About half of the 50 states have laws requiring employers to pay out an employee's unused vacation when the employment relationship ends. When you hire a full-time employee, it’s important to offer attractive benefits in their compensation package. If you have 50 or more full-time equivalent employees at your small business, you are required to offer health coverage. Regardless of what you choose to offer, make sure you are clear and address all possible questions in your policy. A reader asked me a question about calculating vacation for a part-time employee.Frankly, I thought the answer was obvious--it should be prorated according to the number of hours. Her first job was at a buffet in Mandan, North Dakota which was just as lowbrow as it sounds. Before determining part-time employee benefits, you need to know what a part-time employee is. Calculating prorated vacation days for part-time employees is best done by calculating hours rather than days. Do Not Sell My Personal Information, The Essential Guide to Family & Medical Leave. Employees who work an average of at least 30 hours per week, or 130 hours per month, … You can decide how many days of paid vacation full-time and part-time employees receive. Here are the basics. Streamline onboarding, benefits, payroll, PTO, and much more with Zenefits. Employers are also free to offer vacation to some employees and not to others. Does a new start up business qualify for the PPP Plan? If an employee works 34 hours, for example (right on the cusp of these definitions), they could be part-time or full-time. Read more about her at www.cinnamon-janzer.com. According to the BLS, 66% of all employees have access to retirement plans, 67% have access to medical care, and 55% have access to life insurance. For the purpose of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the IRS acknowledges these hours. Employees who work an average of at least 30 hours per week, or 130 hours per month, can be considered full-time, according to the IRS. For example, company policy might provide that an employee earns one vacation day per month or a certain number of hours per pay period. You offer paid time off, health insurance, and a 401(k) plan at your small business. You might be required to offer some benefits, depending on factors like business location and size. And many do: The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that, while 91% of full-time employees in private industry receive some paid vacation, only 34% of part-time employees do. For example, a cap that is twice the annual accrual would likely be considered reasonable. Even if the employees accrue vacation during this period, they may not use it until the waiting period is up. Try our payroll software in a free, no-obligation 30-day trial. Companies are also free to adopt schedules for vacation accrual. Let’s take a look at a basic example of a policy. Get back to business with an all-in-one HR platform by Zenefits, Join the Workest community to ask questions in our community, bookmark articles, and receive our weekly email. Some employers, for instance, don't allow employees to use any vacation during their first three to six months on the job. Copyright © 2020 MH Sub I, LLC dba Nolo ® Self-help services may not be permitted in all states. yet. Start by dividing the number of hours Janna works by the number of hours that equals full-time (40): Multiply that calculated rate by the amount of vacation given to full-time employees (80): This means that Serena should be offered 20 hours of vacation per year. I've hired teams remotely for a decade now, and there are always challenges... Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, or PUA, is a federal program available... As of April 23, both programs are out of funding, but Congress has passed... Cinnamon Janzer is a journalist and content writer based in Minneapolis. For example, they are legally allowed to reserve paid vacation only for full-time employees. Regular part-time employees earn vacation on their employment anniversary date in the proportion that their normally scheduled number of hours bears to 40 per week. When you extend certain benefits to part-time employees, you might boost employee morale. In some states, the information on this website may be considered a lawyer referral service.