Storing a system record for a worker and ensuring processes for keeping worker
details are in place so a company has visibility of the worker, even if the sourcing of the worker or payment
of the worker might be managed internally or by another supplier. Also known as Worker Tracking.
International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) are designed as a common global language for
business affairs so that company accounts are understandable and comparable across international
boundaries. They are a consequence of growing international shareholding and trade and are particularly
important for companies that have dealings in several countries. They are progressively replacing the many
different national accounting standards. IFRS began as an attempt to harmonize accounting across the
European Union but the value of harmonization quickly made the concept attractive around the world.
They are sometimes still called by the original name of International Accounting Standards (IAS). The
obliged
risk paragraph within IFRS could necessitate companies summarizing the risk related to their use of
external labor.
A temporary employee hired directly by a company, rather than through a staffing
firm, to perform various “temporary” assignments at that company as part of an “in-house pool.” (Note that
these positions may provide permanent, full-time work to specific individuals.)
Unlike In-house Temporary , the usage of “in-house work” describes a situation in which
a technical services firm conducts projects for customers at the technical services firm’s own facility.
Indemnification in a contract requires a staffing company to be responsible for various
potential legal claims involving temporary workers. These could include indemnification from staffing
companies for claims filed by temporary workers who felt they were harassed by full-time company
employees; sexual harassment complaints filed by temporary employees against customers; destruction of
the client’s facility; violent crimes committed by a temporary employee as well as other acts or omissions
committed by the temporary employees working on the client’s site. Also known as “hold harmless clause.”
Applicable in some European countries (e.g., France, Spain). Statutory
payment of a certain percentage of total wage earned by a temporary worker (assigned by a temporary
agency) or temporary employee (hired directly by the user company), in order to compensate (indemnify)
the individual for being assigned in an unstable job, and respectively out of work when the assignment ends.
Also known as Précarité (France), Precariedad (Spain), or Precarietà (Italy).
A self-employed individual performing services for a company under a contract for services. The individual may provide their services as a freelance self-employed person (1099 in the US) or through the intermediary of a single-person corporate entity (in the UK, a limited company known as a “personal service company” or “PSC”; in the US, an LLC, corporation, or S corporation). Unlike employees, independent contractors are free to perform their work as they see fit, with limited or no control over the manner in which the work is performed. Tax authorities in many countries use the concept of “control” with respect to behavior, together with financial autonomy and a range of other tests to determine the true nature of the relationship between the parties for tax liability purposes. These tests vary by country but follow broadly similar principles.
A service segment of the Payrolling/Compliance Industry, Independent Contractor Evaluation and Compliance (ICEC) describes a service provided to a hirer to ensure the hirer is not exposed to any legal and/or financial risk related to the sourcing, recruiting, hiring and/or management of independent contractors. Independent contractor evaluation and compliance (ICEC) service providers will evaluate a hirer’s processes and worker status to ensure that the hirer has commercially viable risk mitigation programs in place with regard to the classification of independent contractors. Depending on the legislative environment within a particular country, employee misclassification risk (and the liabilities imposed) can vary as it relates to the independent contractor, the staffing intermediary and the end-user.
Independent Contractors are utilized by many businesses along with other non-employee groups. IC Management refers to the administrative management of these workers into and out of an organization. This could include some or all of the following: RFx activities, milestone tracking, onboarding, reporting, payment and billing
Staffing of work that is “blue collar” in nature, typically requires physical activity or operation of machinery and falls outside of office/clerical staffing. Common job titles in the manufacturing setting include assembler, operator and skilled trades worker (welder, electrician, etc.). Common job titles in the warehouse and distribution setting include shipping and receiving clerk, material mover, picker and packer, and forklift operator. Other common job titles include construction laborer, truck driver, janitor, cook, waiter/waitress, security guard and personal care aide. Roughly corresponds to the following US BLS groups: Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance Occupations; Construction and Extraction Occupations; Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Occupations; Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations; Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations; Production Occupations; Protective Service Occupations; and Transportation and Material Moving Occupations. Roughly corresponds to the following ISCO groups: Skilled Agricultural, Forestry and Fishery Workers; Craft and Related Trades Workers; Plant and Machine Operators, and Assemblers; and Elementary Occupations.
