A new service which enables organisations to sell the time of their staff has been welcomed by the TUC.
StaffShare allows organisations to register individuals, who could be under-utilised or at risk of redundancy, on a website offering their services on short- or medium-term secondment basis.
Organisations interested in an employee, which will initially be restricted to charities and the voluntary sector, can then buy their services for the selected period through the website.
TUC general secretary Brendan Barber, said: “The TUC hopes that lots of organisations sign up to this innovative scheme which will keep people in employment while allowing third sector organisations to draw on specialist expertise.
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“StaffShare is part of a new approach that is needed if we are to avoid the waste of talent and human tragedies that occur if companies rush prematurely into redundancies when conditions start to get tough.”
Phil Flaxton, chief executive of Work Wise UK, the organisation behind StaffShare, said: “The credit crunch has seen companies of all sizes forced to reduce their running costs but instead of losing trained, skilled employees it can help offer these skills to charitable and other organisations.”