Meeting organizational goals requires making sound staffing
decisions that utilize the best employment options for an organization.
Workload changes and special project priorities may require additional
staffing for a limited time. Recruiting temporary or term employees
allows you the flexibility to meet your organization's goals.
Basic Steps:
Determine
whether you have a short-term or other non-permanent staffing
need. Once you have made the decision to hire someone
on a temporary or term appointment, follow the instructions provided
in “How Do I Fill a Vacancy?”
Rules and Flexibilities:
Temporary and term appointments can be made either competitively
or, in certain circumstances, non-competitively as long as an
individual is qualified and eligible for the position. Temporary
and term employees are not eligible for noncompetitive conversion
to career-conditional or career appointments.
a. Temporary appointments:
A
temporary appointment is a non-status appointment to a competitive
service position for a specific period of one year or less.
The appointment may be extended for up to one additional
year. A
temporary appointment may be terminated at any time without
use of adverse action or reduction-in-force procedures.
The
following conditions of employment, though limiting for
the employee, may provide cost savings to the organization.
A
temporary employee:
Works
on a part-time, intermittent or full-time basis;
Earns
annual and sick leave;
Receives
Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) coverage only
after completing one
year of current, continuous employment;
Serves
a trial period and may be terminated at any time during
the
trial period upon written
notification from the agency; and
Is
not entitled to Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS)
or Federal
Employees Group Life Insurance
(FEGLI) coverage.
b. Term appointments
A term appointment is a non-status appointment to a position
in the competitive service for a specific period of more than
one year but not more than four years. Term employees do not
obtain competitive status on the basis of their term appointment.
During the appointment, an employee may be promoted, demoted,
or reassigned only to other positions appropriate for term employment.
An
employee serving on a term appointment is eligible for the
following benefits:
Coverage
under Federal Employees Health Benefits
(FEHB), Federal Employees Group Life Insurance (FEGLI)
Programs, and Federal
Employees Retirement System
(FERS);
Annual
and sick leave;
Within-grade
increases;
Full-time
or part-time work; and
Protection
under 5 U.S.C. 7511 in adverse actions (except during their
trial period).
Checklist:
Determine
non-permanent staffing need.
Establish
funds availability.
Follow “How Do I Fill
a Vacancy?” (Basic
Steps Procedures).
