Contracts of Employment (AQA GCSE Business): Revision Note

Full-time contracts

• Full-time employment is when an employee works the total number of hours considered by the company as full-time in a week

• Full time employees work more hours in a company than part-time employees

  • In the UK labour full-time employees are classified as those that work 35 hours a week or more

Part-time contracts

• Someone who works part-time may only work two or three days a week

• Part-time employment may be more flexible and can be adjusted subject to employee availability and employer requirements

  • Part-time employees at the US company Costco work between 24 and 40 hours per week

• Job sharing is the process of breaking up a role into two part-time contracts (in rare cases, the job share may occur between more than two workers)
  

• The choice between full-time and part-time contracts depends on the specific needs of both employers and employees

  • Employers often value the commitment of full-time staff but also the flexibility of part-time workers

  • Employees may prioritise a stable income or a good work-life balance

Benefits of full-time and part-time employment contracts

Casual contracts

• An employee engaged on a casual contract works whenever the business needs them

• This may be seasonal (summer or winter) or for a determined length of time

  • E.g. A ski instructor working for two months during a ski season at a resort in the French Alps

• A zero hours contract is where an employee agrees to be available for work as and when required, with no particular number of hours or times of work specified

  • In the UK, zero-hour contracts are controversial

    • Trade unions and the media have accused businesses, such as Sports Direct, of using them to exploit workers

    • In 2015, UK employers were banned from offering zero-hour contracts that prevented employees from working for another employer at the same time