There are many types of employment rights for temporary workers, though they may vary depending on the jurisdiction in which a person works. Some of the most common are those that require employers to pay temporary workers minimum wage. Others involve the rights a worker has to time off. A temporary employee can take time off work, but he does not usually have the right to receive pay for the time he is unavailable. Additionally, these types of workers are usually protected by discrimination laws.
Often, employment rights for temporary workers specify that employers must be fair when it comes to wages. For example, if a jurisdiction has minimum wage laws, a temporary worker usually has the right to receive the minimum wage just as a permanent worker would. This means if a worker has a job in a jurisdiction that has a minimum wage of $7 US Dollars (USD) per hour, an employer cannot pay him $6 USD an hour in an effort to save money. Such behavior is typically considered illegal. Additionally, temporary workers are usually entitled to overtime pay.
Employment rights for temporary workers do not typically include those related to paid time off. This differs from what permanent workers can often expect. For example, when a person is considered a permanent employee, he often receives time off for holidays, vacations, and illness, and still receives payment for it. Temporary workers, on the other hand, do not get this type of benefit. In most cases, they can take time off as needed and based on the terms of their employment contracts, but they cannot expect to receive wages for the time they do not spend working.
An exception to the general rule about paid time off may come into play when a person works for a temporary agency. In some cases, a person who works for this type of agency can obtain paid time off as a sort of bonus the agency offers. In such a case, the employee must often work for a specific amount of time in order to gain points that he can eventually use toward time off with pay. If a worker does not have any points, he can still take time off, but he will not get paid for the time he does not work.
Many places also have discrimination laws against firing an employee; refusing to hire him; or treating him unfairly because of his race, gender, religious affiliations, or marital status. In many places, temporary workers are covered by these laws, just as permanent employees are. Employers cannot break these discrimination laws simply because a worker is not a part of the permanent workforce.
