Meaning & use
co-employment
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Meaning
noununcountablebusinesslegal
An arrangement in which two organizations share legal responsibilities as employer for the same workers.
Grammar: No article in general use: co-employment can create risk.
Patterns
- co-employment between A and B
Co-employment can arise when a staffing agency places workers at a client company.
The lawyers warned about co-employment risks in the contract.
Payroll providers often use co-employment to manage benefits.
Common combinations
- co-employment relationship
- A co-employment relationship may share liability.
- co-employment risk
- Co-employment risk rises when the client controls the workers.
- co-employment agreement
- They signed a co-employment agreement.
- joint employer
- Courts may call the client a joint employer.
- avoid co-employment
- Managers should avoid co-employment problems.
Synonyms and how they differ
- joint employment
- Joint employment is the legal doctrine, while co-employment often describes the business arrangement.
- job sharing
- Job sharing means two people split one job, not two employers.
Word family
- employer noun
- The person or company that hires workers.
- employee noun
- A person who works for an employer.
- employment noun
- The state of having a job.
Commonly confused: co-employment or co-working?
co-employment vs co-working
Co-working means sharing an office space, not sharing an employer role.
Practice
Two firms are both legally responsible for the same staff. This arrangement is called ___.
Choose one answer.
Co-employment means two employers share duties. Self-employment means working for yourself.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “co-employment”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.