The Important Differences Between Part-Time and Full-Time Hours You Need to Know
In October 2024, just over 28 million people in the US were employed part-time, compared to almost 134 million full-time employees. The reasons for working part-time and full-time differ greatly. Some may prefer the flexibility of part-time work to care for dependents or focus on personal projects. Others need to work full time as they are the sole source of income in the household.
But what counts as part-time or full-time when it comes to working hours? And which one is the better option for employees and businesses? Understanding how part-time versus full-time hours impact how employees work and your organization is a must for any HR professional.
Part-time and full-time employees require different levels of input and support, resulting in a juggling act for HR teams. You’ll need to consider your compensation strategy, workplace culture, or rewards and recognition strategies and the different requirements for each type of worker.
What Are Considered Part-Time Hours?
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employees who typically work less than 35 hours per week are considered part-time. For example, Amazon employees are considered part-time if they work 20 to 29 hours per week under the company’s current policies.
However, within federal agencies, the US Office of Personnel Management defines part-time work as less than 40 hours per week. There are no minimum hours for part-time work. Employees who participate in job sharing can work a maximum of 32 hours per week.
Are Part-Time Employees Exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act?
In the US, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) establishes guidelines that affect all employees. But the FLSA doesn’t define part-time or full-time employment—this is determined by the employer.
What Are Considered Full-Time Hours?
There are several definitions of what is considered full-time hours, and these vary depending on the source:
- Bureau of Labor Statistics: More than 35 hours per week
- The IRS: at least 30 hours per week on average, or 130 hours per month.
We understand that this makes things a little tricky for HR professionals working with both part-time and full-time team members. Take direction from these official organizations and put a policy in place around hours that work for your business.
How Do Part-Time Work and Full-Time Jobs Differ?
The number of hours worked is the main difference between part-time workers and those who are employed full-time. Some of the key differences between part-time and full-time workers include:
- The number of hours they work
- How much paid time off they are entitled to
- The responsibilities they are given
Full-time employees may be given additional responsibilities as they have more availability, but it’s important to never treat part-time employees less favorably or deny them the same opportunities).
The number of Americans working part-time has also increased year over year, so you need to be carefully considering the requirements for these team members and the impact their working hours and limitations have on your workload planning.
What’s The Difference Between On-Call and Part-Time?
Unlike part-time or full-time jobs, an on call job doesn’t have a fixed schedule. This means that the employee must make themselves available for a window of time where they could be called in to work if needed.
Part-Time Hours Workers: Pros and Cons
Better work-life balance: Working shorter hours and fewer days a week may help employees have more energy overall.
Easier to gain experience: Part-time employees can try new jobs without needing a lot of prior experience, and they can look for the right company culture without committing to a full-time contract.
More affordable: Part-time workers may be eligible for certain statutory benefits—like workers compensation coverage—but it’s often up to the employer’s discretion. If you’re on a tight budget, you can hire qualified professionals part-time without footing the full-time bill.
More workplace flexibility: Part-time workers can bridge personnel gaps quickly and efficiently.
Fewer benefits: While some companies offer benefits for part-timers, it’s not as common as for full-time positions.
Less job security: They may be seen as more expendable since employers don’t have to make as big an investment in them.
Schedule stress: Part-time workers may have less consistency with working hours.
Lower engagement: Part-time employees don’t spend as much time at work, so they may not contribute as much to company culture or be motivated to achieve company goals.
Less dependability: Again, because there’s less involvement and commitment on both sides, part-timers may feel less beholden to their employer’s needs.
Managerial stress: Part-time schedules mean more workers for managers to supervise and train, and managers have to repeat employee training and other communication more frequently.
Full-Time Hours Workers: Pros and Cons
Better benefits: Applicable Large Employers (ALE) must provide eligible employees certain benefits—like health cover.
Higher take-home pay: Full-time employees, especially salaried positions, work more hours, so they earn more money.
More responsibility: Since they spend more time at work, full-time employees can handle more broad responsibilities like management or inventory tracking.
Increased loyalty: The additional benefits attached to full-time employment tend to create more engagement and dedication.
Risk of burnout: More hours, responsibility, and higher expectations can lead full-timers to feel overwhelmed, taken advantage of, or just plain tired of their job.
Less flexibility: Employees might not feel like they can maintain a good work-life balance because of the hours they work.
Risk of employee burnout: We’re saying it twice because it cuts both ways—for employers, pushing full-timers too hard can kill the golden goose and make them less productive or engaged.
Higher payroll and benefits costs: Because of overtime rules and Affordable Care Act (ACA) requirements, you may need to pay them more for their work and have to offer health insurance.
Federal Laws That Impact Part-Time vs. Full-Time Work
It’s important to understand how the hours employees work impact federal laws and what applies to them. We’ve broken down some to consider carefully when managing your team.
The Affordable Care Act
Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) considers an employee full-time if they work an average of at least 30 hours a week or 130 hours a month. However, the IRS and ACA don’t regulate when employees put in their hours. This means that 30-hour cut-off still leaves employers a fair amount of flexibility when determining what constitutes part-time versus full-time hours.
For example, a part-time worker at one business could work a morning shift every weekday, but a different business might have their part-time employees working longer hours on just a few days a week.
