A full-time job is

employment Employment is a relationship between two parties regulating the provision of paid labour services. Usually based on a contract, one party, the employer, which might be a corporation, a not-for-profit organization, a co-operative, or any othe ...

in which workers work a minimum number of hours defined as such by their employer.

Overview

Full-time employment often comes with

benefits Benefit or benefits may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Benefit'' (album), by Jethro Tull, 1970 * "Benefits" (''How I Met Your Mother''), a 2009 TV episode * '' The Benefit'', a 2012 Egyptian action film Businesses and organisatio ...

that are not typically offered to

part-time Part-time can refer to: * Part-time job, a job that has fewer hours a week than a full-time job * Part-time student, a student, usually in higher education, who takes fewer course credits than a full-time student * Part Time Part Time (styliz ...

, temporary, or

flexible Flexible may refer to: Science and technology * Power cord, a flexible electrical cable. ** Flexible cable, an Electrical cable as used on electrical appliances * Flexible electronics * Flexible response * Flexible-fuel vehicle * Flexible rake rec ...

workers, such as

annual leave Annual leave is a period of paid time off work granted by employers to employees to be used for whatever the employee wishes. Depending on the employer's policies, differing number of days may be offered, and the employee may be required to gi ...

sick leave Sick leave (or paid sick days or sick pay) is paid time off from work that workers can use to stay home to address their health needs without losing pay. It differs from paid vacation time or time off work to deal with personal matters, because sic ...

, and

health insurance Health insurance or medical insurance (also known as medical aid in South Africa) is a type of insurance that covers the whole or a part of the risk of a person incurring medical expenses. As with other types of insurance, risk is shared among ma ...

. Part-time jobs are mistakenly thought by some to not be

career The career is an individual's metaphorical "journey" through learning, work and other aspects of life. There are a number of ways to define career and the term is used in a variety of ways. Definitions The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' defin ...

s. However, legislation exists to stop employers from discriminating against part-time workers so this should not be a factor when making decisions on career advancement. They generally pay more than

jobs per hour, and this is similarly discriminatory if the pay decision is based on part-time status as a primary factor. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) does not define full-time employment or part-time employment. This is a matter generally to be determined by the employer (US Department of Labor). The definition by the employer can vary and is generally published in a company's Employee Handbook. Companies commonly require from 32 to 40 hours per week to be defined as full-time and therefore eligible for benefits. Full-time status varies between company and is often based on the shift the

employee Employment is a relationship between two parties regulating the provision of paid labour services. Usually based on a contract, one party, the employer, which might be a corporation, a not-for-profit organization, a co-operative, or any other ...

must work during each workweek. The "standard" work week consists of five

eight-hour day The eight-hour day movement (also known as the 40-hour week movement or the short-time movement) was a social movement to regulate the length of a working day, preventing excesses and abuses. An eight-hour work day has its origins in the 16 ...

s, commonly served between 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM or 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM totaling 40 hours. While a

four-day week A four-day workweek is an arrangement where a workplace or place of education has its employees or students work or attend school, college or university over the course of four days per week rather than the more customary five. This arrangement ...

generally consists of four ten-hour days, it may also consist of as little as nine hours for a total of a 36-hour workweek. Twelve-hour shifts are often three days per week, unless the company has the intention of paying out the employee overtime. Overtime is legally paid out anytime an employee works more than 40 hours per week. The legal minimum for overtime starts at Base Pay + One-Half. The increased payout is considered to compensate slightly for the increased

fatigue Fatigue describes a state of tiredness that does not resolve with rest or sleep. In general usage, fatigue is synonymous with extreme tiredness or exhaustion that normally follows prolonged physical or mental activity. When it does not resolve ...

which a person experiences on such long shifts. Shifts can also be very irregular, as in

retail Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholesaler, and t ...

, but are still full-time if the required number of hours is reached. There are some situations where a person who needs full-time work is dropped to part-time, which is sometimes a form of

constructive dismissal In employment law, constructive dismissal, also called constructive discharge or constructive termination, occurs when an employee resigns as a result of the employer creating a hostile work environment. Since the resignation was not truly volu ...

to avoid paying

unemployment benefits Unemployment benefits, also called unemployment insurance, unemployment payment, unemployment compensation, or simply unemployment, are payments made by authorized bodies to unemployment, unemployed people. In the United States, benefits are fun ...

to a laid-off worker.

