Temp-to-hire staffing, so the decision is made on output not on an interview
Temp-to-hire staffing puts the worker on our payroll and your line for three to six months. You see attendance, quality rejection and shift discipline before the person becomes a permanent cost. If they hold, you absorb them onto your rolls on the conversion terms fixed in your contract.
Scope, headcount and site city. We aim to send a costed proposal within one working day.
The trial period is a contract, not a handshake
Every temp-to-hire deployment runs under a written contract that meets the contract-labour rules of the OSH Code, with the absorption terms fixed on day one — so nobody argues about the fee when the worker turns out good.
- ✓Employment with Godstone during the trial: PF, ESI, bonus, gratuity accrual
- ✓Absorption date, salary band and fee written into the work order
- ✓Monthly scorecard: attendance, output, rejection, safety observations
- ✓Contract-labour registers and records kept for your principal-employer file
- ✓Final settlement with us within two working days of absorption — no double payroll
Permanent hiring gets expensive the moment you are wrong
A wrong permanent hire on the shop floor costs far more than the salary. Notice, statutory dues, retraining and a line running short while you restart the search.
Trade tests and reference checks predict skill. They do not predict whether a person survives night shift, standing work and a 6-day week.
Notice pay, statutory settlement, the recruiter fee already spent and 3 to 5 weeks of a short line before the replacement is productive.
Run 3 to 6 months on our payroll. Absorb the workers who cleared the scorecard, release the rest — we aim to place a replacement within a week — with no severance on your books.
Get a quote →
Trial, scorecard, absorption — how a temp-to-hire cycle runs
Price during the trial is the loaded wage plus service fee; the slider assumes a ₹21,000 gross wage per worker and an illustrative 12% fee, before GST — an assumption, not our rate, which is set out in the rate card. On absorption the cost stops with us and starts with your own payroll.
We employ, pay and cover the worker. You direct the work and record output.
How a pro-rated conversion fee steps down to zero
A conversion fee exists because an early conversion ends the engagement before the service fee has recovered the cost of sourcing. A common structure pro-rates it: the longer the worker has been billed, the less is owed, until nothing is owed at the end of a free-conversion window. The table uses an illustrative 90-day window; your actual fee and window are agreed in your contract.
| Worker absorbed after | Conversion fee | Illustration: annual CTC ₹3,00,000 |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 30 days of deployment | Placement fee × (90 − days deployed) ÷ 90 | At day 30: ₹24,990 × 60/90 = ₹16,660 |
| 31 to 60 days | Same formula — the balance keeps falling | At day 60: ₹24,990 × 30/90 = ₹8,330 |
| 61 to 89 days | Same formula | At day 80: ₹24,990 × 10/90 = ₹2,777 |
| 90 days or more | Nil | ₹0 — absorb whenever you are ready |
Illustration assumes a placement fee of 8.33% of annual CTC (₹24,990 on ₹3,00,000), plus GST at 18% on any fee charged. The actual fee and window are agreed in your contract and written into the work order before the first worker is deployed. The fee is a commercial term between you and us — it never restricts the worker, who remains free to take any job.
What happens to the worker's pay and benefits on conversion
Conversion is a change of employer, so some things carry over and some start afresh. Getting this right is what makes the worker say yes to your offer.
| Item | What carries over | What resets or is settled |
|---|---|---|
| Provident fund | The same UAN continues; the balance usually transfers automatically to your establishment once KYC is complete | Our exit date is updated so there is no overlap in contributions |
| ESI | The insurance number (IP number) is portable across employers | Your establishment starts contributing from the conversion date |
| Wages and dues | — | Wages and dues for the trial period paid by us within two working days of exit, as the Code on Wages requires |
| Earned leave | Can be carried if you agree to honour it | Otherwise encashed by us in the final settlement |
| Statutory bonus | — | Our share for the trial period is paid or provided for by us, where the worker is eligible |
| Gratuity | — | Service with you starts from the conversion date. A trial under one year creates no gratuity liability for either employer |
| Paperwork | Trial scorecard, documents and verification | Your own appointment letter and joining formalities, dated the day after our exit |
Before you set the post-conversion salary, check it against your own pay structure: Basic + DA must be at least 50% of total pay under the Code on Wages, and EPF is mandatory up to ₹25,000 a month from 17 September 2026. The CTC breakup calculator helps.
