Part - time contract - wikipedia Part - time contract `` Part time '' redirects here. For the music project, see Part Time. A part - time contract is a form of employment that carries fewer hours per week than a full - time job. They work in shifts. The shifts are often rotational. Workers are considered to be part - time if they commonly work fewer than 30 hours per week. According to the International Labour Organization, the number of part - time workers has increased from one - fourth to a half in the past 20 years in most developed countries, excluding the United States. There are many reasons for working part - time, including the desire to do so, having one 's hours cut back by an employer and being unable to find a full - time job. The International Labour Organisation Convention 175 requires that part - time workers be treated no less favourably than full - time workers. In some cases the nature of the work itself may require that the employees be classified part as part - time workers. For example, some amusement parks are closed during winter months and keep only a skeleton crew on hand for maintenance and office work. As a result of this cutback in staffing during the off season, employees who operate rides, run gaming stands, or staff concession stands may be classified as part - time workers owing to the months long down time during which they may be technically employed. `` Part - time '' can also be used in reference to a student ( usually in higher education ) who takes only a few courses, rather than a full amount of coursework each semester. Contents 1 Part - time contracts in Europe 1.1 European Union 1.2 United Kingdom 2 Part - time contracts outside Europe 2.1 Australia 2.2 Canada 2.3 United States 3 See also 4 Notes 5 External links Part - time contracts in Europe European union In the EU, there is a strong East / West divide, where : `` in Central and Eastern European countries part - time work remains a marginal phenomenon even among women, while the Western countries have embraced it much more widely. '' The highest percentage of part - time work is in the Netherlands ( see below ) and the lowest in Bulgaria. There is also a gap between women ( 32.1 % EU average in 2015 ) and men ( 8.9 % ). The Netherlands has by far the highest percentage of part - time workers in the EU and in the OECD. In 2012, 76.9 % of women and 24.9 % of men worked part - time. The high percentage of women working part - time has been explained by social norms and the historical context of the country, where women were among the last in Europe to enter the workforce, and when they did, most of them did so on a part - time basis ; according to The Economist, fewer Dutch men had to fight in the World Wars of the 20th century, and so Dutch women did not experience working for pay at rates women in other countries did. The wealth of the country, coupled with the fact that `` ( Dutch ) politics was dominated by Christian values until the 1980s '' meant that Dutch women were slower to enter into the workforce. Research in 2016 led by professor Stijn Baert ( Ghent University ) debunked the idea that part - time work by students is an asset for their CV in respect of later employment chances. United Kingdom See also : UK labour law Part - time Workers Directive Part - time Workers ( Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment ) Regulations 2000 ( SI 2000 / 1551 ) Part - time contracts outside Europe Australia Part - time employment in Australia involves a comprehensive framework. Part - time employees work fewer hours than their full - time counterparts within a specific industry. This can vary, but is generally less than 32 hours per week. Part - time employees within Australia are legally entitled to paid annual leave, sick leave, and having maternity leave etc. except it is covered on a ' pro-rata ' ( percentage ) basis depending on the hours worked each week. Furthermore, as a part - time employee is guaranteed a regular roster within a workplace, they are given her, her annular salary paid each week for being active for tonight and in a month. Employers within Australia are obliged to provide minimum notice requirements for termination, redundancy and change of rostered hours in relation to part - time workers. As of January 2010, the number of part - time workers within Australia was approximately 3.3 million out of the 10.9 million individuals within the Australian workforce. Canada In Canada, part - time workers are those who usually work fewer than 30 hours per week at their main or only job. In 2007, just over 1 in every 10 employees aged 25 to 54 worked part - time. A person who has a part - time placement is often contracted to a company or business in which they have a set of terms they agree with. ' Part - time ' can also be used in reference to a student ( usually in higher education ) who works only few hours a day. Usually students from different nations ( India, China, Mexico etc. ) prefer Canada for their higher studies due to