Definitions by country

Full-time

workweek The weekdays and weekend are the complementary parts of the week devoted to labour and rest, respectively. The legal weekdays (British English), or workweek (American English), is the part of the seven-day week devoted to working. In most of th ...

s: * : approximately 38 hours * : 38 hours * : 40–44 hours * : 45 hours * : 37.5 hours - 40.0 hours * : 37 hours * : 35 hours (government-mandated) * : 35–40 hours * : 40 hours * : 48 hours (as per the Factories Act 1948, a person cannot work for more than 48 hours in a week) * : 40 hours * : 43 hours * : 40 hours * : 35–40 hours * : 40 hours (often regulated to 37.5 excl. lunch break) * : 40 hours * : 40 hours * : 40 hours (not formally defined) * : 45 hours (not formally defined) * : 35 hours (not formally defined), 37.5 hours, or 40 hours contracts are all commonplace. * : 30 hours or more, according to the definitions in the

Affordable Care Act The Affordable Care Act (ACA), formally known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and colloquially known as Obamacare, is a landmark U.S. federal statute enacted by the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by Presid ...

. " The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) does not define full-time employment or part-time employment. This is a matter generally to be determined by the employer." The FLSA does, however, define the

and thus sets the maximum workweek at 40 hours, but provides that employees working beyond 40 hours a week receive additional

overtime Overtime is the amount of time someone works beyond normal working hours. The term is also used for the pay received for this time. Normal hours may be determined in several ways: *by custom (what is considered healthy or reasonable by society), ...

bonus salaries. However, in practice, only 42% of employees work 40-hour weeks. The average workweek for full-time employees is 47 hours. Increasingly, employers are offering compressed work schedules to employees. Some government and corporate employees now work a 9/80 work schedule (80 hours over 9 days during a two-week period)—commonly 9-hour days Monday to Thursday, 8 hours on one Friday, and off the following Friday. A person working more than full-time is working

, and may be entitled to extra per-hour

wage A wage is payment made by an employer to an employee for work done in a specific period of time. Some examples of wage payments include compensatory payments such as ''minimum wage'', ''prevailing wage'', and ''yearly bonuses,'' and remuner ...

s (but not

salary A salary is a form of periodic payment from an employer to an employee, which may be specified in an employment contract. It is contrasted with piece wages, where each job, hour or other unit is paid separately, rather than on a periodic basis. ...

Academic usage

“Full-time” can also be used in reference to a

student A student is a person enrolled in a school or other educational institution. In the United Kingdom and most commonwealth countries, a "student" attends a secondary school or higher (e.g., college or university); those in primary or elementar ...

(usually in

higher education Higher education is tertiary education leading to award of an academic degree. Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or tertiary education, is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after completi ...

) who takes a full load of course work each

academic term An academic term (or simply term) is a portion of an academic year, the time during which an educational institution holds classes. The schedules adopted vary widely. In most countries, the academic year begins in late summer or early autumn and ...

. The distinction between a full-time and part-time student varies markedly from country to country. As an example, in the United States a student is commonly defined as being in full-time education when they undertake 12 or more

credit hour Credit (from Latin verb ''credit'', meaning "one believes") is the trust which allows one party to provide money or resources to another party wherein the second party does not reimburse the first party immediately (thereby generating a debt), ...

s. This translates to 12 "hours" (often of 50 minutes instead of 60 minutes each) in class per week. "Lab hours" often count for less, only as one-half or one-third of a credit hour. International students must maintain full-time status for

student visa A visa (from the Latin ''charta visa'', meaning "paper that has been seen") is a conditional authorization granted by a polity to a foreigner that allows them to enter, remain within, or leave its territory. Visas typically include limits on t ...

s. Adult students (typically up to age 22 or 23) may also fall under their parents' health insurance (and possibly

car insurance Vehicle insurance (also known as car insurance, motor insurance, or auto insurance) is insurance for cars, trucks, motorcycles, and other road vehicles. Its primary use is to provide financial protection against physical damage or bodily injury r ...

and other services) if they are full-time, except for one term per year (usually

summer Summer is the hottest of the four temperate seasons, occurring after spring and before autumn. At or centred on the summer solstice, the earliest sunrise and latest sunset occurs, daylight hours are longest and dark hours are shortest, wit ...

). Students may also be eligible for

elected office An official is someone who holds an office (function or mandate, regardless whether it carries an actual working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority, (either their own or that of their ...

student government A students' union, also known by many other names, is a student organization present in many colleges, universities, and high schools. In higher education, the students' union is often accorded its own building on the campus, dedicated to social, ...

or other

student organization A student is a person enrolled in a school or other educational institution. In the United Kingdom and most commonwealth countries, a "student" attends a secondary school or higher (e.g., college or university); those in primary or elementary ...

s only if they are full-time. The

Department of Labor The Ministry of Labour ('' UK''), or Labor ('' US''), also known as the Department of Labour, or Labor, is a government department responsible for setting labour standards, labour dispute mechanisms, employment, workforce participation, training, a ...

has a full-time student program which allows employers to pay no less than 85% of the minimum wage to the student/employee.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Full-Time Employment classifications

Overview

Definitions by country

Academic usage

See also

References