How temp-to-perm jobs work
Temp-to-perm is one of the most reliable routes into a permanent job in this industry. It is also the one candidates ask the fewest questions about.
What it actually is
A temp-to-perm assignment is temporary work where the hirer is considering you for a permanent role. You start through the agency, engaged and paid by them, working under the hirer's direction. If it suits both sides, you move onto the hirer's payroll as an employee.
For you it is a trial in both directions. The employer is assessing whether they want you. You are finding out whether you want the job — the site, the shift, the runs, the people and whether the reality matches the description. That second part is worth taking as seriously as the first.
Questions worth asking at the start
- Is this genuinely temp-to-perm? Some assignments are described that way loosely. Ask whether there is a real permanent vacancy behind it.
- Roughly when will the decision be made? There is no legal period, but a hirer who cannot indicate a rough timescale may not have one.
- What would the permanent terms be? Pay, shift pattern, holiday and whether the permanent role is the same shift as the assignment. It is often not.
- What are they assessing? Knowing what matters to them is reasonable information to have.
- What happens if it does not convert? Does the assignment continue, or does it end?
Your position during the assignment
You are an agency worker
Engaged and paid by the agency until the day you transfer. Your Key Information Document applies throughout and sets out the rate, deductions and holiday.
The AWR clock runs
Twelve weeks in the same role with the same hirer brings equal treatment on basic conditions. If a decision is dragging, that threshold is a fair moment to ask where things stand.
You can still say no
A temp-to-perm assignment does not oblige you to accept a permanent offer. If the job is not what you were told, declining is entirely legitimate.
The fee is not yours
A transfer fee is between the hirer and the agency. It must never be charged to you — charging a work-seeker for finding them work is unlawful.
If it does not convert
The assignment simply ends, or continues as ordinary temporary work. There is no dismissal on your record because you were never their employee and there is nothing to explain at your next assignment. Plenty of temp-to-perm arrangements do not convert for reasons that have nothing to do with the worker — the vacancy is pulled, volume drops or the budget moves.
What is worth doing is asking why. If there is something specific and fixable, that is genuinely useful information. If the answer is vague, take it as information about them rather than about you.
Temp-to-perm jobs — questions
Do I have to accept a permanent job at the end?
No. A temp-to-perm assignment does not oblige you to accept an offer. If the role is not what you were told, declining is completely legitimate.
Will I be charged a fee when I go permanent?
No. Any transfer fee is between the hirer and the agency. Charging a work-seeker a fee for finding them work is unlawful.
How long does temp-to-perm usually take?
There is no fixed period. Some decisions are made within a few weeks, some run through a full peak first. Ask at the start for a rough timescale — a hirer who cannot give one may not have a firm vacancy.
What happens if they decide not to hire me?
The assignment ends or continues as ordinary temporary work. It is not a dismissal and there is nothing to explain later, because you were never their employee. Ask for a reason — if it is specific, it is useful.
Am I still an agency worker during the assignment?
Yes, until the day you transfer. You are paid by the agency, your Key Information Document applies and the twelve-week AWR clock runs throughout.
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