Part-time schedules vs. full-time schedules
- A worker with a part-time employee schedule is one that works less than whatever you define as full-time employment.
- Part-time work schedules can be beneficial for your business because they decrease your labor costs.
- Homebase can help with part-time scheduling thanks to our easy-to-use and efficient features that work for your business, whether your employees are part-time or full-time.
What is the difference between full-time and part-time work schedules?
According to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the regular working time limit for employees in the US is 40 hours worked per week. It is with this set number of hours that part-time workers and full-time employees were originally defined.
However, a full-time employee is defined differently by different government agencies. The Bureau of Labor Statistics for example says that employees are considered “full-time workers” if they work at least 35 hours per week.
Additionally, the Affordable Care Act says that a full-time employee averages 30 working hours per week. The FLSA applies to both full-time and part-time employees but does not include a set number of hours that define each. So the only law that stipulates work hours is the FLSA rule that says the regular workweek limit is 40 hours before overtime pay kicks in.
So you as the employer can define what full-time work and part-time employment looks like at your business. Many employers use the typical 40-hour workweek to define their full-time employees, but others consider a full-time schedule to be 35 or even 30 hours per week.
A worker with a part-time employee schedule is one that works less than whatever you define as full-time employment. While the definition is quite vague, it means you have the flexibility to build your team however you see fit.
The main difference between part-time and full-time employees is that part-time workers aren’t qualified to receive certain benefits you may offer to your full-time workers with fixed schedules. So each employee needs to have a clear designation.
There are some types of part-time jobs with no set schedule that means employees work when you need them. This can include freelance writers that you employ instead of hiring them as contractors or flexible jobs like bartenders who pick up shifts when they need extra money.
Luckily, Homebase’s employee schedule maker app works for both part-time and full-time employees. You can schedule as many employees as you need for your weekly shifts and send the set schedule to your team immediately, giving them plenty of time to swap shifts, trade shifts, or plan for their week.
What are the pros of part-time jobs with flexible work schedules?
Part-time work schedules can save you money because you owe the employees less in salaries, benefits like health insurance, and other expenses that go into maintaining full-time employees. Part-time employees are not entitled to insurance, paid leave, or retirement and stock options.
You can use this money to funnel back into your operations and help grow your business, increase employee retention, and more.
Using part-time employees can also benefit you when your staff schedule is in a jam and you need someone to cover a shift at the last minute. Since they have more flexibility in their schedule, you would have more team members available to cover the open shift than if your team consisted only of full-time employees.
A part-time worker benefits from a flexible schedule that changes often depending on who you need for different shifts. Your employee may work 4 7-hour shifts one week, and 3 10-hour shifts the next week. They may also work on a rotating schedule if your business requires night shifts that employees might not want to work consistently.
This type of flexibility works for employees who are going to school or have other jobs, so you have a better chance of finding quality workers who are going through the job search.
You will need to keep an eye on overtime hours when you have part-time schedules, since the changing weekly schedule can make it difficult to maintain who’s working how many hours. Homebase will keep an eye on overtime and labor costs for you, automatically. Our schedule making app automatically calculates overtime, subtracts breaks, and alerts you to schedule conflicts.
What are the cons of part-time jobs with flexible schedules?
Part-time employees might not have as big of a commitment to your business as a full-time employee since they aren’t working as often. However, if you have a full team of part-time employees, you can easily mitigate this through communication and team building.
Your part-time employee might also exhibit some form of a knowledge gap since they aren’t on the shift schedule as often as a full-time employee would be. The lack of work hours might result in less experience, which can have a negative impact on the quality of your employee’s work.
You may also find it a little more difficult to implement a predictive scheduling or auto-scheduling plan into your business if your shift planning is more sporatic with part-time employees.
However, as long as you’re communicating with your part-time employees and consistently providing training, you should be able to run a successful business with part-time workers despite these challenges.
Homebase’s free messaging app can help with these problems by giving you and your team a way to stay connected with each other without having to collect phone numbers or send emails. You can send a message to one employee, a group, or the entire team to notify them of their schedules, important updates, or even just to stay connected and ensure a cohesive culture.
How do I hire part-time employees?
Hiring part-time employees works the same way as hiring full-time employees. You can post your job online, in public places, or even in your place of business to get the word out. But you can also utilize a strong tool to help you find the best candidates.
Homebase Hiring and Onboarding helps you build a strong team by posting your job on the top sites like Indeed, ZipRecruiter, Craigslist, and more with just a few clicks. We even provide quality, pre-written job descriptions to get the ball rolling.
What’s more, you can connect with the job applicants right through our app and identify the best candidates through screener questions before interviewing them. And once you’ve found the perfect match, we’ll send them an onboarding packet so they can complete the necessary new hire paperwork before getting started on their first day at your business.
