What secondment means
A secondment is a temporary posting of an employee to work for somebody else.
The employee stays employed by their original employer, the seconder. They go to work at the host organisation for an agreed period, doing work the host directs, and then they return.
That structure is what distinguishes it from a transfer, where employment moves permanently, and from outsourcing, where a service rather than a person is provided.
Three relationships exist at once. The employment relationship between the seconder and the employee continues. A commercial relationship exists between the seconder and the host, governed by the secondment agreement. And a practical working relationship exists between the host and the employee, without an employment contract between them.
The legal questions all arise from that third relationship, because the host directs somebody they do not employ.
How it is used
Secondments are used in group companies, in professional services where a consultant is placed with a client, in donor funded projects, and in joint ventures where each partner contributes people.
A secondment agreement should cover a defined list.
Duration, and how it can be extended or ended early by either side.
Who directs the work day to day, and the limits of that direction.
Who pays what: whether the seconder continues to pay salary and recharges the host, and how any allowances or expenses are handled.
Whose policies apply. The seconder's employment policies usually continue, while the host's site, safety and IT policies apply while the secondee is there.
Confidentiality and intellectual property, particularly who owns work the secondee produces at the host. This is the clause most often omitted and it matters, because the default position may not give the host what it assumes.
Liability, including who is responsible for the secondee's acts and who carries insurance.
And return: what happens at the end, and whether the host may recruit the secondee directly.
Key features
- A temporary posting where employment remains with the original employer
- Distinguished from a transfer and from outsourcing
- The host directs the work without employing the person
- The agreement should allocate cost, liability and policy application
- Intellectual property in the secondee's output needs express treatment
- A non solicitation clause protects the seconder at the end
How this works in Nigeria
The vicarious liability question is the sharpest practical issue.
An employer is generally liable for torts committed by an employee in the course of employment. Where a secondee causes harm while working under the host's direction, the question is whose employee they were for that purpose, and Nigerian courts look at control.
A secondment agreement should therefore say expressly who bears liability for the secondee's acts during the secondment, and it should be backed by insurance rather than by an indemnity alone.
The second issue is misclassification, which runs in the opposite direction from outsourcing. Where a secondee works exclusively for the host, under its direction, for years, on its premises, integrated into its team, the substance may point to employment by the host regardless of the arrangement. The National Industrial Court has been willing to look past contracting structures, and a long secondment with no end date invites exactly that analysis.
The practical protection is to keep secondments genuinely temporary, with a stated end date and a real return.
On tax and pension, the seconder normally continues to operate PAYE and pension contributions because the employment relationship is theirs, and the cost is recharged. Where a secondment is cross border, the position becomes more complex and needs specific advice.
Secondment vs transfer vs outsourcing
Three ways somebody ends up working for an organisation that does not employ them, or moves between employers.
A secondment is temporary. Employment stays with the seconder, the host directs the work for a period, and the person returns. The commercial relationship is between the two organisations.
A transfer is permanent. Employment moves to the new employer, and the terms on which it moves, including continuity of service and accrued entitlements, have to be agreed.
Outsourcing buys a service rather than a person. The provider supplies and manages its own staff to deliver an outcome, and the customer measures service levels rather than supervising individuals.
The risk profile rises across the three for a Nigerian host. A genuine short secondment is low risk. A long open ended one, or a staff outsourcing arrangement where the host directs the work daily, invites the argument that the host is the real employer.
Limits and risks
A secondment does not fully insulate the host. Where the substance is employment by the host, the arrangement can be looked through.
The secondee also sits between two organisations, which creates practical difficulty over appraisal, discipline and grievances, and the agreement should say how those are handled.
Intellectual property defaults may not match expectations, and a host relying on work produced by a secondee without an express assignment may not own it.
And secondees are frequently recruited by the host at the end, which is a commercial risk for the seconder unless a non solicitation clause was agreed at the outset.
Worth knowing
Give every secondment a stated end date and actually enforce it. A Nigerian secondment that has run for four years, with the secondee working exclusively under the host's direction, is the arrangement the National Industrial Court looks through.
Questions people ask
What is a secondment?
A temporary posting of an employee to work for another organisation while remaining employed by their original employer. The host directs the work for the period and the employee then returns.
Who pays a secondee?
Usually the seconder continues to pay salary, operate PAYE and make pension contributions, and recharges the cost to the host. The agreement should state exactly what is recharged and how allowances and expenses are handled.
Who is liable if a secondee causes harm?
It turns on control, and Nigerian courts examine who was directing the work. The agreement should allocate liability expressly and it should be backed by insurance rather than by an indemnity alone.
Who owns work the secondee produces?
It depends on the arrangement, and the default may not give the host what it assumes. Intellectual property should be dealt with expressly in the secondment agreement.
Can a long secondment become employment by the host?
Where the secondee works exclusively under the host's direction, on its premises, integrated into its team, for a long period, the substance may point that way and the National Industrial Court has been willing to look past contracting structures.
Can the host hire my secondee at the end?
Unless the agreement restricts it, yes. A non solicitation clause agreed at the outset is the seconder's protection, and it is easier to negotiate then than at the end.