Disadvantages of contingent worker

Disadvantages: Employer

Disadvantages  of contingent to the employer of using temporary workers fall primarily into two categories: workforce insufficiency and legal implications. A downside to using contingent workers involves the potential for lack of talent at critical times. Such lack of critical talent can result either from a lack of availability of known talent, or from the inability to locate talent for a specific project, even though such talent does exist. In the category of legalities, abuses of contingent worker status have resulted in national labor laws, and labor laws in some states, that incorporate stringent definitions of what legally constitutes a contingent worker. In some instances, even using a third-party employer such as a temporary agency has not protected employers from a legal determination that workers classified as contingent by the company qualified as employees of the company and were subject to the same benefits as other company employees.

Disadvantages: Worker

The disadvantages of contingent  for the worker also vary with the particular circumstance. The most consistent disadvantage across all levels of contingent workforce is that work may not materialize, or even exist, when the contingent worker needs income. Additionally, with some contingent work, such as retail seasonal work or some types of temporary assignment, a disadvantage involves the reality that overall compensation rates fall short of those for direct-hire employees performing similar work. Finally, contingent workers either receive few or no fringe benefits, or must implement and administer such benefits funds themselves.