The future of work is also on our blog

What difference between temping and wage portage

Written by Lucie Montibert | Jul 7, 2022 8:29:10 AM

Wage portage and temping are two very different work systems. Freelance administration allows self-employed workers to benefit from certain social protections, while temporary work is a system of short-term employment. Discover the difference between temporary work and freelance administration to better choose the formula that suits you best.

Who can benefit from temping and freelance work ?

Freelance administration and temporary work are two very distinct notions in the world of work and are very different in different aspects.

Freelance administration is a more recent system, reserved for professionals who can justify autonomy in the management of their activity, a certain level of qualification and a sufficient salary threshold. Even though companies are becoming more and more familiar with freelance administration, it is still sometimes confused with temporary work. This confusion is also fueled by a recent status, still relatively unknown by professionals who have never used it.

Temporary work is a form of employment for a specific need: a company wishes to call upon a worker to replace a worker or to temporarily increase its activity. Temporary work is therefore mainly aimed at low-skilled workers, and is generally considered a precarious status, due to the low level of remuneration and limited room for manoeuvre.

Finding an assignment as a temporary worker vs. as a freelancer

In the case of temporary employment, the search for an assignment is done through temporary employment agencies: depending on the positions offered, these agencies will offer you assignments that correspond to your profile. The missions are more focused on manual and technical services.

With freelance administration, you are in charge of your own research, so you have a large choice of missions that you can prospect by yourself according to your desires and availability.

 

Temporary employment and wage portage: different types of contracts

In temporary employment, the worker has an assignment contract, also known as a temporary employment contract, which binds him to the temporary employment agency with which he has registered. Furthermore, through his temporary employment agency, the worker is involved in a contract for the provision of personnel.

In wage portage the situation is similar, the worker has an employment contract in wage portage, whether it is a permanent contract, a fixed term contract or an intermittent contract. The client of the freelancer has a contract for the provision of services. In both cases, the contractual relationship is three-way.

 
 

The assignment contract

Although they are both employees, the temporary worker and the ported employee do not enjoy the same freedom in the context of their activity.

As far as the assignment contract is concerned, the two statuses are relatively similar: the temporary worker is bound by an assignment contract within a temporary employment agency, allowing him to come as a reinforcement or replacement for assignments requiring manual or technical skills.

As for the ported employee, he chooses his assignments but is still bound to the company by an assignment contract even though he is not bound by a subordination link other than the one he has with the portage company.

 

What about subordination in the case of interim or freelance work ?

When we talk about the execution of an assignment and an assignment contract, we often talk about the existence of a subordinate relationship. Here again, temporary work and freelance administration differ from each other.

In temporary work, the worker is hierarchically bound to the company for which he is carrying out the assignment, and legally bound to the temporary work agency.

In freelance administration, the employee is legally bound to the freelance administration company, but unlike in temporary employment, he is autonomous in the execution of his mission(s) and in the management of his clients.

The difference in remuneration between interim and wage portage

Concerning the remuneration, the two statuses are very different. The employee defines his own pricing policy and is free to choose the client who will be able to match it. Whereas in temporary employment, the remuneration is generally fixed in advance according to the client company's price list, and very few negotiations are possible.

What legislation applies to interim and wage portage ?

Temporary employment is regulated in France by several articles of the labor code, among them:

  • 1251-1 article

  • 1251-5 à 1251-8 article

  • 1251-11 à 1251-13 article

The portage salarial is regulated in France by more articles of the labor code such as :

  • L.1254-1 à 1254-31 article

  • L.2314-17-1 article

  • L.2314-18-2 article

  • L.2324-16-1 article

  • L.2324-17-2 article

  • L.3322-4-1 article

Please note that you can find these texts in their entirety on the Legifrance website.

 
 

What to choose between interim and wage portage ?

In conclusion, freelance administration allows consultants to launch their own activity as a freelancer while benefiting from the social protection of the employee status, while temporary work is more adapted for people wishing to support employers looking for punctual labor. In practice, temping is a more precarious status because it is usually aimed at low-skilled workers who may have long periods of inactivity due to their dependence on temping agencies.

To help clarify the situation, here is a summary table:

 
 

 

Want to know more about wage portage with oyesk ?

To go further :
Employment, wage portage, freelancing: the complete comparative overview
Why is the wage portage scheme suitable for young graduates ?
How to achieve professional independence with support ?