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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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”
