As recruiters, one of the most frequent questions we get asked is “what’s better temporary or permanent employment?”. The honest answer is, there is no one better than the other. As with anything, there are pros and cons to every decision we make in life, the challenge is choosing the type of employment is right for you. To help you make that decision, we’ve devised a comprehensive list of the top pros and cons for each employment type.

Agency work

Pros

• Higher rates of pay.
• Most agency staff receive weekly pay.
• Flexible working hours – you can choose how much or how little you work.
• It’s a good way of testing the waters. With agency work you can work in multiple services and teams. If you favour one more than the others, you can then enquire about permanent vacancies available within those services.

Cons

• Less financial security as you don’t have fixed hours.
• Rather than have a set salary deposited straight into your bank account, you will need an umbrella company to do this for you and fill out weekly timesheets.
• Depending on the company, most temporary staff don’t receive the same benefits as permanent employees, such as pensions, healthcare or annual bonuses. Here at Hoop, we have an excellent benefits package in place for our agency staff.

Permanent work

Pros

• Job stability.
• Financial security as you will have fixed hours.
• Long-term prospects and greater chances of progression opportunities within the company.
• You’ll receive more employee benefits than temporary staff.

Cons

• Your work-life balance might be compromised depending on your contracted hours and annual leave entitlement. However, companies are becoming more progressive with these types of issues. Here at Hoop, we strongly believe in work-life balance and do everything in our power to accommodate this, offering benefits such as unlimited annual leave purchase to our employees.
• Permanent contracts usually have significantly longer notice periods.
• In permanent roles, you’re often performing the same role, in the same setting, with the same people, day in and day out. This is not ideal for those who prefer variety in their working life.

In order to decide what type of employment is right for you, highlight the things that are most important to you in a job and align them with the pros and cons listed above. Temporary and agency work enables freedom which is priceless, however if you’d prefer security and a progressive career path it might be worth investing your time into a permanent role.

Still unsure of what type of employment is right for you? Get in touch with our specialist team on 02922 400 519 or email enquiries@hoopecruitment.co.uk for FREE career advice. We have plenty of temporary and permanent roles available!