Questions & Answers

... from a company/client perspective

What exactly is a temporary employee or freelancer?

A temporary employee or freelancer is a freelancer on a temporary basis who receives assignments from one employer, but usually also from several employers. He/she is not employed as an employee. A temporary employee or freelancer is usually booked and used for project phases with a narrow time frame (for 1/2 year, for a specific roll-out, for a holiday replacement, for a catalogue production).

For which companies are temporary employees or freelancers interesting?

In principle, temporary workers or freelancers are interesting for all sectors. However, they can be used particularly efficiently for activities that can be done from a PC or directly on the internet. Company structures that enable networked work and communication are very helpful (e.g. CITRIX, ZOOM, teams, telephone systems). Experience has shown that temporary employees or freelancers can be easily integrated into existing teams and usually tend to actively integrate themselves into workflows.

For which areas of work are temporary employees or freelancers suitable?

Temporary employees or freelancers usually work as service providers in the fields of IT, consulting or advertising. They are usually hired for a limited time, for a specific project. Once such a project is completed, the temporary employee or freelancer can look for a new project within the company or with other clients. Temporary employees or freelancers usually have a high level of qualification or specialisation. They are often registered with the tax office as freelancers or tradespeople.

What are the framework conditions for the company?

The working conditions for temporary employees or freelancers with regard to place of work and working hours are freely configurable. Temporary employees or freelancers are not entitled to a workplace on the company's premises. They are not integrated into the organisational structure of the company and are not bound by instructions. They are paid by the hour on the basis of a service contract or on a flat-rate basis on the basis of a contract for work. Temporary employees or freelancers are responsible for their own social security and taxation of their income; they are not subject to social security contributions (with the exception of KSK, where the company does not pay employer contributions). The temporary employees or freelancers have no entitlement to

Protection against dismissal
Paid holiday
Continued payment of remuneration in the event of illness

... to the temporary employees or freelancers

Who are we working with then?

As a rule, the company works directly with the temporary employee or freelancer and also has the work contract with him/her. WestBüro is of course still available for advice and support.
In rare cases, WestBüro may also be commissioned, in which case one of its own employees is used.
In most cases, however, the operator of this platform, Sven Weingaertner, will be the company's partner.

Are the temporary employees or freelancers on site?

Temporary employees or freelancers usually do not work on site, unless this is explicitly agreed. More often, the temporary employees or freelancers work from their office or home office to the company as agreed or work directly on the company's infrastructure (CITRIX or similar).

With whom do we enter into the contract for work?

The contract is agreed directly with the company's partner, the temporary employee or freelancer. In most cases, WestBüro only acts as an intermediary between the company and the temporary employee or freelancer.

How reliable are the temporary employees or freelancers?

Temporary employees or freelancers are just as reliable or unreliable as all permanent employees. However, due to the great motivation to have the contract extended and/or to receive a follow-up order, the reliability is usually a little higher. However, there is no guarantee for this.

... on the technical framework conditions

Do we need a local workplace?

No, the company does not need an on-site workplace.
Mostly, activities are agreed upon that can be done with the home means from any office or home office.
For special applications, the entrepreneur will provide the appropriate software (Citrix, PIM, Articulate, Adobe Suite, etc.).
If close personal contact is desired, a "Jour Fix" can be arranged. An appropriate meeting room or workstation is then required for this.

What technical requirements are useful?

It has proven to be very helpful if the temporary employee or freelancer has access to the company's data infrastructure (server). This facilitates collaboration on the same data.
This can be made possible through VPN, Citrix or FTP access.
For support tasks, a telephone forwarding of the company is a good idea.

Should the temporary employees or freelancers be managed or trained?

Absolutely yes.
Temporary employees or freelancers must be introduced to the requirements of the company in the same way as permanent employees. Close management also makes sense with regard to the efficiency of temporary employees or freelancers.
Even if temporary employees or freelancers bring skills and competences from various previous assignments, the cooperation is usually more complicated than a simple instruction in the form of "take the bread and sell it to the customer".
As a rule, the temporary employee or freelancer is told exactly what he/she has to do and when.

How reliable are the temporary employees or freelancers?

The temporary employees or freelancers come to the company with a lot of experience and competence.
However, they have the strategic motivation to be booked or engaged again by the company in the future. So they will try to present themselves as useful temporary employees in terms of punctuality, reliability and professional and human competence.
In this respect, they are usually a little more reliable than permanent employees.