Last Tuesday, Adriano Dutra da Silveira, a Level Group consultant—responsible for the executive coordination of consulting projects in outsourcing, contract risk management, and executive and management training across several organizations—visited BM&F Bovespa to speak at the "Outsourcing Risk Management Training – Limits and Opportunities".
During the event, he explained to the guests that the procurement of outsourced services has grown considerably, whether driven by companies' need to streamline processes, reduce costs, or address a shortage of internal labor capable of handling the activity in question. However, critical details can easily go unnoticed.
The issues can be diverse, as Silveira exemplifies: lower quality than expected, higher costs than anticipated, legal uncertainty/labor liabilities, increased risk in the production process, service shortages, labor inspections, union opposition, internal staff opposition, and loss of motivation among internal personnel, among others.
The consultant, who is also a lawyer, explained that outsourcing a direct worker is illegal. In other words, an employment contract exists from the moment subordination arises in the working relationship between a legal entity or individual and another individual, where financial compensation and regularity—that is, hours worked—are established. He stressed that: "whenever this relationship exists, even if disguised, it constitutes an employment contract."
However, this same relationship does not apply when hiring security, maintenance, and cleaning services, or specialized services related to the core activity being developed, provided that subordination does not exist. That is, legal or direct (administrative) subordination is illegal, whereas contractual service subordination is legal.
Silveira explained the key points to consider before hiring, negotiating, or directing the contractor: "verify whether the contractor complies with labor charges—FGTS, INSS, and others; check whether the company complies with occupational health and safety standards; encourage the contractor to train outsourced workers; provide outsourced workers with the same treatment given to your own company's employees; and encourage the contractor to provide non-salary benefits similar to those offered to its own employees." "To ensure that all these items are being met, hiring a company specialized in this type of Contractor Management, such as Level Group, is essential," he adds.
