Agency and Contingent Workers

Retail, hospitality, logistics and care run substantially on people the organisation does not employ, and the workforce chain usually has no route for them.

Where they break the model

They appear in scheduling, because they work shifts.

They appear in time capture, because they clock in.

They do not appear in payroll, because the agency pays them.

Which means the chain terminates for them halfway, and the hours go to an invoice rather than a pay run.

The invoice join

A fifth join, from time capture to accounts payable, via the agency.

Hours worked, by person, by assignment, at the agreed rate.

And it is reconciled by whoever checks the invoice, usually against a memory of who was there.

Which is why agency overbilling is common and rarely detected: the data to check it exists and is not connected to the checking.

What to wire

Time capture output, by agency and by assignment, to whoever approves the invoice.

Before the invoice arrives, not after, so the comparison is a check rather than a dispute.

With the same tolerance and exception process as the payroll join.

This is a small piece of work with a direct financial return, and it is missing in most implementations.

Identity for people you do not employ

They still need one record.

Created by whom, and removed when? An agency worker who left three months ago and is still active in scheduling is both a coverage risk and a data protection question.

Agree with the agency who notifies whom, and check it quarterly, because the notification does not happen reliably.

The status question

Applying employee processes to contingent workers — disciplinary routes, fixed schedules, direct supervision of how work is done — is a status indicator with consequences in employment law and tax.

Which means the chain should handle them differently by design, not identically with a different pay destination.

Take advice where the exposure matters, because the workforce system's configuration is evidence of how the relationship actually worked.

The check

Headcount in scheduling against headcount in payroll, with the difference explained.

Every person in the difference should be an identified agency worker on a current assignment.

Anyone else is an error, and there usually are some.

Wire time capture to invoice approval

The fifth join, and the one with a direct financial return.

Hours by agency and assignment, to whoever approves the invoice, before it arrives.

So the comparison is a check rather than a dispute.

Agency overbilling is common and rarely detected precisely because the data to check it exists and is not connected to the checking.

Reproduce the workflow

For another way to make this requirement testable, consult freelancer time tracking solution. Reproduce the case with real roles, codes, failures and recovery steps.

Independent reference

For a thematic point of reference, see the U.S. Department of Labor. This popular specialist site offers a useful independent reference for the issue.