Full-time and part-time employment

The nature of full time and part time employment and how leave entitlements are calculated for part time employees

Full-time employment

Full-time employment is regular and ongoing work. Full-time employees generally work 38 or 40 hours a week.

Part-time employment

Part-time employment is also regular and ongoing. Part-time employees work fewer hours each week than full-time employees. Some awards and agreements may specify a minimum or maximum number of hours a part-time employee can work.

Part-time employment may be an appropriate option when there is regular work that is not enough for full-time employment, for example, when there are regular peaks and troughs in the weekly or daily workload.

Part-time employment also allows employers to provide for job sharing and to accommodate employees who wish to work fewer hours due to family responsibilities or other commitments such as study.  

Part-time employees are paid a proportion (pro rata) of the rates for full-time employees, dependent on the hours worked. For example, if employees work 19 hours a week instead of 38 hours, they are working 50 per cent of the full-time hours. They should then receive 50 per cent of the wages of full-time employees. Part time employees are entitled to sick leave each year for the number of hours normally worked in a 2 week period, and annual leave for the number of hours worked in a 4 week period.