Jo salutes temporary workers with free lunch

A KIND-HEARTED North-East recruitment firm treated its short-term workforce to a free lunch. 

Jo Hand Recruitment sent M&S lunch vouchers to temporary staff who were in placements during National Temporary Workers Week this month.

Every week, 1.4million temporary workers are keeping UK businesses moving. National Temporary Workers Week is the Recruitment and Employment Confederation's (REC) annual campaign to promote the contribution these short-term workers make to the UK economy and demonstrate the broad range of professions and industries that temps work in.

With attitudes to work changing and variety and flexibility increasingly seen as key indicators of job satisfaction, 'temping' is becoming the norm for more and more workers.

Jo Hand, Managing Director of Jo Hand Recruitment based in Albert Road, Middlesbrough, said: "It is important that temporary workers are valued just as much as those in full-time employment. They are so vital to our economy yet they are not often thanked or celebrated.

"We place hundreds of candidates in temporary jobs every year and by treating them to a free lunch, we're hopefully showing them how much we value their services."

Jo Hand Recruitment specialises in temporary office workers including admin and accounts staff, PAs and office managers. They can be employed for anything from one-off projects to long-term maternity or sickness cover.

Jo continued: "The maternity laws are such that a staff member can be off for up to a year but employers are not allowed to fill their positions permanently. By bringing in a temporary worker they are avoiding any potential legal issues.

"It is also a great way for small businesses to cope with extra workloads without the worry of taking someone on full-time.

"We get requests for temporary workers from everyone from one-person companies to local authorities who are undertaking a project and need a bit of extra office support. It might be a mail-shot campaign, an evaluation project, a service review, typing up tenders or even just filing. Knowing they can call on a trusted temporary worker to help their business whenever they need one can be a real comfort."