Do you know what's the general principle called, or have a reference ? Something like "hiring without intention of providing work". Wrongful hiring ?
That is in my basic understanding of contracts it is assumed as part of the contract that there is good will between both parties to fulfill what is set out in the contract. Practices such as these would indicate that the company has no actual intention of hiring the employee and is using the hire as an additional filter.
I suppose if the contract stipulated that there was a trial period or some such it might be a way to wiggle out of it. From a quick google search it seems you can either sue for Fraud (they advertised a permanent position and that wasn't the case, or they didn't make it explicit that the position was temporary) or Breach of Contract if they didn't specify that you were in a trial period.
Would love to hear from someone with better grasp of the situation.
In the US, generally people are employed at will (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/At-will_employment) which means an employee can be dismissed by an employer for pretty much any reason and an employee can leave their job for any reason, without any notice.
There's some exceptions (for example, discrimination) but you're free to take a job in bad faith too.
Let's make an extreme example: I interview Anderson, Beth, and Charlee. I like Anderson and Beth, but Beth is a better fit for the team. Charlee is terrible.
Meanwhile, All three are interviewing with my competition. So... I give jobs to Anderson and Beth. I offer Anderson a very good salary just to make sure he doesn't go to the competition. They hire Charlee, and that's a win for me. Now I fire Anderson.
I suggest that if this was my plan all along, I wronged Anderson when I offered him a job in bad faith. I may not have wronged him when I used the "at will" provision to fire him, but I wronged him when I fraudulently offered him a job that I had zero intention of letting him earn the right to keep.
It's part of the balance between keeping a good economy and recognising that jobs aren't just profit generation for employers, but also the means by which people support themselves and their families.
The difference is not just semantics either. If they have other work already, the odds that they accept your first contract will depend on what you told them at the start.
This is how I was hired at my current job though. I was laid off for a few months, and a contract to hire position opened up. I took it, because it was better than not working -- but I would have never considered it if I was working at the time (they ended making me a permanent offer after 3 weeks, instead of 6 months, and I really like the place, so it ended up working out).