body leasing

English translation: hiring (specialists) on short-term contract

13:02 Dec 9, 2018
English language (monolingual) [PRO]
Bus/Financial - Human Resources / outsourcing
English term or phrase: body leasing
Is this a thing now? I'm no HR maven, but this is the first time I've encountered the phrase 'body leasing' in reference to IT staff outsourcing. A quick google search did not produce much in terms of it being used on websites originating in an English-speaking country. There's even a German wiki page. I'm hesitant to use it because it sounds rather demeaning, at least to me. Or have I gone overboard with the hypersensitivity? How does it sound to other native English ears?
Thanks for your help!
Roni_S
Slovakia
Local time: 22:34
Selected answer:hiring (specialists) on short-term contract
Explanation:
or hire of IT specialists...

I'd never heard that term before either and it does seem to be used by non-natives so I would use a "normal" equivalent

I hate these terms! I'd say this term is a follow on from "body shopping" (Yuk!) as that is about (mostly Indian) HR recruitment sourcing temporary/short-term contracts for IT specialists
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_shopping

So that phrase has evolved it seems!

https://makolab.com/en/solutions/dedicated-business-solution...

This seems to be a Polish company. At first glance the English seems OK but look again and it's clear this is a non-native writer as there are loads of errors

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Note added at 28 mins (2018-12-09 13:30:08 GMT)
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Up to you, of course, whether you want to popularise the term!!

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Note added at 30 mins (2018-12-09 13:32:34 GMT)
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or use OUTSOURCING EMPLOYEES (on short-term contracts)

http://www.pmi-soft.com/what-is-body-leasing/

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Note added at 36 mins (2018-12-09 13:38:29 GMT)
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Once again I point out that the English in all these these links is clearly non-native...
https://devpark.pl/body-leasing-as-a-form-of-outsourcing/

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Note added at 1 hr (2018-12-09 14:43:04 GMT)
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I remember my professor of French in Uni. many years ago used to take 6 marks off each "barbarism" any of us dared make to her beloved language. She was highly offended! But speakers of English as a second language seem to have no qualms about concocting barbarisms, and will argue with natives that they are right. Some will see this as evolution of language but there are just some terms I refuse to popularise! :-).
Selected response from:

Yvonne Gallagher
Ireland
Local time: 21:34
Grading comment
Selected automatically based on peer agreement.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



SUMMARY OF ALL EXPLANATIONS PROVIDED
3 +2hiring (specialists) on short-term contract
Yvonne Gallagher
5 -1"employee leasing" / sending your employees to work for a period in another company
Daryo
3Dispatched worker
Lincoln Hui


Discussion entries: 19





  

Answers


27 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +2
hiring (specialists) on short-term contract


Explanation:
or hire of IT specialists...

I'd never heard that term before either and it does seem to be used by non-natives so I would use a "normal" equivalent

I hate these terms! I'd say this term is a follow on from "body shopping" (Yuk!) as that is about (mostly Indian) HR recruitment sourcing temporary/short-term contracts for IT specialists
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_shopping

So that phrase has evolved it seems!

https://makolab.com/en/solutions/dedicated-business-solution...

This seems to be a Polish company. At first glance the English seems OK but look again and it's clear this is a non-native writer as there are loads of errors

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 28 mins (2018-12-09 13:30:08 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Up to you, of course, whether you want to popularise the term!!

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 30 mins (2018-12-09 13:32:34 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

or use OUTSOURCING EMPLOYEES (on short-term contracts)

http://www.pmi-soft.com/what-is-body-leasing/

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 36 mins (2018-12-09 13:38:29 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Once again I point out that the English in all these these links is clearly non-native...
https://devpark.pl/body-leasing-as-a-form-of-outsourcing/

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2018-12-09 14:43:04 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

I remember my professor of French in Uni. many years ago used to take 6 marks off each "barbarism" any of us dared make to her beloved language. She was highly offended! But speakers of English as a second language seem to have no qualms about concocting barbarisms, and will argue with natives that they are right. Some will see this as evolution of language but there are just some terms I refuse to popularise! :-).

