Hiring Temporary & Student Employees
The steps below will assist you in recruiting and hiring a temporary and/or student employee. If you would like assistance with this process, contact your local HR Team.
1. Determine What Type of Hire is Required
For temporary employees
Employees on the university payroll or an external agency working no more than 980 hours during the calendar year for all job assignments are considered temporary employees.
- If duties are technical, maintenance, or service, employees may be appointed at 50% FTE or more for no longer than four consecutive months.
- CardinalTemps is the preferred one-stop solution for hiring temporary labor at Stanford through an external agency.
- The program is administered in partnership with PRO Unlimited, a managed service provider (MSP), that oversees the requisition and candidate fulfillment process.
*Introduced in April 2018, this new program does not affect temporary workers hired directly onto Stanford's payroll or independent contractors.
For student employees
Graduate or undergraduate Stanford students who are hired for part-time work are considered student employees. These students are hired into Sequoia using an “SU” job code.
Additional information
- Administrative Guide Memo 2.2.1 Definitions
- Administrative Guide Memo 10.1.1 Undergraduate Student Employment
- Administrative Guide Memo 10.2.2 Graduate Student Hourly Employment
- Stanford Financial Aid website
2. Determine Compensation
Contact your local HR team for assistance with temporary employee compensation. They can help you interpret staff compensation guidelines set forth in the Administrative Guide Memo 2.1.5: Compensation of Staff Employees.
Local Management of Temporary, Casual and Student Employee Compensation
- HR managers oversee the hiring and pay of temporary employees in their local areas. Some schools/areas may determine a more closely controlled local process is needed; others may determine a decentralized process works well.
- HR managers should refer to the Temporary and Casual Employee Compensation System located in the HR Toolkit (secure login required) for information on the current year’s program.
3. Partner with Your Local HR Team to Make Verbal Offer to Final Candidate and Send Offer Letter
Present a verbal offer to the final candidate. Inform the final candidate that a written On Assignment Letter will be extended upon acceptance of the verbal offer.
On Assignment Letters are accessible by your local HR Team only. Contact your local HR Team to obtain the offer letter to send to your final candidate. Once the On Assignment Letter is sent, ensure your local HR Team receives the signed copy for the new hire's personnel file.
4. Initiate Background Check Through Your Local HR Team
A background check can only be initiated after a written conditional job offer is made. Continue to work with your local HR Team to launch the background check. New hires cannot start work until the background check and other hiring steps are complete.
NOTE: Most student employees do not require a background check. If hiring a student employee, please verify with your Human Resources manager if a background check is required.
5. Complete Hire Form
Work with your HR team to complete and submit the Temp Employee Hire Form with approvals, along with the resume and Employment Application.
- HR will process the new hire into Sequoia. Allow one to two business days for processing.
- Do not sponsor a SUNet ID for the employee prior to HR entering the employee into the system. This will prevent creating a duplicate Employee ID.
NOTE: Resume and SU Employment Application are not required for student or work-study student employees.
6. Instruct Employee to Complete Employment Eligibility Verification (I-9)
Ensure your employee completes the Employment Eligibility Verification (I-9) within three days of the date of hire by making an appointment with the HR Service Center.
This is needed for all new hires and rehires (if there is a break in service).
NOTE: Student and Work-study Student hires are not excluded from the I-9 requirement.