Scheduling temp workers in logistics: how to get it right

In many warehouses and distribution centres, temporary agency work is no longer a stopgap but a permanent part of the staffing mix. An order from a major client, a peak around the end-of-year period, two order pickers off sick at the same time: calling the temp agency is often the fastest reflex.

That speed has a downside. Agency workers are rarely in the same scheduling system as your own people, their hours come in through a separate channel, and the administrative responsibilities are split between two employers. The result: double cover on one shift, gaps on another, and arguments about hours worked at the end of the week.

Below we run through what you, as the user undertaking, need to know and do to keep temporary agency work manageable in logistics.

Start with your baseline staffing, not with the temp agency

The most common mistake: using temps to mask a structural staffing problem. If you put the same five agency workers on the same evening shift every week, you don't have a peak — you have an unfilled vacancy.

So start by making that distinction visible in your scheduling:

• Baseline staffing: the number of people you need on a normal day, filled by permanent employees.
• Variable layer: peaks you can predict (season, month-end, client promotions).
• Unforeseen layer: illness, no-shows, sudden volumes.

Only once those three layers are visible separately can you judge whether agency work is the right solution, or whether adjusting your fixed rosters or building a pool of part-time staff works out cheaper.

A concrete example: a warehouse with 40 permanent employees that needs 8 extra pickers every Monday and Tuesday is better off scheduling a structural additional shift than requesting 16 individual agency days every week. Those two fixed days are no longer a peak, after all.

The legal grounds: when are you allowed to use agency workers?

Temporary agency work in Belgium is governed by the Act of 24 July 1987 and collective labour agreement no. 108. Important: agency work is not permitted just like that. There are six legally defined grounds, and each ground has its own conditions, maximum duration and procedures. The best known in a logistics context are:

• replacement of a permanent employee whose contract is temporarily suspended (for example due to illness or leave);
• a temporary increase in workload, think seasonal peaks or a new client contract;
• performance of exceptional work, such as a stocktake or a warehouse relocation;
• recruitment trial ("instroom"): you intend to hire the agency worker permanently for the same role once the assignment ends.

For some grounds you have to inform the trade union delegation in advance or obtain their agreement. The full list and the procedures for each ground can be found at the FPS Employment. Always record the ground in your own file — it is the first thing a social inspector will ask for.

Dimona: who does what?

This is the point that causes the most confusion in practice. In temporary agency work, the temp agency is the legal employer. So the agency files the Dimona declaration for the agency worker — as the user undertaking, you are not allowed to file it. Your company is, however, listed in the declaration as the user.

What does that mean for you in practice?

• You do not have to file a Dimona for agency workers, but you do for your own staff, your student workers and your flexi-job workers.
• You do remain responsible for what happens on your site: working time, rest periods, well-being at work and correct application of your work rules during the assignment.
• Check on arrival whether the agency worker has actually been declared. Agency workers can verify this themselves via the social security's Interim@work service.

For your own flexible workers, the declaration obligation does rest with you. You can read how to automate this in Automating Dimona declarations and contracts.

Workstation sheet and induction: the bit that often gets forgotten

In a warehouse with forklifts, reach trucks, loading docks and manual loads, the risks are real. That is why the workstation sheet exists: a document describing the characteristics of the workstation, the risks, the preventive measures, the required work clothing and the health surveillance.

Section A is completed by you as the user undertaking — not by the temp agency. Legally, the sheet is mandatory for workstations requiring prior health surveillance, but in practice Prevention and Interim recommends drawing up a sheet for every workstation.

Make life easy for yourself: draw up one sheet per job profile (order picker, forklift driver, goods-in, dispatch) and reuse it. That way you don't have to start from scratch with every request.

Add a short, fixed induction session of ten to fifteen minutes: safety instructions, a tour of the site, who the contact person is, where to record hours. An agency worker who doesn't know where to clock in costs you more time than that induction.

Put agency workers in the same roster as your permanent staff

As long as agency workers live in a separate list or in your planner's mailbox, your staffing figures will never be entirely accurate. Schedule them in the same roster as your own crews, using the same shift codes and the same skill requirements.

That delivers three things:

1. Real-time visibility of total cover per shift, including agency workers — no more double counting.
2. Accurate hours control: you compare scheduled hours with hours actually worked, including for agency workers. Handy when checking the timesheets the agency invoices you for.
3. Skills management: only someone with a valid forklift certificate can be scheduled on a forklift shift.

The combination of time registration and scheduling makes all the difference. If you know exactly who clocked in when, the argument about half an hour of waiting time at the dock is settled straight away.

What does an agency worker really cost?

An agency worker is entitled to the same pay as they would receive if employed directly by you in the same role. On top of that gross pay, the agency charges a coefficient covering employer's social security contributions, insurance, administration and margin.

Always ask for that coefficient explicitly and in writing, and check exactly what it covers:

• Are shift premiums, night allowances and overtime also multiplied by the coefficient?
• How are waiting hours, travel allowances and meal vouchers settled?
• What is the minimum number of hours invoiced per call-up?
• Is a fee payable if you take the agency worker on permanently?

Then set that real hourly cost alongside the cost of your own employee or of other forms of flexible work. Agency work often turns out to be excellent for short, unpredictable peaks and expensive for recurring, plannable volumes.

Recruitment trial: plan the route to a permanent contract

In logistics, the recruitment trial ground is one of the most useful instruments available: you get to know someone on the floor before signing an open-ended contract. But it only works if you follow it up deliberately.

Agree internally that every agency worker gets a short evaluation from the team leader after a set period — three or four weeks, for example: quality, pace, safety, reliability. Those who score well receive an offer to join your workforce. That way you build a recruitment pipeline with your temp agency instead of a revolving door.

Checklist for your next agency request

• Ground determined and documented, procedure respected
• Job profile and required certificates clearly communicated
• Workstation sheet (section A) completed and sent to the temp agency
• Confirmation that the temp agency has filed the Dimona
• Shift scheduled in the same roster as your permanent crews
• Induction and safety instruction arranged for day one
• Time registration activated, including for the agency worker
• Timesheet compared with your own hours records before approving the invoice

Temporary agency work remains a powerful instrument for absorbing volume fluctuations. It only becomes expensive when you use it to hide a scheduling problem. Get your baseline staffing in order first, then use agency work in a targeted way for what it is: flexibility with a price tag you know.