28,000 temporary staff needed per week before Christmas, say recruiters

An average of 28,000 temporary workers will be hired per week between now and Christmas, according to recruitment firm, The Cordant Group.

Based on the firm’s own internal vacancy figures, the report suggests demand for more labour-intensive roles such as warehouse operatives, packers and drives, along with back-office personnel - as internet tracking specialists IMRG anticipate shoppers will spend a record £10.8 billion online in December.

Within Prime Time Recruitment alone, one of the recruitment organisations owned by The Cordant Group, over 200 temporary call centre operators will be needed between now and the end of the year, especially to work evenings, to support the flurry of Christmas orders.

Whilst on the permanent roles, Prime Time Recruitment is getting requests from UK companies for more multi-lingual call centre operators as they see a rise in online sales from overseas customers.

Phillip Ullmann, CEO of The Cordant Group, said: “ As we see signs of the economy picking up and statistics predicting strong consumer spending this Christmas, we expect companies within retail and the retail supply chain to need an even higher number of temporary workers compared to last year, between now and the New Year.

“Temporary workers are an invaluable asset to our workforce. Both companies and employees enjoy the benefit of flexible working, which can help in busy times such as Christmas, as well as provide workers with a possible stepping stone into a permanent role.

“However, when hiring temporary workers companies should ensure that they’re aware of temporary agency labour legislation such as the Agency Workers Regulations (AWR), which allows them some of the same rights as a permanent worker after 12 weeks of employment in the role, communicate these rights to temporary staff and offer incentives to work over the festive period. This will ensure all parties enjoy all the benefits temporary working can offer.”

Looking to promote your product/service to SME businesses in your region? Find out how Bdaily can help →