect after 6 months. This means that temporary workers often do not have this protection at all.
Aside from this, there are also some Collective labour agreementsthe regulations on working hours, salaries and Bonuses included. Theoretically, this can be used to earn the standard industry wage. This means that pay in temporary work also depends on the job performed. In reality, however, the proportion of low wages in temporary work is three times higher than that of full-time employees.
There are separate hire companies for specialists. These mainly include specialists for power stations, train drivers and doctors. There are even temporary employment agencies for engineers. As such specialists are in short supply and in high demand, there are very good earning opportunities here. For example, temporary work for engineers is often a good way to earn a little more than the average.
Temporary WorkTemporary work and temporary employment all describe exactly the same process, in which a hiring company borrows labour from a leasing company for a limited period of time. Temporary workers are theoretically on an equal footing with permanent employees in terms of both working conditions and pay.
For companies, temporary work offers the opportunity to cope with work peaks. For jobseekers, temporary work offers an opportunity to obtain a permanent position, whether in the hiring company or in the permanent workforce of the hiring company.
In reality, however, temporary workers often do not find permanent employment. They also receive a lower wage and their working conditions are often not as good as those of permanent employees.
Skilled labour is an exception. These are in high demand due to the shortage of skilled labour, so that, for example Engineers in temporary employment can achieve above-average earnings.