There’s a chance you’re wondering, “How many hours can a part-time employee work?” whether you’re a business owner trying to keep costs down, or a freelancer on the hunt for the best benefits money can buy.

A surprising amount of detail goes into answering this seemingly straightforward question. No universally accepted definition of “part-time worker” exists. An employee may be deemed full-time at one company yet part-time at another if they work 35 hours per week. So how many hours can a part-time employee work without benefits?

However, there are federal, state, and sometimes even local rules that limit how many hours an employee may work before they start receiving benefits. There is no universally accepted definition of “temporary worker,” therefore it is difficult to know whether or not a certain set of constraints applies to them.

How many hours per week may a part-time worker be expected to put in? The answer to this deceptively easy question is really somewhat lengthy.

When talking about employment, what exactly does “part-time” mean?

Since the government does not specify what hours an employee must work to be considered part-time, businesses must make that determination on their own. Working less than 30 hours per week is a common definition of part-time employment, however the precise term varies from company to employer. What exactly counts as “part-time” hours will be laid forth in the employer and employee’s written employment contract.

In what ways do part-time jobs benefit their employers?

Although part-time employees may be entitled to the same benefits as full-time workers, they are often provided with a smaller benefits package than full-time workers. The federal government and/or individual states require the provision of certain benefits.

In order to qualify for benefits, how many hours must a part-time worker work each week?

An employee must work less than 30 hours per week, or 130 hours per month on average, to be ineligible for federally mandated employee benefits. It is your responsibility to keep close track of the hours in case they are altered. If an employee works less than one thousand hours in a calendar year, he or she will not be eligible for retirement benefits.

Your state may have additional regulations on top of the federal ones. It is an entirely other question as to whether or not you will be able to attract quality persons for your part-time employment if you do not give any advantages to your part-time employees. To get benefits, for instance, a Starbucks employee must have worked there for at least three consecutive months and logged a total of 240 hours. Medical, dental, and vision insurance, as well as short- and long-term disability insurance, life insurance, paid parental leave, and many more benefits, may be available to eligible employees. Starbucks offers a college completion programme for employees who do not already have a bachelor’s degree.

Not other companies provide their part-time workers with the same level of benefits as Starbucks does. Part-time workers might be hard to come by, but if a company wants to compete and attract the best talent, they will need to provide more than just a basic benefits package.

What does it require to follow the 1000-hour rule?

Worker eligibility for standard retirement plans provided to all employees is mandated by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) for those who put in at least one thousand hours of service for a company in a given year.