The HR Dictionary

Part-Time Hours

30 to 35 hours a week are typically regarded as part-time for businesses. Part-time employment is not specifically defined by the federal government; as a result, different businesses have varying definitions of what constitutes part-time employment. 

Calculating Part-Time Hours

Full Time Employee Count + (Total Part Time Hours/30) = FTE Total

The above is the formula for calculating part time hours because an organization's compliance with the Affordable Care Act is impacted by the number of part-time employees and the hours they work (ACA).

According to the ACA, any employee who clocks in at least 30 hours a week qualifies as a full-time worker. In addition, the law increases the number of full-time equivalent employees (FTEs) by the total number of hours that part-time workers, who work fewer than 30 hours per week, work. Employers with more than 50 FTEs must adhere to the guidelines outlined in the ACA or are subject to fines.

A modern day HRIS can help a company navigate their pay policies and can automate processes to distinguish between their full-time and part-time employees with time tracking capabilities all working in harmony to allocate benefits or payments required by compliance ensuring a company adheres to standards set out in compliance.