Temporary labour or contractual labour, temp, freelance labour, as they may be called, is recruited by the company to meet certain specific requirements of the company. When the labour is required for the purpose of getting a specific job of short duration done, the companies avail the services of temporary labour. Under normal circumstances, the contract gets terminated on the completion of the task or the time specified in the agreement between the parties.

Before the recruitment of a temporary labour, the company has to make a detailed check over the past history of the employee. The management has to make sure that there were no activities which have questioned the integrity and honesty of the individual. Requesting for past references is the best of identifying the reliability of the candidate. Before the inclusion of the individual into the organisation on a contractual basis, the company has the duty of keeping the person informed of the various aspects of the task involved, his role in getting the job done, his rights and responsibilities, the risk factor, the circumstances that can lead to the termination of the contract and the duration of the job. If the job involves travelling to different localities, the company has the duty to keep the person aware of the possible frequency and destinations of travel.

Once the character analysis is found to be positive and the labourer agreeing to the various aspects of the job involved, he is made to sign the non-disclosure agreement. A non-disclosure agreement is a legal agreement between two parties where the company gives access to certain restricted information to the employee preventing its disclosure by the employee to third parties. The secrecy of the restricted information is protected through the non-disclosure agreement or the confidentiality agreement. If the classified information is transferred to the employee orally he must provide in writing that the information so communicated constitutes confidential information to which he is legally bound.

On the appointment of the contractual employee, the management has to provide him with the information which is essential for the performance of the duties. Companies restrict the access of the employee to information other than what is essential for the performance of his duties. The access is permitted only if the supervisor is convinced of the need for the same to carry out the job effectively. The management has to ensure that the contractual labour does not come across any confidential information which is not related to the performance of his job through other co-workers.

If the employer notices any suspicious behaviour from the part of the temporary labour he has the right to annul the contract and take legal actions against the employee. All access to the company premises and its network must be denied to the worker.

In India, the State is bound by the Directive Principles of the State Policy under the Chapter IV of the Indian Constitution in the making of new laws regarding the fundamental rights of a citizen. The Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970 was passed as a measure to protect the contract labourers from exploitation and for ensuring that they enjoy the benefits of their labour. The Act requires the principal employer and the contractor to register their contract. If the employment of contract labour is done through any other intermediary, they would be deemed to have been employed by the principal employer himself.

Contractual labour has gained popularity as it provides the opportunity to the employer to gain the services of experts as and when required. The benefits that the company is bound to pay to a normal employee is not required under contractual labour. From the point of view of the individual, he can enjoy the opportunity of working under various employers in various circumstances adding more knowledge to his current expertise.