Temporary workers in plastics: who carries the risk?
BY GRETCHEN ANKER
PLASTICS manufacturers know the pattern. An order surge arrives, production needs extra hands, or a seasonal peak is approaching. Twenty additional operators are needed but only for a limited period.
Temporary labour can be a practical solution, provided it is set up correctly.
Whether workers are supplied by a labour broker or employed directly on a limited-duration contract, HR still needs to get the basics right. In the plastics industry, both the Labour Relations Act (LRA) and the Plastics Main Collective Agreement matter.
Consider a company that takes on twenty operators for three months but does not put the right contracts and benefit fund arrangements in place. Six months later, a Council agent asks for records, and the workers question their benefits. What looked like a simple temporary solution has become a compliance problem.
Route one: using a labour broker
Under section 198 of the LRA and Clause 19 of PIMCA, a temporary employment service (TES) is the employer of workers it places with a client and remunerates. But that does not mean the client can simply hand the compliance risk to the broker.
Section 198(4) makes the TES and the client jointly and severally liable for certain contraventions, including breaches of applicable bargaining-council collective agreements.
The plastics industry agreement goes further in practical terms. Labour-broker employees are entitled to the terms and conditions of the agreement, including applicable benefits, from the start of their employment. They must also be treated no differently from employees employed directly when it comes to Council and MIBFA terms and conditions. (Annexure A, Clause 36 of PIMCA).
Before accepting a labour broker’s fi rst invoice, check that the broker is registered and compliant with the applicable Council and MIBFA requirements, and keep proof on file. (Section 198 (4F) of the LRA states that no person must perform the functions of a temporary employment service unless it is registered in terms of any applicable legislation.)
Also diarise the three-month mark. For employees below the prescribed earnings threshold, section 198A of the LRA can deem a worker placed with a client for more than three months to be an employee of that client, subject to the statutory requirements. Where this applies, the employee must generally be treated no less favourably than employees doing the same or similar work, unless there is a justifiable reason for different treatment.
Route two: employ directly on a limited-duration contract
Not every temporary requirement needs a labour broker. Plastics employers can also employ workers directly on limited-duration contracts.
The Plastics Main Collective Agreement provides a specific Limited Duration Contract of Employment in Annexure A to Clause 36. It caters for project work and short-term fluctuations in workload. For short-term fluctuations, the template provides for a period not exceeding four months, subject to the terms of the agreement.
The contract should clearly state:
• the employer and employee;
• the maximum period and start and end dates;
• the occupation and rate of pay; and
• the project or reason for the limited duration.
Give the employee a signed copy. If employment goes beyond the agreed period, reassess the arrangement before simply extending the contract.
Calling someone “temporary”, “seasonal” or “fi xed-term” in the contract does not automatically make the employment temporary. The actual circumstances, applicable legislation and collective agreement determine the position.
MIBFA: temporary does not mean exempt
The Limited Duration Contract itself states that the employer and employee must observe the applicable Benefit Fund Agreements during the period of employment.
In practical terms, a short contract is not a mechanism for simply avoiding the industry’s benefit fund obligations.
Before the worker starts, HR should check:
1. Why is the worker temporary? Record the project, seasonal demand, temporary increase in workload or replacement.
2. Who is employing the worker? If using a TES, check its registration and Council/MIBFA compliance.
3. If employing directly, use the applicable Plastics limited-duration contract.
4. Is the contract complete and signed? Include the dates, occupation, rate of pay and reason for the limited duration.
5. Are payroll and MIBFA requirements in place from day one?
6. Diarise the contract end date and relevant three-month milestone. If the worker stays beyond the original period, reassess the arrangement rather than simply extending it.
In closing
Temporary workers are a legitimate and often necessary part of plastics manufacturing. The risk comes from treating them as a shortcut around ordinary employment obligations. Decide why the worker is temporary, use the correct industry mechanism, document it properly, and keep checking after the worker starts. A quick check now is far easier than reconstructing months of records later.
