Employment Outsourcing, its Implications on Employer and Employees!

Pakistan Telecom Market is undergoing outsourcing trend. We know that Huawei has outsourced its employees while there are rumors that at least one cellular company is considering outsourcing options, at large. In this regards, we are bringing some facts about employment outsourcing.

Note: These facts are prepared after consultation with HR heads, study of law and input from industry experts.

What is Out-Sourcing:

The performance or the work done by outside parties, on a recurring basis, of tasks that would otherwise be performed in-house.

Challenges:

This thing has been in practice that some companies are outsourcing their employees without taking legal aspects into consideration. If you employ a person right from the start as outsourced employee, it is alright but if you are going to outsource the permanent employee of the company who is working there for 3-5 years then it might have serious implications if challenged in the court of Law.

The complications may arise due to contractual nature of the employees, there are certain types of employees working in a large company i.e.

  1. Permanent employees (Open-end contract, hired for indefinite period), can’t be outsources unless it is negotiated by offering handsome benefits for switching from permanent to outsourced employee and taken consent in writing from employee in order to avoid legal ambiguities.
  2. Contractual employees (Fixed-term contract, hired for a fixed period for a certain project), can be outsourced after completion of contract period or terminate as per requirement.
  3. Temporary employees (Short-term need fulfilment for a certain task between 3-6 months), can be outsourced after completion of period or terminate if not required.
  4. Consultants (Highly qualified individuals above 60 years of age or firms), already not on company payroll but a fee is paid depending upon the task.

Poor Reasons to Outsource:

  • Do not outsource just because you are frustrated
  • Do not outsource as a last resort, just because you have tried everything else
  • Do not outsource if you can save the same amount of cost through
  • curtailing unwanted expenditures on luxuries.

Outsourcing Myths:

  • Outsourcing is just a fad
  • Outsourcing can be kept secret from employees
  • Outsourcing is only for the largest companies
  • Messes must be fixed before outsourcing
  • Outsourcing is for everyone

Outsourcing existing employees may be considered by employees as:

  • A Challenge to their career, giving impression that you were not important.
  • A tool to cut down the employee benefits cost.
  • An easy termination in future simply through email to the company without having responsibility.
  • No career ahead hence employees resign in demotivation and agitation.
  • Other employees also fear the same and may look for another job immediately.
  • Competitors may take this move as “the crisis in the company doing outsourcing”

Tech and telecom reporter for over 15 years


  • First of all Eid Mubarak to you Atta and all other readers. Yes outsourcings is not good for any one. For jobless peoples, it may bring a little joy but for people already on job, It can torture them mentally. Out source companies dont regard their employee or even didnt treat them as employess. They just want the tasks to be done. They even dont want to give salaries. In a country like pakistan where prices are getting higher and higher and salaries and opportunities are getting lesser and lesser. Outsourcing doesnt fit into the situation.

  • That last point you’ve made is a very good one. Often when a company outsources it looks like the company is in trouble.

    However you have missed an important reason for outsourcing. Often firms outsource minor parts of their business to keep their focus on their core product or service.

  • dear
    I am a outsourced employee in a cellular company of pakistan working since last 2 years. I am working here honestly and hard working. but permanent employees treated me as ” Zar Khareed Ghulam” where as they didnot pay any “Zar” to me. and also I mentioned that 90% of permanent employees were less experinced than me as they take advise from there work…….. May Allah help this Company

  • So after my one and only interview that seemingly went off without a hitch and the guy asked me to come back for a second interview. He then messed me around for over a month, then they filled the position with an internal candidate! “I was under massive pressure to fill the position from within” Well thanks for telling me to call for a second interview! telling me to keep hounding you until we can get it set up a week ago and then today tell me you hired internally. “I am certain that there is a position here for you” Yeah WHATEVER! Like I really want to work for someone who just messed with my head for a month and wasn’t honest about the whole process. I’m so fed up with this whole thing.

  • This is the 1st website I record any details on this. Who requires to consume time reading the long expired San Francisco Chronicle or N.Y. Times? Their bountiful newspersons’ bias is much insecure than the previous “dead tree” mass media.

  • Thanx for useful conceptual framework…Recently SC has given a judgement in a labor case that “any worker who works in the premises of Company, cleans flour, operates machine etc and contributes to the production of Company will be considered permanent employee of the Company and will be governed by SO 1960…..This is very tough judgement and has serios consequences for entire industry…..What do you say on that…


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