Full - time - wikipedia Full - time The examples and perspective in this article may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. You may improve this article, discuss the issue on the talk page, or create a new article, as appropriate. ( April 2016 ) Full - time employment is employment in which a person works a minimum number of hours defined as such by his / her employer. Full - time employment often comes with benefits that are not typically offered to part - time, temporary, or flexible workers, such as annual leave, sickleave, and health insurance. Part - time jobs are mistakenly thought by some to not be careers. However, legislation exists to stop employers from discriminating against part - time workers so this should not be a factor when making decisions on career advancement. They generally pay more than part - time jobs per hour, and this is similarly discriminatory if the pay decision is based on part - time status as a primary factor. The Fair Labor Standards Act ( FLSA ) does not define full - time employment or part - time employment. This is a matter generally to be determined by the employer ( US Department of Labor ). The definition by employer can vary and is generally published in a company 's Employee Handbook. Companies commonly require from 35 to 40 hours per week to be defined as full - time and therefore eligible for benefits. Full - Time status varies between company and is often based on the shift the employee must work during each work week. The `` standard '' work week consists of five eight - hour days, commonly served between 9 : 00 AM to 5 : 00 PM or 10 : 00 AM to 6 : 00 PM totaling 40 hours. While a four - day week generally consists of four ten - hour days ; it may also consist of as little as nine hours for a total of a 36 - hour work week. Twelve - hour shifts are often three days per week, unless the company has the intention of paying out the employee overtime. Overtime is legally paid out anytime an employee works more than 40 hours per week. The legal minimum for overtime starts at Base Pay + One - Half. The increased payout is considered to compensate slightly for the increased fatigue which a person experiences on such long shifts. Shifts can also be very irregular, as in retail, but are still full - time if the required number of hours is reached. There are some situations where a person who needs full - time work is dropped to part - time, which is sometimes a form of constructive dismissal to avoid paying unemployment benefits to a laid - off worker. Contents 1 Definitions by country 2 Academic Usage 3 See also 4 References Definitions by country Full - time workweeks : Australia : around 35 -- 40 hours Belgium : 38 hours Brazil : 40 -- 44 hours Chile : 45 hours Denmark : 37 hours France : 35 hours ( government - mandated ) Germany : 35 -- 40 hours Iceland : 40 hours India : 48 hours ( as per the Factories Act 1948, a person can not work for more than 48 hours in a week ) Taiwan : 40 hours Israel : 43 hours Italy : 40 hours Netherlands : 35 -- 40 hours Norway : 40 hours ( often regulated to 37.5 excl. lunch break ) Poland : 40 hours Russia : 40 hours Sweden : 40 hours ( not formally defined ) United Kingdom : 35 hours ( not formally defined ), 37.5 hours, or 40 hours contracts are all commonplace. United States : 30 hours or more, according to the definitions in the Affordable Care Act. `` The Fair Labor Standards Act ( FLSA ) does not define full - time employment or part - time employment. This is a matter generally to be determined by the employer. '' A person working more than full - time is working overtime, and may be entitled to extra per - hour wages ( but not salary ). Academic usage `` Full - time '' can also be used in reference to a student ( usually in higher education ) who takes a full load of course work each academic term. The distinction between a full - time and part - time student varies markedly from country to country. As an example, in the United States a student is commonly defined as being in full - time education when they undertake 12 or more credit hours. This translates to 12 `` hours '' ( often of 50 minutes instead of 60 minutes each ) in class per week. `` Lab hours '' often count for less, only as one - half or one - third of a credit hour. International students must maintain full - time status for student visas. Adult students ( typically up to age 22 or 23 ) may also fall under their parents ' health insurance ( and possibly car insurance and other services ) if they are full - time, except for one term per year ( usually summer ). Students may also be eligible for elected office in student government or other student organizations only if they are full - time. The Department of Labor has a full - time student program which allows employers to pay no less than 85 % of the minimum wage to the student / employee. See also Look up full - time in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Eight - hour day Employment Wage labour References Jump up ^ `` ANU Policy Library - Home ''. Jump up ^ `` Ministère du Travail, de l'Emploi, de la Formation professionnelle et du Dialogue social ''. Jump up ^ http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/national/national-news/2015/05/16/436156/Two-days.htm Jump up ^ `` More two - income couples with one full - time job and one large part - time job ''. CBS - Statistics Netherlands. CBS - Statistics Netherlands. Retrieved 21 July 2016. Jump up ^ http://www.nyinorge.no/en/Ny-i-Norge-velg-sprak/New-in-Norway/Work/Employment/Working-hours/ Jump up ^ `` Lag 24 SE -- Heltid, deltid samt timanställning ''. Archived from the original on 18 April 2015. Retrieved 18 April 2015. Jump up ^ `` Part - time workers ' rights ''. Jump up ^ https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/n-12-58.pdf Jump up ^ `` ObamaCare Employer Mandate ''. Obamacare Facts. Jump up ^ `` Full - Time Employee ''. HealthCare.gov. Jump up ^ `` Questions and Answers on Employer Shared Responsibility Provisions Under the Affordable Care Act ''. Jump up ^ `` Fulltime Employment - United States Department of Labor ''. Jump up ^ `` Student Visas ''. United States Department of State. Bureau of Consular Affairs. Archived from the original on 1 April 2011. Retrieved 7 April 2011. Jump up ^ `` Full - Time Student Program ''. United States Department of Labor. Washington, D.C. Missing or empty url = ( help ) ; access - date = requires url = ( help ) 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 - 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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 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=Full-time&oldid=807769350 '' Categories : Employment classifications Hidden categories : Pages using web citations with no URL Pages using citations with accessdate and no URL Articles with limited geographic scope from April 2016 All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from June 2014 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Čeština Esperanto 한국어 Nederlands 日本 語 Русский Svenska ไทย Türkçe 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 30 October 2017, at 01 : 19. 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Question: what is the legal definition of full time employment
Answer: employment in which a person works a minimum number of hours defined as such by his/her employer