Topic 10 - Employing People
Amplification
‘The types of employees should include:
temporary, permanent, full-time and part-time.
Candidates should be aware of the reasons,
drawbacks and difficulties of employing people
and/or using consultants and advisors.’
Topic objectives
 After completing this unit you should know how to...
 Assess the benefits and drawbacks of employing full and
part time staff
 Analyse the circumstances in which small business
might choose to employ part time rather than full time
employees.
 Assess the benefits and drawbacks of temporary vs.
permanent employment
 Explain the advantages of using consultants
 Evaluate the use of different types of employees for
different circumstances.
Reasons for employing people
Lack of capacity
Seasonal
businesses meeting
demand
Lack of skills required
Expansion
Types of Employee
 There are four main types of employee. These are
 permanent employees, who can be full time or part



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time.
temporary or fixed-term contract employees
employees on zero-hours contracts that allow a
business to have people on call to work whenever
necessary and mutually convenient
employment agency staff, who have contracts with
the employment agency that supplies them
self-employed freelancers, consultants and
contractors
Part time vs. Full time
 There are a number of benefits of having part time
staff instead of full time
 Efficient way to keep costs down
 Increases work flexibility – easier to respond to changes
 Standard of applicants can improve (such as working
mothers and people who have commitments)
 Increased motivation
 However too many part time staff means that…
 Training and induction costs increase
 Weakness in communication
Temporary Vs permanent
 The advantages of temporary staff are…
 Highly skilled employees can be employed a specific
time, saving money.
 Depending on the job, time limits on contracts can
improve motivation to meet deadlines.
 Able to cover maternity or cover seasonal holidays
 However temporary employees…
 Do not know the business well enough to complete an
effective job
 Not as loyal to the business
 If employed in short notice may not have skills required
Agency staff
 Agency staff… are staff from an external source. These
staff members are often used to cover for staff leave or
absence. Examples include…
 Supply teachers
 Event staff (festivals or sporting)
 Promo staff
Agency staff
 Agency staff are good for business because …
 They save time for the employer
 Allows employer to concentrate on the business and not
recruitment
 However there are some negative points to employing
agency staff. These include…
 High costs
 Poor quality staff
 Unreliable
External consultants, contractors
and advisors
 Self employed and belong to a separate business
 Useful way of benefiting from extra skills and labour
with little recruitment responsibility.
 When may a small business use external
consultants…?
- IT
- Accounts/finance
- Design
- Marketing
Last thought
 Using your own experience and giving
examples, consider when it would be most
appropriate for a business to employ staff
on a full-time basis and when it might be
more appropriate to employ them on a
part-time basis.
Legal Responsibility
 Employers have a set of legal issues they must adhere
to. These include…
 Minimum wage
 Paid holidays and sick leave
 Minimum levels of rest breaks.
 Employers must register their employees for tax
 Failure to meet these requirements mean that an
employer could be taken to an employment tribunal.
 Here issues regarding age, disability and other equality
issues can be resolved
Key Terms
 Contract of Employment
 Employment agency
 Employment tribunal
 National minimum wage
Topic objectives
 After completing this unit you should know how to...
 Assess the benefits and drawbacks of employing full and
part time staff
 Analyse the circumstances in which small business
might choose to employ part time rather than full time
employees.
 Assess the benefits and drawbacks of temporary vs.
permanent employment
 Explain the advantages of using consultants
 Evaluate the use of different types of employees for
different circumstances.