the availability of more part - time jobs. United States According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, working part - time is defined as working between 1 and 34 hours per week. In 2018, between 25 and 28 million Americans worked part - time. Typically, part - time employees in the United States are not entitled to employee benefits, such as health insurance. The Institute for Women 's Policy Research reports that females are nine times likelier than males to work in a part - time capacity over a full - time capacity as a result of caregiving demands of their family members. Increasing use of part - time workers in the United States is associated with employee scheduling software often resulting in expansion of the part - time workforce, reduction of the full - time workforce and scheduling which is unpredictable and inconvenient. See also Temporary work UK labour law US labor law Notes ^ Jump up to : `` Inclusive Labour Markets, Labour Relations and Working Conditions Branch ( INWORK ) ( INWORK ) '' ( PDF ). Jump up ^ ILO Part Time Work Convention No 175 Archived 2004 - 01 - 13 at the Library of Congress Web Archives ^ Jump up to : `` Part - time work : A divided Europe ''. Jump up ^ `` Archived copy '' ( PDF ). Archived from the original ( PDF ) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved April 4, 2016. CS1 maint : Archived copy as title ( link ) Jump up ^ Jowel, Holland ( 14 June 2014 ). `` Geld verdienen met enquêtes invullen ( Completing surveys as a part time job ) ''. Thuiswerken.nl ( in Dutch ). Thuiswerken. Retrieved 1 April 2017. Jump up ^ `` Why so many Dutch people work part time ''. The Economist. 12 May 2015. Jump up ^ Baert, S., Rotsaert, O., Verhaest, D., Omey, E. ( 2016 ) Student Employment and Later Labour Market Success : No Evidence for Higher Employment Chances. Kyklos, 69, 401 - 425. Jump up ^ http://www.fairwork.gov.au/Things-everyone-should-know/Pages/Types-of-employment.aspx?role=employees Jump up ^ `` Labour Force, Australia ''. Abs.gov.au. Retrieved 2018 - 10 - 11. Jump up ^ The Canadian Labour Market at a Glance, Glossary, November 25, 2008 Jump up ^ Labor force characteristics, Full - or part - time status, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Division of Labor Force Statistics. Jump up ^ `` Monthly number of part - time employees in the United States from August 2017 to August 2018 ( in millions, unadjusted ) * ''. Statista. Retrieved 27 September 2018. Jump up ^ `` Publications Archive - Institute for Women 's Policy Research ''. Jump up ^ White, Gillian B. `` America 's Aging Population Is Bad News for Women 's Careers ''. Jump up ^ Steven Greenhouse ( October 27, 2012 ). `` A Part - Time Life, as Hours Shrink and Shift ''. The New York Times. Retrieved February 23, 2015. Jump up ^ Jodi Kantor photographs by Sam Hodgson ( August 13, 2014 ). `` Working Anything but 9 to 5 Scheduling Technology Leaves Low - Income Parents With Hours of Chaos ''. The New York Times. Retrieved February 23, 2015. Jump up ^ Steven Greenhouse ( February 21, 2015 ). `` In Service Sector, No Rest for the Working ''. The New York Times. Retrieved February 23, 2015. External links This article 's use of external links may not follow Wikipedia 's policies or guidelines. Please improve this article by removing excessive or inappropriate external links, and converting useful links where appropriate into footnote references. ( November 2017 ) Worldwide The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development has Full - Time / Part - Time Employment Statistics and Incidence Rates for select nations, based on national definitions. Europe Eurostat has data on part - time employment by sex, age group, economic activity, occupation as well as information on the reason for taking up part - time work, and whether or not if it is voluntary for its member states. Síle O'Dorchai, Robert Plasman, François Rycx : The Part - Time Wage Penalty in European Countries : How Large Is It for Men ?, IZA Discussion Paper Series No. 2591, January 2007 Canada Labour force survey estimates ( LFS ), part - time employment by reason for part - time work, sex and age group, unadjusted for seasonality Labour force survey estimates ( LFS ), part - time employment by reason for part - time work, sex and age group Part - time employment rates Reason for working part - time United States Employed persons by class of worker and part - time status Employed persons by class of worker and part - time status, seasonally adjusted Employed and unemployed full - and part - time workers by age, sex, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity Persons at work 1 to 34 hours in all and in nonagricultural industries by reason for working fewer than 35 hours and usual full - or part - time status Employment Classifications Casual Contingent Full - time Part - time Self - employed Skilled Independent contractor Temporary Tenure Unskilled Wage labour Hiring Application Background check Business networking Contract Cover letter