Temp contracts signed electronically
How an agency sends a temp's contract for e-signature in Achekam, links the envelope to a record first, sets the signing order and files the signed copy.
By Achekam · · 4 min read · For Recruitment businesses in South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya
A client calls on Thursday needing six packers from Monday. By Friday afternoon you have the people, and every one of them needs a signed assignment contract before they set foot on site. Printing, scanning and chasing paper copies over a weekend does not work, and a contract "signed later" is often never signed at all.
Electronic signing is the obvious answer, and Achekam can send any document for signature. There is one rule that trips agencies up the first time, because a temp is not a client and usually not yet a lead. This article explains that rule, how to prepare the contract, the order of signing, and what you have afterwards.
The rule for outside signers
When an envelope has a signer from outside the business, it must be linked to a client or a CRM lead before it can be sent. Your own staff can sign without that link; anyone else needs a record to hang the envelope on.
The rule exists so that every signed document belongs somewhere you can find it again. For an agency, it means you decide up front where a temp's contract lives, instead of discovering three months later that it was sent from someone's personal folder.
Recording the temp so the envelope can be sent
The temp is the outside signer, so the envelope needs a record to link to. You have two choices:
- Link it to a record for the temp. Create a CRM lead in the temp's own name and link the envelope to it. The contract then sits with the temp's own paperwork.
- Link it to the client company. This is quicker if you are sending contracts for a whole team at one site, but it files a worker's personal contract under the client's record.
For employment contracts, the first is usually the better habit. A temp's contract contains their identity details, pay rate and personal terms; it belongs with them, not with the business they happen to be working at this month. Whichever you choose, use it consistently so your team knows where to look.
Composing the contract with merge fields or a saved template
You can send three kinds of document for signature:
- An uploaded PDF, such as a contract your labour lawyer drafted.
- A document composed from text blocks with merge fields, where details such as the temp's name, the assignment, the start date and the hourly rate are pulled in for each person.
- A saved template, so the standard assignment contract is set up once and reused.
For agencies sending the same contract to many temps, a saved template with merge fields is the sensible route. It also avoids the classic error of last week's temp's name appearing on this week's contract.
The logo, brand colour and company details you set under Settings appear on documents composed for signature, so the contract looks like it came from your agency. Check those details once before you send the first batch.
On the signing screen you place signature and initials fields on the document, set an expiry, and switch on reminders. The signing console has no sidebar entry of its own; you open it from the Sign button or from the dashboard.
Signers in order: the temp, then your manager
An envelope can ask signers to sign in order or all at once. For a temp contract, order matters:
| Order | Signer | Why |
|---|---|---|
| First | The temp | They accept the terms as offered, including pay rate and assignment details |
| Second | Your branch or operations manager | The agency signs only once the temp has agreed, so nothing is binding on one side alone |
Set an expiry that matches the start date: if the temp has not signed by then, they do not start. Reminders do the chasing so your consultant does not have to.
What an electronic signature is worth depends on your country's law, so check before you move every document online. In South Africa, section 13 of the ECT Act, available on Acts Online, sets out when an electronic signature is valid and when the law requires an advanced electronic signature instead. Ask your lawyer whether anything in your temp documentation falls into the second group before you move it all online. How the certificate reads in each country is covered in the e-signature certificate by country.
The signed PDF and certificate filed in Documents
When everyone has signed, Achekam produces the signed PDF together with a completion certificate. The certificate lists each signer's e-mail address, the times they signed, their IP address and browser, and the document's fingerprint. Both are filed back into Documents.
That certificate is what you produce if a temp later says they never agreed to the terms, or if a labour inspector asks for proof that a contract existed before work started. File both together and never edit the signed PDF afterwards.
Documents gives you the rest of the filing. It is a folder-based store where you can upload, preview, rename, move, tag, archive and search files, and a new version keeps the earlier ones. Tag each signed contract with the temp's name and the client site, so the whole batch for one assignment can be found in a single search.
A short checklist for each new assignment:
- Each temp has a record the envelope can link to.
- The template's merge fields pull the right rate and start date.
- Signing order is temp first, manager second.
- The expiry falls before the first shift.
- Signed contracts and certificates are tagged and filed before day one.
Candidates' CVs deserve the same care before they ever become temps; see sending CVs to clients without losing control.
Set up your standard assignment contract as a saved template this week, and send it to yourself first to see exactly what a temp will receive.
General guidance only, not advice on your own circumstances. Tax and payroll rules change: check the current position with the authority or your adviser.
