7th Annual Temporary & Contract Workforce Summit

Chair’s welcome, icebreaker and objective setting

A chance to meet fellow delegates, share reasons for attending and identify common challenges to address throughout the day

Opening address: Inspiration, innovation and the future for a flexible and responsive workforce

• What are the key macro trends in immigration and a more mobile workforce
• Key factors in forecasting ahead: extreme globalization, technology and legislative changes
• Understanding the forces driving change and what companies need to prepare for in future
• Impacts on hiring practices and workforce management
• Creating and managing a hybrid workforce: what UK employers need to consider to stay ahead

Effective recruitment and retention strategies to attract the best temporary and contract workers: Optimising your offerings to stay competitive

• Tailoring your message and offerings to attract the best of each generation: how will Gen X, Gen Y and Millennials respond and what should you offer them?
• Benchmarking your compensation and benefits: what does best in class look like in different industries and countries: lessons to learn from those getting it right
• What to offer: career progression, L&D, job security, inclusive workplaces, technology, recognition, clear value sharing
• Playing the payroll field: moving movable workforces around internationally
• Essential checklist for your temporary and contingent worker policies: where might the grey areas get you into trouble?

Best Practices For Onboarding And Integration

• Effective and efficient onboarding processes: making sure yours are compliant and comprehensive
• Techniques to ensure seamless team integration: three areas you might be getting it wrong
• What specific training might your contingent staff need and what’s the best way to deliver it?
• Best current tech solutions for enhanced onboarding
• Improving your processes, practices and policies through effective feedback: what to ask, whom and when?

Morning break

Legal focus: How close to the wind are you sailing: Understanding the latest legal and regulatory requirements

• Current and upcoming legal changes and imperatives for UK employers of temporary staff
• Worker classification: ensuring you understand and deliver appropriate rights and benefits
• IR35 reclassification of company thresholds and contractor status determination to ensure proper tax compliance
• Zero-hours contracts update and lessons from recent cases: what are the implications for UK employers?
• Recent changes and case law on:
  • national minimum wage
  • holiday pay and benefits
  • health and safety training and other duties zero-hours contracts national minimum wage and living wage
  • update on how the employment rights bill 2025 impacts the contingent workforce and what to do to ensure you’re a compliant employer

Cost reduction focus: Building a non-permanent workforce programme that moves beyond ROI into a sustainable competitive edge

• Creating a 360 vision for your whole workforce: beyond just cost efficiencies towards a more intrinsic value
• Managing multiple temporary groups of staff
• What is the true cost of employing a non-permanent workforce
• Managing the use of agencies and outsourced payroll and recruitment more cost efficiently
• Headcount and rate cutting: developing the best remuneration policies

Lunch

Leveraging digital tools and platforms to manage your temporary and contract workforce

• Finding the drivers for the Gen-Y worker:  beyond a job for life
• Tapping into the open global talent pool: essential immigration trends and legislation to leverage
• Mobility and IT as the keys to a more transient workforce
• Promoting temporary work as a lifestyle choice connected to your brand

Case study: Increasing temporary staff engagement and brand awareness through better digital and social communications

• The virtual ‘water cooler’: how to engage with and manage communications for the fully networked digital external or temporary employee
• Developing engaged workplace communities using social media: planning social media content, monitoring activity and managing the community to maximize effectiveness
• Which are the best-practices in getting contract staff to buy into your brand and communication strategy to match its purpose and corporate values
• Managing engagement across constant change and short-term staff

Afternoon break

UK agency management: The right people when you need them

• Balancing outsourcing vs. scaling up your workforce
• Staff screening and data issues
• Managing the relationship for the long term and for cost effectiveness
• The rise of the permanent temp: managing long term temps and contracts
• Managing agency relationships

International agency management: Attracting talent across the world

• How do you balance local vs. global talent acquisition and management capability
• Delivering additional capacity during peaks in activity
• Tapping into a world of temporary resources:  world class sourcing
• Scale, flex & expertise:  Managing an international agency partner with either onsite or offsite resources
• Costs and agency fees/contract

Panel session: Temporary staff… Who is the boss?

Regulatory and court actions may at times force firms to re-craft their relationships with contract and franchise workers, but the numbers of temporary staff are on the increase. With the rising cost of permanent full-time staff, it is time to discuss the wider role of contract/temporary staff – now and in the future. 

What are the bigger issues for temporary and contract workers in the whole picture of a mobile workforce of the future?  Which type of temporary worker and contract is best way forward for your company:- agency workers, zero hours contracts, interim managers, self-employed, fixed-term contractors? non-EU temporary workers? 

Wrap up and end of summit