Bob Fleming, president of Classic Remodeling & Construction in Charleston, S.C., has leased his employees for more than five years, saving on insurance costs and paperwork time. He recently explained the advantages to Professional Remodeler.
Q: What is employee leasing?
Answer: Employees work for your company, but they’re actually employed by the leasing company. When the paychecks come on Friday, they’re from the leasing company.
The company charges us regular costs, for VICA, health insurance, workman’s compensation and others, which is all added on to the fee per employee that is close to the going rate. There’s also a small fee per week to offset the administration costs for the leasing company.
At the beginning of each week, I call in the previous week’s hours, plus any deductions. They call me back on Wednesday to verify the payroll, and on Thursday, a courier arrives with the paychecks. On Friday, my bank account is debited appropriately, and when that happens, they take care of all the other necessary paperwork.
The leasing company offers advice on how to handle insurance claims. The company we’re with now also has 5,000 employees—they’re a professional HR company that we can rely on, and they offer benefits that we couldn’t, such as a 401(k) plan.
Occasionally the company will make mistakes, and they’ll have to correct them. As long as you work with a company that’s professional and check references, there shouldn’t be many other problems. For those who are control freaks, they may have a hard time at first, but the company can be very helpful, and actually offer you more control in the long run.
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Employee Leasing