Balancing Act: Deciding Between Part-Time and Full-Time Employees

It may seem odd to revisit the terms full-time and part-time work. After all, we've been using the terms for ages.

But have you ever sat down and defined what is part-time and what is full-time in your company? What does it mean to work full-time or part-time, how is it distributed among your teams, and does that distribution serve your goals? Additionally, have you considered how document management plays a role in organizing and maintaining these employment records efficiently?

It's a simple exercise with the potential for big payoffs. It can clarify what employment laws apply to you (and benefit you and your employees), streamline leave management processes, help you build better teams, and create a more efficient, profitable company overall.

First, let's look at the legal definitions of the two types of work—or, more accurately, the lack thereof.

What is considered part-time work?

While there is no concrete definition of part-time work in the U.S., the distinction between part-time and full-time work essentially comes down to the number of hours worked.

Below are statements from three agencies on this topic:

US Department of Labor (DOL): "The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) does not provide a definition of full-time or part-time employment. This is a matter generally for the employer to decide.
US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS): "Full-time employees are those who normally work 35 or more hours per week. Part-time employees are those who typically work fewer than 35 hours per week."
Internal Revenue Service (IRS): "For purposes of the employer shared responsibility provisions, a full-time employee in a calendar month is an employee who works an average of at least 30 hours per week or 130 hours per month."

As far as jurisdiction goes, you should listen to the DOL and the IRS rather than the BLS.

That's because the BLS's definitions of full-time and part-time come from the Current Population Survey (CPS) and are for statistical purposes only. This means that while their definitions are useful for learning how part-time work is currently defined by real-world U.S. employers, they are not legal definitions.

With that in mind, we can broadly define part-time employment in the U.S. as:

A job with fewer than 30 hours of work per week or 130 hours per month, unless the employer specifies otherwise.

Types of Part-Time Jobs

There are many jobs that can be done on a part-time basis. Some of the most common are:

Retail jobs (cashier, sales clerk)
Customer service representative
Receptionist or receptionist positions
Administrative assistant
Data entry clerk
Food service jobs (waiter/waitress, barista)
Tutor or teaching assistant
Freelance work (writing, graphic design, programming)
Library assistant or clerk
Call center operator
Personal assistant or secretary
Event staff or coordinator
Childcare worker or babysitter
Fitness instructor or personal trainer
Housekeeping or caregiver
Receptionist or receptionist
Telemarketer
Research assistant
Delivery driver

What is a full-time job?

As with part-time work, there is no single legal definition of full-time work in the United States.

However, based on our loose definition of part-time work as 30 or fewer hours of work per week, we can roughly define a full-time position in the United States as:

A job with 31-40 hours of work per week (often closer to 40), or as determined by the employer.

Types of Full-Time Jobs

Some jobs that are typically full-time include:

Software developer or programmer
Nurse or healthcare professional
Accountant or financial analyst
Marketing manager or specialist
Human resources manager or specialist
Project manager
Sales representative or sales manager
Teacher or educator
Engineer (civil engineer, mechanical engineer, electrical engineer, etc.)
Operations manager
Customer service manager
Information technology (IT) specialist or administrator
Lawyer or legal assistant
Management positions in retail, hospitality, or other industries
Financial advisor or planner
Scientist or researcher
Social worker
Electrician or plumber
Police officer or law enforcement professional
Architect
Graphic designer or art director

Pros and Cons of Part-Time Jobs

Pros of Part-Time Jobs

Flexibility: Part-time workers make scheduling easier. You can adjust staffing levels to meet business needs and find replacements more easily when someone calls in sick.
Cost savings: Salary, benefits and other staffing costs are often lower for part-time workers than for full-time employees.
Diverse skills: Because part-time work is less binding, it's easier to hire new employees, which can be a boon if you need specialized expertise for certain tasks.
Adaptability: As demand fluctuates, you can easily increase and decrease the capacity of your team with part-time workers.
Higher productivity: Because part-time workers work fewer hours, they can put more energy into their work.
Access to a larger labor pool: You can tap into a larger pool of available workers, such as students, retirees and people looking for extra income for part-time positions.
Reduced risk: Less commitment means less risk in uncertain times.

Disadvantages of part-time positions

Less continuity: Part-time employees may not have the same level of commitment and continuity as your full-time employees due to their different schedules. This can impact the cohesion of your team.
Training costs: The constant turnover among part-time employees can lead to higher training costs as new hires may need to be onboarded more often.
Lower employee engagement: Part-time employees may not feel as connected to your company culture, leading to lower engagement and loyalty.
Potential communication issues: Juggling the different schedules of part-time employees can lead to communication and coordination issues.
Potential burnout risk: Part-time employees may have other obligations outside of their job with you, which can lead to burnout if they burn the candle at both ends.