Yvonne Gallagher
Ireland
Local time: 21:34
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 12
Grading comment
Selected automatically based on peer agreement.
Notes to answerer
Asker: Thanks, Yvonne. That's the thing, when the first links on the list aren't in native English it makes me question the validity of the term. I don't think I want to have anything to do with popularising this one :)


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  B D Finch: Absolutely agree with refusal to popularise this offensive term.
3 hrs
  -> Many thanks:-) Can we natives hold back the tide of this BS though?

agree  Tina Vonhof (X): The term I have seen used for temporary lending an employee to another company (a client or another company) is 'secondment'.
9 hrs
  -> Thanks! Secondment was the first idea that occurred but think it's used more for legal, teaching, civil service. I didn't find it with IT. Having said that, it could probably be used as a "form of secondment" in an explanation of the term

disagree  Daryo: very good refs, but you missed THE KEY POINT: the company that needs this "specialist" is NOT "hiring" anyone but is basically borrowing / taking "on lease" from another company an employee of that other company i.e. "hired" by that other company.
11 hrs
  -> links show term has expanded meaning i.e. HR recruitment "provider" companies exist that hire out =outsource specialists and other companies hire IN "dispatched", "detached" and leased are WRONG in this context in ENGLISH

agree  Michael Confais (X)
400 days
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4 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
Dispatched worker


Explanation:
I don't know if this fits the situation being described in your text, but in Japan, "work agencies" are sort of an institution; they employ certain workers whom they send out to client enterprises that need them. "Dispatch worker" is the typical term for this and used in official texts by the Japanese government.

I looked up the term and the Wikipedia article mentions Germany along with Japan. No citations though, so have a look and decide for yourself.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dispatched_labor

Lincoln Hui
Hong Kong
Local time: 05:34
Native speaker of: Native in ChineseChinese, Native in EnglishEnglish

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Daryo: "Dispatched" = killed in *military slang* otherwise it's the plain boring "sent" *a "dispatcher" is not in the business of killing company drivers, but sending them to jobs* // still, "detached worker" or even "leased worker" sounds better.
7 hrs
  -> I would be in favor of "leased employee" - not a fan of "detached" at all. Still, it's important to be aware that this is a term that does get used.

neutral  Yvonne Gallagher: 2/1 kill https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/dispatch and 3. https://www.thefreedictionary.com/dispatch 3. To put to death summarily//confrontational and insulting. As a native speaker all these meanings come to mind when I see the word
8 days
  -> There's a reason why it's not meaning 1, and if this is what immediately comes to mind when you see the word "dispatch", I suggest looking up your nearest psychiatrist. Ooh, look, a pot.
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7 days   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): -1
"employee leasing" / sending your employees to work for a period in another company


Explanation:
or, viewed from the other side of the transaction:

body leasing = "borrowing employees of another company for a period of time - for a specific job/project."

In the most general way, when you take "on lease" some assets you are basically borrowing for a limited time something that doesn't belong to you, to use for your own purposes.

here, it's about company A "borrowing" from company "B" employees of the company "B" for a limited period.

"Méfiez vous de la première impression … c'est la bonne" - one of the first links quoted is the best:

Box 1: Leasing employees in Germany

Employee leasing, a concept which does not exist in Anglo-Saxon countries, occurs when one employer hires out an employee to another employer on a temporary basis. Since the enactment of the Employee Leasing Law in 1972, leasing has become a popular method of reducing labour costs in Germany. Leasing an employee requires prior permission from the current employer (the lessor) and is subject to various legal restrictions:
(a) The lease contract is concluded between the lessor and the hirer. The content of the contract is enforceable and regulates the main aspects of employment, such as the position, the lease period, and remuneration. In addition, there is no longer any limit to the duration of the lease.
(b) The hirer employs the leased employee for the targets and aims of his or her own business. As a result, the leased worker is fully integrated into the business of the hirer.
(c) Finally, the leased employee is entitled to the same terms and conditions of employment as permanent employees in the hirer’s company.

Interestingly, there are some admissible forms of unlicensed employee leasing, which are principally used by small businesses in order to avoid layoffs.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/...

Not quite the same as plain direct hiring of staff...


Daryo
United Kingdom
Local time: 21:34
Native speaker of: Native in SerbianSerbian, Native in FrenchFrench

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
disagree  Yvonne Gallagher: Nope. You still don't get the fact the term has expanded its meaning. "Leased" does not work in English and the rest was already discussed ad infini
1 day 9 hrs
  -> Nope - you are twisting the meaning of "hiring" + ignoring the basic meaning of "leasing" + forgetting that this IS NOT a practice existing in UK // what company A is doing is exactly "leasing" some of the comp. B assets i.e. comp. B employees
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