Do part time employees get benefits? If you’re wondering what your obligations are to your part time staff, learn more by checking out this article.
Over 27 million people in the U.S. are part-time employees as of October 2018. Part-time employees are usually known as those that work 35 hours a week or less. Their benefit requirements are confusing to both employees and employers.
Not understanding the law could cost you thousands of dollars, so taking the time to find out what your obligations are is well worth it. Even if you know the law requirements for full-time employees, you can’t leave out understanding the part-timers.
Continue reading to learn more about what your obligations are and get your answer to your question “Do part time employees get benefits?”
Do Part Time Employees Get Benefits and What Do They Get?
While you may have heard that the number of hours an employee works dictates whether or not they get coverage, it isn’t always that simple. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) states that employers who have 50 or more full-time equivalent employees are required to offer group health insurance to 95 percent of the workforce they have.
There are many factors that go into what benefits you have to provide to your part-time employees. These include:
- Federal laws
- State laws
- Industry norms
- Medicare eligibility
If you can’t figure out what your responsibility is, you may want to speak to a legal professional to ensure you comply with the law. Many times, employers have some leeway in the benefits they have to offer, but knowing for sure is important.
What Is a Part-Time Employee?
Before we go any further, let’s look at what a part-time employee truly is. There is considerable confusion around the issue, and the information below should help you understand a little better.
The common thought is that a full-time employee is someone who works 40 or more hours in a workweek. There are only confusing and less than helpful definitions of part-time and full-time employees.
According to the IRS, employees averaging at least 30 hours per week or 130 hours per month may be considered full-time. When it comes to the ACA, the IRS acknowledges these hours and states that full-time employment ranges from 30 to 40+ hours per week.
If you check the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, they say that part-time employees may be those who work between one and 34 hours per week.
When you aren’t sure if an employee is full-time or part-time, you should err on the side of caution and make sure you’re operating legally. This is the perfect time to speak with a legal professional who knows this part of the law.
What Benefits Do You Need to Provide?
Do you need to start picking out the best term life insurance for your employees? Maybe you have to offer them vacation pay. There are many benefits that are offered to full-time staff, and you may not be sure what your policy should be with part-time employees.
Benefits are compensation in the form of non-wages. Employees get this compensation in addition to regular wages; it gives them a higher value to their overall compensation package.
Some benefits you offer might not be mandatory, but you may decide to offer them because they increase workers’ morale. Some of the popular benefits employees love to see are:
- Health insurance
- Dental insurance
- Vision insurance
- Workers compensation
- Unemployment insurance
- Disability insurance
- Life insurance
- Paid time off (PTO)
- Flexible work schedules
The more benefits you offer to your staff, the more motivated they are to stay. On the other hand, benefits can be very expensive, so you have to be careful when you’re putting your employee benefits packages together.
Whether you’re just or trying to make sure you remain compliant, it’s important to know what is mandatory and what you might choose to offer in goodwill.
There is no information in the Fair Labor Standards Act on whether or not part-time employees get the same benefits as full-time staff. Employers are able to determine the benefits they offer part-time employees and what is required to get them.
Best Practices for Setting Part-Time Employee Benefits
While it can be challenging to decide what to offer your part-time employees, the best thing to do is set a standard policy. It should who is eligible for benefits and when they become eligible. Your employee handbook is a great place to include this document.
You should define what a part-time employee is and what a full-time employee is, what benefits each gets, and what needs to happen before they receive those benefits. No matter what you choose to offer, be clear about it and answer any questions your employees have.
Advantages of Offering Benefits to Part-Time Employees
If you’re considering offering benefits to your part-time employees, you see what it is going to cost your bottom line, but what are the advantages?
Do the advantages outweigh the amount of money you’ll spend providing benefits to part-time employees?
1. Boost Employee Morale
When part-time employees feel they are valued by their bosses, they are more likely to put in work and produce results. Increased employee morale could pay for the expense of providing benefits.
When employees are happy to come to their jobs, they perform better.
2. Become More Attractive to Top Talent
There are a lot of options for people when they are looking for jobs. If you want to attract the best talent, you need to offer benefits.
You might even look at what benefits your competition is offering so you can offer benefits that are superior to what they are offering.
Make Sure Your Business Is Running Legally
Keeping up to date with the latest laws and best practices is important. Now you know the answer to “Do part time employees get benefits?” and you can be confident that you’re doing things by the letter of the law.
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