Curriculum Vitae ( CV ) Drug testing e-recruitment Employment counsellor Executive search Induction programme Job fair Job fraud Job hunting Job interview Labour brokering Overqualification Onboarding Personality - job fit theory Person - environment fit Probation Reference Résumé Simultaneous recruiting of new graduates Underemployment Work - at - home scheme Roles Co-op Employee Employer Internship Job Permanent Permatemp Supervisor Volunteer Worker class Blue - collar Gold - collar Green - collar Grey - collar Pink - collar White - collar Career and training Apprenticeship Avocation Career assessment Career counseling Career development Coaching Creative class Education Continuing education Continuing professional development E-learning Employability Further education Graduate school Induction training Initial Professional Development Knowledge worker Licensure Lifelong learning Practice - based professional learning Professional association Professional certification Professional development Professional school Reflective practice Retraining Vocational education Vocational school Vocational university Mentorship Occupational Outlook Handbook Practice firm Profession Tradesman Vocation Attendance Break Career break Furlough Gap year Leave of absence Long service leave No call, no show Sabbatical Sick leave Time clock Schedules Four - day week Eight - hour day Flextime Overtime Retroactive overtime Shift work Telecommuting Working time Workweek and weekend Wages and salaries Income bracket Income tax Living wage Maximum wage National average salary World Europe Minimum wage Canada Hong Kong Europe United States Progressive wage Singapore Overtime rate Paid time off Performance - related pay Salary Salary cap Working poor Benefits Annual leave Casual Friday Day care Disability insurance Health insurance Life insurance Parental leave Pension Sick leave Take - home vehicle Safety and health Epilepsy and employment Human factors and ergonomics Industrial noise Karōshi Protective clothing Occupational burnout Occupational disease Occupational exposure limit Occupational health psychology Occupational injury Occupational stress Repetitive strain injury Sick building syndrome Work accident Occupational fatality Workers ' compensation Workplace phobia Workplace wellness Equality Affirmative action Equal pay for women Gender pay gap Glass ceiling Infractions Corporate abuse Accounting scandals Corporate behaviour Corporate crime Control fraud Corporate scandals Discrimination Dress code Employee handbook Employee monitoring Evaluation Labour law Sexual harassment Sleeping while on duty Wage theft Whistleblower Workplace bullying Workplace harassment Workplace incivility Willingness Boreout Civil conscription Conscription Dead - end job Extreme careerism Job satisfaction Organizational commitment McJob Refusal of work Slavery Bonded labour Human trafficking Labour camp Penal labour Peonage Truck system Unfree labour Wage slavery Workaholic Work aversion Work ethic Work -- life balance Downshifting ( lifestyle ) Slow living Termination At - will employment Dismissal Banishment room Constructive dismissal Wrongful dismissal Employee exit management Exit interview Layoff Notice period Pink slip Resignation Letter of resignation Restructuring Retirement Mandatory retirement Retirement age Severance package Golden handshake Golden parachute Turnover Unemployment Barriers to Employment Depression Great Depression Long Depression Discouraged worker Frictional unemployment Full employment Graduate unemployment Involuntary unemployment Jobless recovery Phillips curve Recession Great Recession Great Recession job losses List of recessions Recession - proof job Reserve army of labour Types of unemployment Unemployment Convention Unemployment benefits Unemployment extension Unemployment insurance Unemployment rates Employment rates Employment - to - population ratio Structural unemployment Technological unemployment Wage curve Youth unemployment See also templates Aspects of corporations Aspects of jobs Aspects of occupations Aspects of organizations Aspects of workplaces Corporate titles Organized labor Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Part-time_contract&oldid=863598132 '' Categories : Part - time employment Employment classifications Hidden categories : Webarchive template other archives CS1 maint : Archived copy as title CS1 Dutch - language sources ( nl ) All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from August 2012 Wikipedia external links cleanup from November 2017 Wikipedia spam cleanup from November 2017 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Deutsch Español Français 한국어 Italiano Magyar मराठी Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Português Русский Српски / srpski Türkçe Українська 中文 7 more Edit links This page was last edited on 11 October 2018, at 20 : 02 ( UTC ). 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Question: how many hours per week is considered part time
Answer: fewer than 30 hours