Small business owners often have a hard time giving benefits to full time employees, and the concept of giving benefits to part-timers never even crops up. Federal regulations give US employers a little flexibility when it comes to offering employee benefits to part-timer employees.

The legal definition of a part-time worker is any employee who is working from a few hours up to 40 hours per week. The general definition is subject to a few changes depending on which state you’re from. Some states consider part-time employment as little as 35 hours or less per week. Part-time employees offer several benefits to businesses compared to full timers, but they also come with their own disadvantages.

Costs

The most obvious benefit of using part time employees is the low cost factor. Employees are typically paid by the hour, and their working hours are subject to the requirements of their employers. They can be high or low. The disadvantage to employees is that they often get no benefits, and even the most committed worker who puts in several hours may only qualify for retirement benefits.

Employers can increase the work hours during peak hours and decrease them when there is less demand. Plus the fact that employers don’t have to offer compensation packages saves a significant percentage of their profits.

Flexibility

Being required to work part time frees up the schedule of employees to pursue other interest such as engaging in favorite hobbies, finishing school, or taking up a second job. They might even prove their mettle and gain long-term employment. The disadvantage to employers of course is that the lack of benefits makes their employees easily targeted by competitors. This isn’t desirable because part-timers learn many useful skills that are applicable in other businesses.

Businesses can use part-time workers to fill weekend and evening hours that may not be covered by full-time workers. Careful though because if employees work more hours that exceed the minimum definition stipulated by the state government, companies will be required to give health benefits such as the Affordable Care Act.

Commitment

The biggest disadvantage with part-time employees is their lack of commitment when compared to full-time workers. The latter are completely dependent on their paychecks and benefits package, requiring them to give complete commitment to their employers.

In contrast, part-time employees spend less time with the company and because they aren’t given many  benefits, it is easy to leave the company. Losing part-timers to other employers is common, and it is considered part and parcel of the part-time job experience.

Knowledge

Businesses that have performance intensive tasks such as sales positions or complex engineering processes need employees that are not only more seasoned but can also commit more hours at work. Having part time employees fill in crucial positions can result in poor performance because they are often ill-equipped to handle complex tasks.

For many part-time employees, their best reward is the experience and practical skills they learnt along the way.

Are you designing employee benefits for your firm, but are overwhelmed with the limitless number of options out there? Get in touch with JS Benefits Group for a free consultation!