Temporary Employee Rules: Can We Extend Their Appointment Without Going Permanent?

Please let me know if there is any rule regarding keeping an employee on a temporary basis. Are we allowed to extend the temporary appointment period for any employee? If not, what is the maximum duration permitted for extending a temporary appointment without transitioning the employee to permanent status?

I am eagerly awaiting your valuable response along with the relevant rules supporting it.

Regards,
Sandeep Rai

You may keep an employee on a permanent roll temporarily or on a temporary roll permanently—it depends upon the nature of your necessity as well as your mindset. I think that barring Tamil Nadu, there is no special law on this issue. However, there are provisions in the ID Act, Standing Orders Act, and certain establishment-related Acts regarding continuous service and its impact on the termination of employment. Since your question does not seem to be triggered by the right motive, no valuable suggestion could be given other than to be considerate to your temporary employees.

Regards

Let me add something more for the sake of clarity on the issue of temporary appointments. Admittedly, it is the prerogative of the employer/management to decide the persons, their qualifications, number, duration of employment, standards of their performance, compensation, and other conditions of service based on employment needs. At the same time, such a prerogative cannot be arbitrary and in violation of the Laws of Employment in particular, as well as opposed to public policy in general. Temporary employment implies the short-term duration of the work or its intermittent and incidental nature to the main activities of the establishment.

Before making any appointment, the employer is, therefore, duty-bound to assess the above factors and decide the nature of the appointment, whether permanent or temporary. Prudence and frugality may demand temporary appointments initially for permanent jobs. However, it should not be a routine affair out of economic consideration and practical convenience.

Legal Considerations for Temporary Employment

Section 2(ra) of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 defines unfair labor practice with regard to the items enumerated in its Vth SCHEDULE. Part I-item 10 of the Schedule defines the practice of keeping employees on temporary rolls indefinitely as an unfair labor practice on the part of the employer. Therefore, in the matter of temporary employment of labor, every employer must be aware of this legal position in addition to moral and ethical constraints.

Thank you for your kind replies to the post. As suggested by you, I went through the related schedule and found that my query is absolutely solved by you.

Thanks for your kind gesture.

Regards,
Sandeep Rai