Which temp/casual job platform is better?

 

I have my fair share of using apps (platforms) for temp/one-day jobs like Jobs on Demand (JOD) and EL Connect.

And like always, these are based on personal experience and I could be biased.

I also want to make it very clear that I haven't gotten any jobs from EL Connect, so I can’t comment on whether they actually pay or whether the rumours about them “deducting money without good reason” are true.

Anyway, I’m going to compare them over a few categories, so let’s go!

Job varieties

I think JOD has much more variety compared to EL Connect.

I did a quick search on both apps just now and saw that JOD offers jobs ranging from waitress/service crew to cashier, sales assistants and cleaners. They have a lot more partners (or “clients” as they call them) like Fairprice, McDonald’s, IMH, etc.

EL Connect seems to consist more of cleaning, banquet and parcel packing/sorting jobs.

Loyalty Programs and Penalties

Both platforms have rules/regulations and some kind of loyalty system.

For EL Connect, there are Lucky Draws, Monthly Incentives and Referral Fees.

EL Connect Monthly Incentives are as follows:

JOD doesn’t have Lucky Draws but does have a Referral program where both the referrer and the new user get $10 each. It also has a point system where you earn points and exchange them for vouchers.

There’s also a Member tier bonus — Gold members earn the most points per working hour, while Bronze members earn the least.

For example: Gold = 7 points/hour, Bronze = 2 points/hour.

They also run ongoing campaigns/challenges so you can earn extra incentives.

(Example: FHC challenge — complete 10 FHC jobs within the period and receive $200.)

  

As for penalties, JOD doesn’t seem to have any fines for last-minute cancellation, but cancelling without a valid reason will of course affect your trust rating and, if it happens too often, can lead to suspension.

For EL Connect, there’s a $30 fine for a first-time last-minute cancellation and $80 after that.

There’s no clear definition of what counts as “last minute” on the app, so I’m not sure how last minute is considered “last minute”.

Acceptance Rate and Cancellations

Well, for this part, I can be a little biased because I didn't get to work on EL Connect at all. You see they are very frustrating to work with.

1) I have applied for at least 6 jobs on their app. Out of which, I was selected for 3 of them. And then why did I not worked any of these jobs?

Cancellation and by "the Employer"!

And the cancellation can be quite last minute. Like the day before. The most frustrating thing is you won't get a notification on the app itself, you need to check in the app to see if the job still appears under the Scheduled job page OR check your email! Which mean if you're NOT checking your app or email constantly, you might end up with a wasted trip!

2) I have applied for one job at least 8 days in advance, and still I got cancelled last minute. And note that I didn't have any bad records on their app because I simply haven't work with them yet. So I do not think it's of "bad conduct" or "low rating"!.

3) For the last job, the job was cancelled because Employer "change to Wednesday". I was speechless, it feels like to me that the employer doesn't know which days they need extra manpower.  

I didn't try again anymore because I feel it's quite a waste of time. 

For JOD, I didn't get selected for a lot of time (especially after I got rated 3 stars for a job I really didn't get enough training for). But when I did get selected, I never got cancelled at all. So I know that once I am selected, I can start preparing for the job because cancellation are very rare.

But do know that competition on JOD is higher in my opinion.

Payment

This will be very biased because it will be one sided. But I do want to say that JOD pays directly to your bank account after deducting the Insurance fee.

Everything is stated clearly on their job card - how much per hour, how much gross pay you'll get and how much insurance will be deducted. Then that amount will be credited fully to your bank account within 48 hours (usually)! I have always gotten my pay the next day so far.

For EL Connect, I think there is also some insurance fees but those are not stated on the job card itself. If memory serves me correctly, it was only stated in the page when you're awarded the job. Your pay is credited to your Wallets (in the APP) and  there is a minimum amount to cash-out which is $30 and a $0.50 fees.

These are the information I gathered from the site itself and my own experience. 

If you ask me which platform do I prefer, I think it's pretty obvious. I won't say EL Connect is a bad platform, I know they do pay their users (from the reviews I read) but many are also frustrated by their operations and lack of varieties in their jobs.

If you ask me, I definitely trust JOD much more.