Absorb, extend or replace: the rules we recommend
A trial only works if the decision is made on evidence and on time. Agree these rules with your supervisors before the first worker starts.
Absorb
Attendance and output at or above the standard you set for permanent staff for the last eight weeks, no safety or conduct flags, and a supervisor recommendation in writing.
Extend once
Close to standard with a clear, fixable gap — a skill, a shift adjustment, a second machine to learn. Extend by one to three months with a named target, not open-endedly.
Replace
A persistent attendance problem, a safety or conduct issue, or no improvement after feedback. We release the worker and aim to put a tested replacement on site within seven working days.
Keeping a temp-to-hire programme on the right side of the Labour Codes
Temp-to-hire is a legitimate model, but a trial that never ends starts to look like permanent employment dressed up as contract labour.
- ✓Set a trial window (typically three to six months) and a written decision date for every worker.
- ✓Mind the core-activity rule: under the OSH Code, contract labour in core activities is allowed only under specific exceptions, so convert trial workers in core roles promptly.
- ✓We remain the employer during the trial — we pay wages, issue the appointment letter and hold the statutory records. Your managers direct the work, not the pay or discipline.
- ✓Convert on terms at least as good as the trial, so the move is a step up for the worker.
- ✓Never make conversion conditional on the worker paying anything — to us or anyone else.
- ✓Keep the scorecard. If a conversion decision is ever questioned, it shows the decision was about performance.
Where temp-to-hire works, and where it does not
Works well for
- ✓Operators, technicians and trades where shift stamina matters as much as skill
- ✓New sites or new lines, where the job itself is still being defined
- ✓Warehouse, retail and service roles with high early attrition
- ✓Office and back-office roles such as data entry and customer support — see BPO and ITES staffing
Usually the wrong model for
- –Senior or scarce profiles, who rarely leave a permanent job for a trial — use permanent recruitment or niche skill hiring
- –Roles you already know you will fill permanently at any cost
- –Short peaks with no intent to absorb — use temporary staffing
Questions buyers ask before signing
Answers we give in the first call, written down so you can compare vendors on the same terms.
Get a quote →What does temp-to-hire cost?+
During the trial you pay the loaded wage — the agreed wage, never below the State minimum wage, plus PF, ESI where applicable, bonus and leave — with a service fee on top as set out in the rate card, plus GST. Any conversion fee, and the period after which absorption is free, is agreed in your contract.
Is there a conversion or buy-out fee?+
It depends on your contract. A common structure is a pro-rated placement fee that falls to nil at the end of a free-conversion window, as in the illustration above; the fee and the window are agreed in your contract before the first worker is deployed.
Who is the employer during the trial?+
Godstone Consultech. Wages, PF, ESI, bonus and statutory registers sit with us as the employer, and you remain the principal employer, with our monthly compliance pack in your file.
What if the worker does not suit the job?+
Tell us. We pull the worker and aim to put a tested replacement on site within seven working days; whether a replacement carries any sourcing charge is agreed in your contract.
Does the worker lose service continuity on absorption?+
Not for PF: contributions continue on the same UAN, and we date our exit the day before your appointment so there is no overlap or gap. Gratuity and leave service, however, start afresh with you because the employer changes — earned leave is settled in our final settlement unless you agree to carry it over.
How long should a temp-to-hire trial run?+
Three to six months is typical. Ninety days is enough to see attendance patterns, shift tolerance and output; longer trials add little evidence and increase the risk that the arrangement looks like disguised permanent employment.
Can the worker refuse the conversion offer?+
Yes. Conversion is an offer, not an obligation. If the worker declines, they can continue with us on the existing engagement or be redeployed, and we can source a replacement for your role.
Does the worker serve probation again after conversion?+
That is your policy decision. Many employers shorten or waive probation because the trial already produced three to six months of performance evidence; it is worth saying so in the offer, since it makes the offer more attractive.
Try three workers before you commit to one
Send the role and headcount. We aim to put tested workers on your line within a week and a scorecard in your hands by month three.