It’s that time of year again when students are out of school and looking for work and many businesses see an increase in sales at the same time. If you are looking to hire temporary staff, here are a things you should know.
If the worker is a minor child, a permit is most likely required. Although not mandated by federal law, many states require legal documentation showing the student is authorized to be employed, and spells out the hours a minor may work. If hiring a minor, they can usually received their work permit through their school district.
The risk for fraud is highest during the holiday season, but that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be something of concern this time of year as well. It’s important to monitor your business to make sure equipment or supplies aren’t stolen, and that blank check stock is locked away. Those in cash heavy businesses should have systems to monitor the amount of money in and out of the business. Try to prevent any opportunity for an employee to be tempted to steal.
Of the most crucial measures for reducing fraud/theft are background checks and proper training. Screening tools you may want to consider are complete reference checks and brief ethics evaluations. Overlooking usual hiring procedures such as ethics evaluations not only increases the risk of fraud, but can also potentially undermine staff morale and the ethical culture of a business.
Training is the time when workers learn how to perform tasks tailored to the company’s specific needs. Skipping training can cost the company time, money, and its image. Furthermore, studies show that on-the-job injuries are significantly higher with temporary workers, thus proper safety training is highly encouraged.
Lastly, one should keep in mind that even though temporary employees generally do not receive benefits, laws concerning employee treatment, benefits, and policies of part-time, temporary, or seasonal employees are covered by both Federal and state laws. Check to make sure you are aware of all guidelines surrounding hiring a temporary worker and meeting all requirements such as the new sick pay law recently enacted in California.
Hiring temporary staff may be ideal and cost-effective, but if basic procedures are not followed, temporary hires may end up costing more than the money saved.