See Gig Economy
Staffing of software engineers, network administrators and other occupations with a significant computer programming, computer systems or computer user support component. Common job titles include IT project manager, data analyst/data scientist, database administrator, network and computer systems administrator, computer technical support specialist and medical records and health information technician. Roughly corresponds to the US BLS’s Computer and Mathematical Occupations group and to the ISCO’s Information and Communications Technology Professionals group.
This term is sometimes used to define outsourcing from the reference point of the new vendor
service provider, which imports employees to a customer location to handle a customer’s outsourced
function. More recently, it has been used by some technical services companies to refer to the provision
of computer staff and its immediate supervision at a customer site, where responsibility for the data
processing facilities, hardware, and overall systems remains with the client. This is essentially the same
concept as “facilities staffing.” In some cases, the staffing supplier “insources” its computer operators to
sites that have been “outsourced” to other vendors.
A high-level professional or executive temporary with managerial responsibilities,
often hired to complete specific projects. Also referred to as “Interim Manager.”
The provision of Interim Executives, most commonly by specialist Interim
Management Firms.
The ILO is a tripartite U.N. agency that brings together
governments, employers and workers in common action to “promote decent work throughout the world”.
As such, the ILO is the only international regulatory body drafting conventions and recommendations on
employment-related matters. Adopted in 1997, ILO Convention n°181 on Private Employment Agencies
represented a dramatic reversal of the ILO position regarding the Agency Work industry: from prohibition
(Convention n°96) to legal recognition and support of the development of the activities of private
employment agencies.
UK intermediaries legislation designed to tax “disguised employment” at a rate similar to employment. In this context, “disguised employees” means workers who receive payments from a client via an intermediary and whose relationship with their client is such that, had they been paid directly, they would be employees of the client and, therefore liable for tax and national insurance payments. Those who
are genuinely self-employed will not face liabilities under IR35.
A simplified test of independent contractor status that replaces the previous IRS
Twenty Factor test. The test considers behavior control, financial control and relationship of the parties.
Behavior control requires independent contractors to be free from client control of how they complete
their work. Financial control focuses on the business aspects of the relationship, such as whether the
workers have a significant investment in their business, an opportunity for profit or loss and how they are
paid. Relationship of the parties focuses on how the parties perceive their relationship and considers such factors as the presence or absence of a contract, access to benefits and ability to terminate the relationship.
According to the IRS, the Three Factor Test is only an analytical tool. The legal test of whether an individual
is an employee or an independent contractor is whether there is “a right to direct and control the means and
details of the work,” which the Three Factor Test attempts to make more explicit. (See also: Independent Contractor.)
International Standard Industrial Classification. See North American Industry Classification.
A standard developed by the International Organization for Standardization that
specifies requirements for a quality management system where an organization needs to demonstrate its
ability to provide product consistently that meets customer and applicable regulatory requirements, and
aims to enhance customer satisfaction through the effective application of the system, including processes
for continual improvement of the system and the assurance of conformity to customer and applicable
regulatory requirements. A number of staffing companies have ISO accreditation, especially those that
provide software such as VMS or ATS as part of their service offering as evidence of the quality of their
systems. Some vendors also have ISO 27001:2005 accreditation, which specifies the requirements for
establishing, implementing, operating, monitoring, reviewing, maintaining and improving a documented
information security management system.
An ISO standard is a document that provides requirements, specifications, guidelines
or characteristics that can be used consistently to ensure that materials, products, processes and services
are fit for their purpose. Many staffing firms undergo ISO certification in order to prove the trustworthiness
of their processes and systems. The most common standard used by staffing firms is ISO 9001:2000, the
world’s most popular standard for quality management. ISO 9001 is now under review and an updated
version is due to be available by the end of 2015.
