Offices & Services
Office of Human Resources

Temporary Hire Employment Process

Temporary employees hold limited appointments with a predetermined end date. These appointments do not provide Harvard benefits, and are used only when there is a temporary need for support. It is essential that all temporary workers be hired through the Human Resources Office.

If you have already identified your employee (regular temp, student temp, less-than-halftime temp), please follow the Temporary Hire Employment Process steps below.

If you need to recruit for a temporary worker, please follow the Contingent Worker Employment Process steps.

Temporary Hire Employment Process

To be Used for Temps, Student Temps, and LHTs
 

Appointment Type

  • Less-than-Halftime (LHT): May work up to 14 total hours/week for as long as needed. May not exceed 14 hours per week, or risks termination.
  • Harvard student: May work up to 40 total hours/week (in summer) and 20 total hours/week (during academic year) for as long as they are enrolled as a student at least half-time.
  • Regular Temp: May work up to 40 total hours/week for up to 90 days. Must then be converted to LHT, or be terminated and wait 8 months for rehire as temp.

Forms and Documentation

  • Using the Temporary Appointment Form, have both the supervisor and temporary employee fill out their respective information. 
  • Send the temporary employee to the Human Resources Office with his/her completed employee documentation form (I-9) and necessary documentation (see list of acceptable documentation). This may be done remotely during COVID.
  • These documents may not be needed if the candidate has been paid by Harvard University in the past 12 months.
  • Human Resources must see the original employee documentation.
  • For Harvard students, please use the wage ranges listed on the Harvard Student Employment Office website for guidance.

Please note: neither you nor Human Resources may provide assistance in filling out tax forms. Candidates may seek guidance at www.irs.gov, by searching online for withholding calculators, and/or by speaking with an accountant. Tax forms should be submitted via PeopleSoft.

Budget Approval

  • Send the completed Temporary Appointment Form to the appropriate budget approver:
    • For funds 000001 or 483467, send form to the Financial Planning and Analysis Office.
    • For funds 100000-299999, send form to the faculty member’s representative in Research Administration.
    • For gift funds 300000-399999, start-up funds 483xxx, or other funds, send form to Accounting Office.

Submission to Central Payroll

Human Resources submits the employee documentation forms to Central Payroll and prepares the temp’s hiring form in PeopleSoft; once the paperwork has cleared Central Payroll, the temporary employee is hired and is eligible to start working.

Time Sheets and Payment

  • If a temp does not yet have a HUID or HarvardKey and access to PeopleSoft, he/she should request a HarvardKey.
  • It is strongly recommended that temps sign up for Direct Deposit via PeopleSoft Self Service. 
  • Temps are required to submit a signed Temporary Employee Time Sheet to Payroll (payrollhelp@seas.harvard.edu) each Thursday by 12:00 pm.
  • Time sheets must be signed by the temp’s supervisor or an authorized designee.
  • Temps will be paid for their work the following Friday.
Contingent Worker Employment Process

Harvard uses DZConneX, a managed service provider, to manage all hiring and payrolling of contingent labor -- specifically, temps from staffing agencies and Harvard-identified temps who are externally-payrolled (typically because they live and work out-of-state). 

The Human Resources Office is the central point of contact for recruiting and hiring contingent workers through DZConneX. Please note: there is an added fee for utilizing this managed service provider. If you need to hire a contingent worker, please contact Rowen Gray, 4-7828, (rgray@seas.harvard.edu). 


Information to Provide to HR

  • Hiring manager/time sheet approver (same person)
  • Number of positions
  • Start and end dates (or length of appointment)
  • Report to location (be specific)
  • Job description
  • Does this position require a HUID?
  • Does this position require a Harvard ID Card?
  • Does the contingent worker require space, equipment, etc.?
    • If so, what items the contingent worker will need?
  • Will the worker be working as a Responsible Adult in a Harvard program servicing minors?
  • Are sponsored funds being used?
  • Costing string
  • Pre-identified candidate’s name (optional)
  • Hours per day/week
  • Maximum hourly rate (optional)
  • Supplier Respond by Date


Fieldglass

  • Once HR has the necessary information, the job request will be submitted to Fieldglass, the vendor management system.
  • The request will be routed to the appropriate budget approver for approval.
  • Once approved, staffing agencies will begin to submit candidates to Fieldglass. The hiring manager will receive an automatic email each time a candidate is submitted.
  • Using the Fieldglass portal, the hiring manager can review resumes, schedule interviews, and hire workers.


Time Sheets and Payment

  • Once hired, contingent workers will submit their time sheets each week in Fieldglass.
  • Supervisors/time sheet approvers will receive an email notification that hours have been submitted and are ready for approval.


Resources

Tutorials for Fieldglass

Active Suppliers in the Harvard/DZConneX Managed Services Program

Contingent Workforce Overview