Temporary work or temporary employment refers to a situation where the employee is expected to leave the employer within a certain period of time. Temporary employees are sometimes called "contractual", "seasonal", "interim", "casual staff", "freelance"; or the word may be shortened to "temps." Agricultural workers are often temporarily employed for harvesting. In some instances, temporary professional employees even refer to themselves as "consultants." This is not to be confused with consultants. Temporary workers may work full-time or part-time, depending on the individual case. In some instances, they are given benefits, but usually the best treatment is reserved for the permanent employees. Not all temporary employees find jobs through a temporary Employment agency. A temporary work agency, or temp agency or temporary staffing firm finds and retains workers. Other companies, in need of short-term workers, contract with the temp agency to send temporary workers, or temps, on assignment to work at the other companies. Temporary employees are also used in work that has a cyclical nature that requires frequent adjustment of staffing levels. Many temporary work agencies specialize in a particular profession or field of business, such as general industrial labor, accounting, health care, technical or secretarial. Some even "specialize" in odd-jobs. A temporary work agency may have a standard set of tests to judge the competence of the secretarial or clerical skills of an applicant. An applicant is hired based on their scores on these tests, and is placed into a database. Companies or individuals looking to hire someone temporarily contact the agency and describe the skill set they are seeking. A temporary employee is then found in the database and is contacted to see if they would be interested in taking the assignment. When a temporary employee agrees to an assignment, they receive instructions pertaining to the job. The Agency also provides information on correct work attire, work hours, wages, and whom to report to. If a temporary employee arrives at a job assignment and is asked to perform duties not described when they accepted the job, they may call an agency representative for clarification. If they choose not to continue on the assignment based on these discrepancies, they will most likely lose pay and may undermine chances at other job opportunities. However, some agencies guarantee an employee a certain number of hours pay if, once the temporary employee arrives, there is no work or the work isn\'t as described. Most agencies do not require an employee to continue work if the discrepancies are enough to make it difficult for the employee to actually do the work. Advantages to those seeking employment from a temp agency: • Easy hire: Those meeting technical requirements for the type of work are often virtually guaranteed a job without a selection process. • Potentially flexible hours. • Pay rates are sometimes higher than the customary wages in a comparable permanent position. • The likelihood of getting fired is lower than in a permanent position, though a client of the agency can make a request for the temporary worker not to return, even for a minor infraction. Many agencies, such as Office Team have three-strike polices in this regard. Drawbacks to temp agencies: • In the United States a benefits package is limited to medical insurance as mandated by law, a few reputable agencies offer additional benefits (vision, dental, life, 401k, etc.)to the temporary associates that they place. • Lack of control over working hours, and potential for immediate termination for refusing an assigned schedule. • Temp to hire positions have been known to have high turn over rates.