TEMPORARY WORKERS AND PERMANENT EMPLOYEES Im a temp from an agency I have a direct contract with the company Important

words in this unit are: temporary _____________ contractor ____________ wages ________________ earn money ____________ comparison ____________ temping agency ___________ direct contract ____________ advantage(s) ______________ apply for a job _____________ compare __________________ temp. _______________ stable _________________ disadvantage(s) _________

1. a) Arrange these words into two groups. Be ready to explain what the link is between the words in each of your two groups. Work in pairs. long time - permanent - temp. - short time - temporary - contractor - direct contract

b) Which words best describe your work situation now? Tell your partner.

2. Mehmut is a temporary worker in Germany. He works in the warehouse at a logistics company. Read what he says about his work situation. Im a warehouseman at a food logistics company. Im a temporary worker from a temping agency called All for Work. Some of my colleagues are from the same agency, but some have direct contracts with the company where we work. The temping agency pays our wages and we earn less than the permanent employees, which is a disadvantage for us. Our situation is less stable than theirs too because we dont know for sure how long we can go on working here. A big advantage for the company where we work is that we are less expensive than the permanent workers and we are more flexible than them. The agency tells us to go and work Business English Lesson Plans www.businessenglishlessonplans.wordpress.com Claire Hart (2012)

at a company and we go and work there. There are some advantages for us too, for example, we can sometimes take longer holidays than the permanent employees. I like my job and my colleagues. The situation isnt perfect, but I am happy to make enough money for myself and my family.

3. Complete the second of the two sentences with the opposite of the first sentence a) Temporary workers earn less than permanent employees -> Permanent employees earn _________________________________________________ b) Temporary workers have a less stable situation than permanent employees -> Permanent employees have a _______________________________________________ c) Temporary workers are less expensive for the company than permanent employees. > Permanent employees are __________________________________________________ d) Temporary workers can sometimes take longer holidays than the permanent employees. Permanent employees sometimes have _______________________________________

4. Over to you: Have you ever been a temporary worker? Where did you work? What job did you do? Was your experience the same or different to Mehmuts?

5. Jessica is doing an interview with Kim for the company newsletter. Kim was a temporary worker at the company, but now she has a permanent contract there. Listen and write down three differences between Kims old work situation and her current work situation. Three differences (write them in full sentences) 1.

2.

3. Business English Lesson Plans www.businessenglishlessonplans.wordpress.com Claire Hart (2012)

Comparisons: What you need to know You normally make a comparison because you want to say that something is different to another thing and what that difference is. When you make comparisons in English there are some things you need to remember:

1. Add er at the end of adjectives with one syllable. big My department is bigger than yours. If the adjective ends with a single consonant, you double the last consonant when you write it. big -> bigger thin -> thinner fat -> fatter 2. Add er at the end of adjectives with two syllables which end with -ly friendly The colleagues I have now are friendlier than the colleagues I had in my first job. You take out y and add ier. 3. Use more (+) or less (-) before the adjective if it has 2 syllables and doesnt end with ly and if it has 3 or more syllables. Temporary workers are usually more flexible than permanent employees. Use THAN after the adjective. A small number of adjectives are irregular when you compare them, so they dont follow the same rules as the others. good becomes better The job I have now is better than my old job. bad becomes worse The wages temps get are worse than the wages permanent employees get.

6. Choose one of the options (a-d). Find four differences between the two things. Present these differences as four comparisons to the rest of the group.

a. b. c. d.

Your first job and the job you have now Two departments in your company Your company and another company in the same indusstry Two products that your company makes or two services it offers

Business English Lesson Plans www.businessenglishlessonplans.wordpress.com Claire Hart (2012)

Tapescript Jessica Hi Kim, I have some questions to ask you about your work here at Logic. Kim OK, go ahead. Jessica So, how long have you worked at Logic? Kim Five years, but for the first two years I was a temp, so I didnt have a direct contract with Logic. I worked for a temping agency. Jessica OK, so what did you do when you were a temp? Kim The same job I do now--customer service administrator--but my wages were lower and I worked longer hours! Jessica So, you must be pleased that you are now a permanent employee here? Kim Yes, definitely. My boss saw that I was good at my job and I worked hard and then a position became free when someone left the company and he asked me if I wanted to apply for it. I applied and got the job! Jessica Great, so your situation is better now than it was before, is that right? Kim Yes, thats right. My work situation is more stable and I can do training courses in the company to improve my skills. Maybe the best point is that I pay less for my lunch in the canteen now that Im a permanent employee--temps have to pay twice as much to eat there!

Business English Lesson Plans www.businessenglishlessonplans.wordpress.com Claire Hart (2012)