Effective Management
At Ross Human Directions, we more than value your business. We also want to ensure that our business relationship is built on strong, sound principles and practices. This includes protecting us, and you, from complaints or actions relating to employment practices and compliance matters. The workplace laws have not kept pace with the growth in on-hired staff and so legal decisions relating to managing and displacing longer-term temporaries are inclined to be based on a wider interpretation of community expectations and legal intent rather than the letter of the law. To minimize risk and protect all involved, we seek your cooperation and collaboration on employment matters.
1. Performance Management
Part of the service you automatically receive from Ross Human Directions is our active management of our Temporaries who are on assignment with you. It needs to be remembered that the Temporary is an employee of our company rather than yours, as the client. We remain responsible for payment of their wages, benefits, workers’ compensation and withholding tax. We do relinquish day-to-day control to you as our client but it is important that we are involved in any counseling, discipline or discussions regarding the ending of the assignment.
We ask that you do not directly performance manage our Temporary but communicate with us so we can handle this aspect of the relationship effectively for you.
At a performance management or disciplinary meeting the Temporary will be informed by our Consultant of the standards required, be given an opportunity to put their case and, if not satisfactory, given a warning that their assignment is in jeopardy. Should the expected improvement not occur, advice of removal from the assignment will be given. In most cases, a first and final warning is given subject to discussions between yourself and the Consultant of the seriousness of the matters under discussion.
Issues, which might warrant disciplinary meetings could include minor breaches of policy, insubordination, below standard performance, habitual lateness or unplanned absences, impact on team relations, relations with customers etc. Matters such as a serious breach of policy, attempts to inaccurately record time worked, unreported and unexplained absences etc may warrant immediate removal from the assignment. Again, we will handle this for you.
2. Removal of Agency Personnel
Ross Human Directions is and remains the employer of any Temporary staff we place with you. As such, we are responsible for the placement and displacement of Temporaries. Obviously, the vast majority of Temporary assignments work out to the satisfaction of both parties and we pride ourselves on our success in this area. However, there are times when for various reasons, you may need to end an engagement prematurely. In that case, your first responsibility is to give fair warning to your Consultant advising reasons for considering ending the assignment (eg early completion of task, reduction in budget, absorption of tasks into existing positions), or concerns regarding the performance and/or conduct of a Temporary. In the latter case, the Consultant will discuss with you the nature of the concerns and recommend the appropriate actions to be taken.
Temporaries who have been on assignment for a short period generally present few problems in ending the assignment and minimal notice can be given.
For Temporaries who have been on assignment (or expected to be) for six months or more, we strongly recommend that we follow certain processes to reduce risk of legal action. Your earlier advice of any performance or other issues with a Temporary will assist in preparing adequately for this event. Our Consultant will be more than happy to advise you further in this regard.
Please be advised that any actions your representatives take in contributing to the termination of a Temporary may be cited by the Temporary should they choose to take any legal action.
For this reason, we strongly recommend that you do not discipline or end a Temporary’s engagement directly but speak to us as early as possible. We will then take appropriate action in consultation with you.
3. Harassment and Discrimination
Whilst our Temporary is in your care, your representatives have a legal obligation to provide a workplace free from harassment and discrimination. There have been judgments made against ‘host’ employers (ie clients) in such legal actions. If you require further advice or assistance on what constitutes harassment or discrimination, please contact your Consultant.
4. Safety and Health
Under the health and safety laws, everyone shares a duty of care. As the provider of the work premises, you have an obligation to ensure the health and safety of all people on your premises. In the case of Temporaries, your duty of care extends to co-operating with us in identifying, assessing and controlling hazards and providing safe systems of work as well as inducting and training Temporaries on the safety aspects of your specific workplace.
Ross Human Directions consistently manages and monitors its responsibilities and obligations to provide fair treatment for all our Temporaries. More than that, we want to provide them with an experience, which encourages them to work with us, and you, again and again.
All Temporaries talk about their last workplace. We want them to talk about yours in glowing terms, even if the assignment didn’t work out as planned. It is in everyone’s interests to have an agreeable and satisfied Temporary. Work with us to be an employer of choice. Our Consultants are ready and willing to help you make your Temporary assignments productive and positive. Feel free to ask for any information to help you.
Kind regards
Julia Ross
Group Managing Director
Tips:
Whilst it’s appreciated that some clients like to include temporaries as part of their regular team, it may be advisable to separate the relationship by either not including them, or, identifying them as agency staff.
For example,
- If you need to include them on a phone directory, note ‘agency staff’ next to their name to remove inference of a direct employment relationship;
- If you issue badges, again note that the person is an agency staffer;
- Avoid giving the temporary a business card or if necessary, make it different eg in colour;
- Avoid using the term ‘leave’ with temps in terms of any absences;
- If you want to reward a temporary by giving them paid leave, make it a bonus or a reward for loyalty or performance (casuals have no entitlement to leave and to infer they have may confuse the true nature of the relationship to you); and
- If you no longer require a particular temporary worker, tell the agency, not the worker. Let the agency handle placing the worker at another job site. This puts a little distance between conversations which might give the appearance that you are terminating an employment relationship.
|
Home
| Candidates
| Clients
| Investors
| Chandler Macleod
| Aurion
| About us