Let us say you have been unemployed for a few months now. You signed up with staffing agencies, had some interviews, and suddenly you got a phone call saying that XYZ Company wants to hire you as a contract computer software Engineer for at least the next 24 months. Oh, what a pleasant news? Congratulations! 

In this post, we will explore what working as a contractor through staffing agency actually looks like via a simple questions and answers model.

Who am I Working for?

This is one of the most frequently asked question and concern by many contractors working through a staffing agency. Well, you are being hired as a temporary employee and not a permanent one. What does that imply to you?

First, it indicates that XYZ Company is not hiring you in the traditional sense of employment, where you work for stipulated hours per week or month and they pay you a regular paycheck with taxes withheld. Not that they do not need your services, of course, they are in need of it but they don’t want to put you on the company’s payroll. Rather, you will become an employee of the staffing agency, but they will engage you at their client’s offices, doing the work their client requires you to do.

The staffing agency will pay you weekly or monthly, withhold your taxes, and, if it is a good staffing agency, you will be qualified for a benefits package as well as health insurance. Therefore, legally, and technically, you have been by the staffing agency that has hired you, not XZY Company.

Can’t a Temporary Employment End Suddenly?

It can certainly. Just as full-time work can end suddenly with a layoff or firing. An employer can decide at any point in time that they do not need services anymore. If that happens, your staffing representative will try to assist you to get a new contract job or permanent job, and you can file for unemployment benefits just as you would do if you were laid off a full-time job.