Terrible Middle Men - Program Director Tetra Tech Employee Review

TT is essentially a middle man. Embassies, major companies, and government agencies pay Tetra Tech to hire staff on their behalf. I was hired through Tetra Tech and placed at an embassy overseas. It sounds amazing, but in reality it isn't. First, the company/embassy/government agency where you are placed will always treat you as a second class citizen because you aren't considered permanent staff (you were hired through a middle man, so most employees view you sort of like a temp). Second, because you were hired and placed via a middle man, staff protections and policies don't apply to you. For example, at the embassy where I was placed, all embassy staff would get off for 4th of July and other public holidays. Not us TT contractors though, the 10 of us would still have to work because we were not embassy staff (even though we worked on the same teams and were doing the same jobs). Because we were hired through TT and TT didn't want to give us July 4th off, we would have to go in to work (even though the whole office was closed / everyone was out). Similarly, there was a snack area and TT staff were not allowed to take snacks or have coffee, because that was a perk for embassy staff, and we were technically TT staff (even though we all worked together and we literally did the same thing). You are basically treated differently than the entire team your working with, and TT sells this to their clients: "hire your staff through TT - they'll do the same job but you don't have to give them the same perks as your normal employees". Companies use Tetra Tech to hire on their behalf so they don't have to treat you with the same rights as full-time, permanent employees. They can fire you, change your role, take away your leave, make you work weekends, anything - you are considered a contractor and don't have any of the rights of an employee.