One of the first consultations I gave to a client on outsourcing was to review the employment contract they wanted to use for their team. From memory, I didn’t get paid for the consultation because of the advice that I gave in regards to the employment contract. This contract was setup to completely benefit, and take all responsibility away from the employer, and basically provide nothing to the potential employee. It stripped away all their entitlements such as sick leave, vacation and public holidays, and expected them to work as a full-time employee while being treated like less than a contractor.

My advice to this client was to rework their contractor’s agreement into an employee agreement giving their team members the entitlements that they should receive, as well as incentives to do a ‘good job’ for him.

I certainly would not work under the contract that I was presented with and nor would I expect anybody else to. I believe that staff entitlements for outsourced workers are a necessity. It’s not a question of “Should you do it?” It’s a question of “just do it”.

 

What entitlements are applicable to your staff?

1. Sick leave

I have never been in a full-time job or any type of permanent position that did not pay me sick leave when I was genuinely sick. Most jobs even allowed me a certain amount of days without Doctor’s certificates. Whether or not you institute a policy like this is up to your discretion. My personal opinion is that you should allow your staff a certain amount of sick leave when working for you in a permanent capacity.

It is not uncommon for many employers, both physical and remote, to only provide paid sick leave after a certain tenure such as six months. Whatever policies you put in place are up to you, but sick leave should be a mandatory requirement for your team.
Many of my staff are sole providers, and for them to be unwell is a burden on their family – not only from having to take care of  a loved one but also a lack of income at the time when they need it most.

 

2. Vacation leave

I give my team members four weeks per year paid vacation,  accrued on a weekly basis. After three months of working with me they are entitled to one week of paid vacation. I do expect them to provide me with at least two weeks notice to take time-off but I’m also flexible for the occasional day here and there if required for family reasons or similar.

 

3. Public holidays and festivals

Don’t expect your team members to abide by your public holidays if they are working in a country, and a culture that is different to yours. My team members from the Philippines celebrate many different festivals and public holidays that I do not have in my country. I believe they are entitled to these days-off and therefore I give them that allowance.
At times, depending on workload, I may give them the opportunity to work on the public holiday and take time-off at a later date.

 

4. Bonuses

We all love the Christmas bonus or similar that comes our way as employees, and something you need to check is whether there are bonuses that your staff are entitled to. For example any permanent worker in the Philippines receives on Christmas Eve a ‘thirteenth month’ bonus. This is a payment of one month salary to the person.

As many of my team are located in the Philippines, I offer as part of my employment contracts with them the thirteenth month bonus. If they were working for a local employer they would receive it and therefore they are entitled to it whilst in my employ.

 

These are just a few examples of entitlements that I believe your staff should receive when working for you. Working as part of a team needs to be a win-win situation. I strive to ensure that all staff enjoy working for me and not just do it for the income.