Pros and Cons of Full-Time Positions

Pros of Full-Time Positions

Permanence and stability: The peace of mind of having stable full-time employees can be worth more than the savings you would make by hiring part-time employees.
Higher commitment: Expect a higher level of commitment to your company, your goals and your long-term success.
Professional development: Full-time employees have a higher chance of growth and advancement within your company.
Investing in training: It's easier to invest when you know someone will stay for a while.
Better team integration: Familiarity and consistency promote team cohesion, and a tight-knit team means a more productive, happier team.

Cons of Full-Time Positions

Higher costs: Full-time employment often means more benefits like health insurance and retirement plans, driving up overall payroll costs.
Less flexibility: Full-time employees may not have the same flexibility in their schedules, making it harder to adjust quickly when workloads change or someone calls in sick.
Risk of burnout: Longer hours mean a higher risk of burnout, especially over longer periods of time.
Limited access to specialized skills: It's much easier (and often less expensive) to hire a part-time employee for a specific skill or task.
Less adaptability: If something changes in your business, it's often harder to reorganize a full-time workforce.

Pay and benefits

Part-time and full-time employees differ in part by their hours of work, and in the type of pay and benefits they receive.

Part-time pay and benefits

There is no law that dictates how part-time employees must be paid, but the most common form of part-time employee pay is hourly pay.

A time clock starts when part-time employees come to work at the beginning of the day, stops when they go on break or lunch, resumes afterward, and ends when they leave for the day. The total time worked during that time is the basis for the paycheck.

If you pay your employees by the hour, you must pay them at least your state's legal minimum wage. If your state doesn't have a minimum wage, you must pay them at least the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour.

In cases where part-time work exceeds 40 hours per week (remember, there is no legal boundary between part-time and full-time work), you must also pay overtime. According to the Department of Labor, overtime pay is "not less than half of regular wages for all hours worked in excess of 40 hours in a workweek."

For example, if you normally pay someone $10 per hour, you must pay them at least $15 per hour for overtime.

Note that overtime applies only to non-exempt employees, which means both hourly and salaried employees who:

Earn less than $684 per week or $35,568 annually
Perform duties outside of exempt occupations

In addition to being paid hourly, part-time employees may receive a set salary or a predetermined amount for completing a specific project or task.

Combinations of payment arrangements are also possible. For example, someone may be paid hourly and receive a commission on sales made.

Are part-time employees entitled to benefits?

U.S. law does not provide benefits for part-time employees.

This means that as long as you meet all federal, state and local minimum requirements, you can determine which part-time employees receive which benefits, if any.

Pay and Benefits for Full-Time Employees

The U.S. government does not dictate how full-time employees are paid beyond the provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

While full-time employees may be paid hourly, they typically receive a fixed salary. This is usually a flat rate paid monthly or bimonthly based on an assumed continuous 40-hour work week.

The same rules for overtime described above apply to full-time employees: If a full-time, non-exempt employee works more than 40 hours per week, he or she is entitled to overtime pay.

Are full-time employees entitled to benefits?
By and large, you are not legally required to provide benefits to full-time employees, which can include:

Health insurance
Retirement plans (e.g., 401(k))
Paid time off (vacation, holidays, sick leave)
Life insurance
Disability insurance
Flexible spending accounts (FSAs)
Health savings accounts (HSAs)
Employee assistance programs (EAPs)
Education assistance/tuition reimbursement
Wellness programs
Flexible work arrangements
Employee discounts

Sometimes you are required to provide benefits. Consider these examples (read more about each of these laws in the section below):

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires large employers (those with 50 or more full-time employees) to offer affordable health insurance that meets certain minimum requirements.
The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) requires employers to provide eligible employees with unpaid, job-protected leave for certain family and medical reasons. However, this is unpaid leave.

It also depends on where in the country you are, as there are state and local regulations governing the benefits. In Massachusetts, for example, employees who work for employers with 11 or more employees can earn and use up to 40 hours of paid sick time per calendar year.

Outside of these situations, it's largely up to you what benefits you provide and who you provide them to.

Full-time and part-time employment laws

For your own research, we recommend reading these laws on full-time and part-time employment.

Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) sets minimum wages, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and youth labor standards for employees in the private sector and federal, state, and local governments.

The Affordable Care Act (ACA)

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) is the name given to the comprehensive health care reform law (passed in 2010) and its amendments. The law addresses health insurance coverage, health care costs, and preventive care.

Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA)

The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) is a federal law that establishes minimum standards for most voluntarily established private sector pension and health insurance plans to ensure protection for individuals enrolled in those plans.

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

FMLA law authorizes eligible employees of employers to take unpaid, job-protected leave for certain family and medical reasons, with group health insurance coverage continuing under the same terms as if the employee had not taken leave.

Balancing part-time and full-time employees can enhance flexibility and efficiency. Tools like IceHrm can streamline workforce management, ensuring optimal productivity and engagement.