Part-time hours are the standard employer-considered timing for employees who work fewer hours in a week than the full-time employment standard set by the labor laws for full-time employees.
According to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) of the Wage and Hour Division, employees must receive the minimum wage and should not work more than 40 hours a week without receiving overtime payments.
The calculation of full-time hours is the common practice of working 8 hours a day for five days a week. On the other hand, the employers reduce the working hours and sometimes the workdays to 3 or 4 for part-time employees.
So, as long as the employer chooses to hire part-time employees and make them work for less than 40 hours a week, it is part-time hours. For example, working 30 or 32 hours a week is also part-time.
The federal government does not have any definition or standard work hours for part-time employees. The employers set the work hours to be flexible for part-time employees.
For example, a part-time worker may only need to work 15 hours a week in any shift–day or night. The following week, they may need to work 18 or 20 hours to cover someone else’s shift. On average, part-time hours can be around 18 to 30 hours a week.
Employers usually hire part-time employees to fill in for full-time employees or when they cannot find anyone to do a shift. However, production, retail, and other shift-based organizations hire part-time employees to handle higher traffic on weekends or holidays.
The full-time employees who work 40 hours a week get all the employer-based benefits unless the employer finds the part-time employee eligible for the compensation.
Although the decision to offer benefits entirely depends on the employer, the number of part-time employees and their working hours influence the organization’s adherence to the Affordable Care Act (ACA). According to the ACA, an employee who works 30 hours a week (130 hours a month) should get health insurance from the company; otherwise, the company will get a penalty.
Moreover, the calculation of Full-Time Equivalent Employees (FTEs) takes place for every part-time employee. Then, the company has to follow ACA Requirements for Employers if they have 50 or more FTEs.
The formula for calculating FTE for part-time hours is:
“Full-Time Employee Count + (Total Part Time Hours/30) = FTE Total”
If the FTE is over 50, the company has to provide the employees with health insurance.