The ACA also requires Applicable Large Employers (ALEs) to offer affordable, minimum essential healthcare coverage and report additional information to the IRS—or they may be subject to penalties.
An employer is considered an ALE if they had at least 50 full-time or full-time equivalent employees (FTEs) during the previous year. But it’s important to note that even if you don’t have 50 full-time employees, you might still be considered an ALE if all your employees’ work hours add up to the equivalent of 50 full-time workers’ hours.
How To Calculate Your Number of FTEs:
- Calculate how many hours your part-time workers spend on average per week and add all the hours together. This should be anyone who works under 30 hours a week or under 130 hours a month.
- Divide that number by 30 and round up to the nearest whole number.
- Add this number to your total number of full-time employees and that’s how many FTEs you have.
Or you can use this calculator.
If you have 50 or more FTEs, then you’ll be on the hook for either providing health insurance that meets the ACA minimum requirements or making an employer-shared responsibility payment. If you have under 50 FTEs, you’re considered a small business, which means you don’t have to offer health insurance (but you still can if you want to).
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
The FLSA regulates several aspects of employment, including child labor, recordkeeping, minimum wage, and overtime. According to the FLSA you’ll need to pay employees overtime pay of at least time and half (with some exceptions) if they meet the following criteria:
- They work over 40 hours in a single workweek.
- They’re considered non-exempt. Non-exempt employees are usually paid by the hour, and not always eligible for health insurance and other benefits. Exempt employees are usually paid on a salary basis and not covered by FLSA overtime pay provisions.
But what does that mean for your full-time employees? Most likely, if they’re hourly workers, you’ll need to pay them overtime when they work more than 40 hours a week. But if they’re salaried (exempt) employees, you can ask them to work more than 40 hours a week without paying them overtime.
Scheduling: Part-Time vs Full-Time Hours
There’s one fact that usually rings true for part-time hours – they’re more flexible, both for the business and the employee. That means hours can be shaped around business and life needs. Full-time hours tend to be more restrictive.
One danger that companies can run into is attempting to fit part-time hours into full-time responsibilities—whether that’s overloading a role or trying to oversee two employees for one job. With part-time hours, you’re starting to spin more plates and that can be tricky for a HR team or management to handle. That means you could end up with gaps in your coverage from messy organization or communication.
Additionally, benefits may not be the same for part-time employees. As an example, benefits for workers, such as a new perk or free lunches, may not be included for part-time workers. These kinds of issues can create friction and leave part-time employees feeling second-best.
How Long Is a Part-Time Shift?
No set number of hours makes up a part-time shift, as this depends on the industry, organization and specific role.
Case Study: Why Does Part-Time vs. Full-Time Definition Matter?
Note: We’ve changed the names of all involved.
Here’s a cautionary tale from one of our colleagues, John, on how not to squander talented employees by mishandling their part-time versus full-time hours status.
In a previous role as a retail manager at a small operation, John hired a friend—we’ll call her Andrea—as a part-time sales associate at the store he managed. Andrea ended up performing so well in her part-time role that John promoted her to assistant manager, a position that would move her to working full-time.
Now that sounds like a hiring dream come true, no? Everyone involved took advantage of all the benefits of part-time work:
- The business didn’t have to spend as much money hiring and training Andrea up front.
- John got to see how well Andrea performed before fully committing to a full-time hire.
- Andrea got to test the waters before jumping straight in with a full-time position.
“The business owner simply didn’t invest in or value his full-time employees. Instead, he demanded they work long hours for barely competitive wages, offered meager benefits, and provided no development path for talented workers.”
But this potentially dream scenario was in fact a worst-case scenario, especially for Andrea. “She burned out,” John explains. “It was more than she’d wanted, and we were asking too much of her. What started as a fun way to make some money a few days a week became a burden she was only willing to bear out of her friendship with me.”
More commitment from Andrea meant more involvement in the business’s operation and culture, which had major flaws. The business owner simply didn’t invest in or value his full-time employees. Instead, he demanded they work long hours for barely competitive wages, offered meager benefits, and provided no development path for talented workers like Andrea.
John points out that, “Andrea was a highly educated, hard-working, and smart woman in a dead-end job. She was a great sales associate and a great assistant manager, but she was also smart enough to know that she was worth more.” And so, she left the business entirely.
With a better culture, better compensation, and more career development opportunities—like a path to a buyer or regional manager role—Andrea might have been happy as a full-time employee. Or if she had stayed part-time, she might have continued being a super sales associate, energized and productive because she didn’t see it as a burden. “But instead, we lost a great employee,” says John.
Part-Time or Full-Time? Either Way, Do the Right Thing
As with many aspects of HR, there are lots of rules and regulations to consider with different types of employees. And while those are certainly important from a budget and compliance perspective, John’s experience with Andrea highlights that employers shouldn’t lose sight of the employee experience as they weigh the pros and cons of different employee schedules.
Whether your employees are working full-time or part-time hours, you need to help them feel valued and invested in if you want your business to succeed. You also need to ensure your part-time roles are able to be properly managed. With increased flexibility comes a need to better manage schedules to ensure the part-time worker isn’t overburdened—and neither are the day-to-day operations of your company. Make managing all your staff easier with BambooHR Data and Reporting.