Case Study - International Recruitment and International Temping

Problem

If an external consultant is recruited for a temporary project assignment, more options exist for administering the contract than just freelancing. However, individual conditions must be examined.

This scenario unfolded when one of our client’s site managers suddenly left a project in the Congo for health reasons. The client, from the power generation industry, needed to find a replacement a quickly as possible to fill the vacant position.

Here, the country of assignment not only presented a challenge - the project conditions also demanded exceptional hands-on qualities in addition to technical expertise.

And there was this: our client wanted the flexibility of a freelancer, the previous person was a full-time employee. This required that the new - this time external - specialist be integrated to a certain extent into the company hierarchy.

Solution

After the client contracted us to handle recruitment, we took a two-staged approach: first, we found the right expert from our own network - and in less than a few days.

The Italian engineer had held leading positions on major international projects. In addition, he was ready to go to work on the new project right away.

In a second step, we analyzed which type of external consultant contract was right for him. Taking into consideration the variables of assignment location, assignment duration, as well as the city of residence and age of the consultant, we determined that our hiring him as a temporary employee was the best solution.

Furthermore, this offered him the standard flexibility of a freelancer, combined with a range of new advantages:

• Better net-index: compared to his previous projects as a freelancer, the relationship between gross and net income shifted distinctly in his favor.
• Administrative relief: we paid the consultant’s taxes and social security contributions and remitted the net amount. As freelancer, he was previously required to cover these payments himself.
• Statutory pensions contributions: we paid contributions into the Italian pension fund so that the consultant could later claim greater entitlements from it.

For our client, the solution was also advantageous, since, compared to freelancing, being an international temporary employee meant that he was more closely integrated into the company hierarchy.

Alongside this organizational plus point, it also became quickly clear that the right person was on the job: the new, external site manager improved - also by making several unpleasant decisions - project structures and the relationship to the end client in only a short period of time.