Before the passage and implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), “full-time employees” meant those who regularly put in 40 hours or more. Those who worked less than 40 hours per week were classified as part-time workers, as were those who worked fewer than 10, 25, or any other number of hours.
On the other hand, the Affordable Care Act defines “full-time” employment as 30 or more hours worked each week or 130 or more hours worked each month. A lot of people in the workforce are probably thinking, “What exactly constitutes full-time?” because of this discrepancy. Do I have a legal right to perks from my employer if I work 30 hours or more each week? In a nutshell, how many hours can a part-time employee work without benefits?
The right answer is “It depends.”
Health insurance must be provided to employees who put in at least 30 hours per week or 130 hours per month by companies with 50 or more full-time or full-time equivalent (FTE) workers. A tax penalty might be assessed against a business if it is found that no benefits are being provided to workers.
- Companies with less than 50 full-time employees may choose whether or not to provide benefits to their employees. Employees are not guaranteed any perks. The decision will be made by the company itself.
- Seasonal workers are not obliged to be counted as part of an organization’s full-time equivalent workforce.
- Smaller businesses are exempt from the employer mandate provisions of the Affordable Care Act, but they are still free to provide health insurance to their employees if they so want.
If you are unsure of how to calculate the size of your group under the Affordable Care Act and you employ both full-time and part-time employees, you may visit HealthCare.gov or CalChoice.com and utilise the calculators provided there.
At the company’s exclusive discretion
Although many businesses with less than 50 FTE equivalent workers do provide benefits, doing so is not required by law. All that’s required is that businesses treat their employees fairly. All employees are subject to the same standards when it comes to determining their eligibility for benefits. If the company chooses to impose a 30-, 35-, or 40-hour minimum, it will apply to all workers. An employee may allege discrimination if their company requires them to put in 40 hours of labour before they are entitled for benefits while providing them after just 36 hours of work.
Conclusion
Many smaller businesses in today’s tight labour market have realised that offering incentives to their staff is the most effective way to both recruit and retain the finest employees. Workers like these bonuses, especially the opportunity to get health coverage. The MetLife Annual Benefit Trends Study for 2021 found that 86% of workers saw health insurance as a “must have” benefit, while 10% viewed it as a “nice to have.”
