filling in for somebody

[ewelina]

Hello,

If somebody is temporarily filling in for a sick employee at work (not school), we should call it a replacement or substitution (the noun)?

Thank you,
Ewelina

[twostep]

Hello,

If somebody is temporarily filling in for a sick employee at work (not school), we should call it a replacement or substitution (the noun)?

Thank you,
Ewelina

Do not use replacement - as the word says re-place. Your employee will return. To put emphasis on the temporary situation I would use the American term temp.

[ewelina]

I looked it up in the Collins Cobuild Dictionary. It sounds well and I will use it in future.

But may I use a variation of the word in such phrase:

In the office, it is Mrs. Fox who keeps a record of temps (temping, tempings)?

In this meaning it is not about a person who fill in for somebody, but the situation itself.

I would appreciate your further help.

Ewelina

[ewelina]

One more thing...

From the definition in the dictionary you can assume it concerns only persons from the outside of the office (recommended by an agency). It does not apply to a person working in the same firm and just taking over the duties of a sick colleague, doesn't it?

Ewelina