Understanding

the interactive media

industries
 Full Time

Full-time employees are generally considered to be those scheduled to work 40 hours per week. However,
employers have discretion in setting such hours. Full-time employees are the most likely to develop company
loyalty, and to feel a sense of ownership in the business which can result in a committed, hardworking workforce,
willing to go through any tough times the business may encounter. Full-timers also tend to hold only one job, giving
you more control over their time and efforts. For many employers, full-time employees provide a sense of security
that someone could manage things in their absence.

Full-Time status varies between company and is often based on the shift the employee must work during each work
week. The "standard" work week consists of five eight-hour days, commonly served between 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM or
10:00 AM to 6:00 PM totalling 40 hours. While a four-day week generally consists of four ten-hour days; it may also
consist of as little as nine hours for a total of a 36-hour work week. Twelve-hour shifts are often three days per week,
unless the company has the intention of paying out the employee overtime
 Part time

 In the UK, a part-time job is classed as any role that involves fewer working hours than a full-time
job. In most instances, a part-time job will involve a mixture of half days, days off and a host of
other flexible working schemes. According to our statistics, around 13% of the people who visit
totaljobs.com have part-time jobs. People are increasingly are turning to part-time work, in the
UK to the extent that this is one of the fastest-growing areas in the country. According to recent
Government figures “there are nearly eight million people employed part-time, which equates
to around a quarter of the UK workforce.”
 For most people who work part-time, the benefits far outweigh any disadvantages. The
flexibility involved allows people to maintain the work-life balance that they crave, often when
a full-time job simply isn't feasible in their situation. However, there are obvious downsides to
part-time work. For a start, the worker will never earn as much money as they would in a full-
time position. As well as this assuming the worker will perform well in their role, any promotion
they are offered may require them to go back to full-time work.
 Freelance

 Freelance work is a type of self-employment that is carried out on a flexible basis, and provided to a variety of
different businesses. Freelancers could work on big or small projects, both short-term and long-term depending
on what suits their skills, availability, and the employer’s needs. Typical tasks could include anything from building
a website or designing a logo, to writing a weekly blog post or shooting and editing a video.
 How does freelancing work?
 Usually, employers will get the ball rolling by posting a job or project on a freelance website. This allows
freelancers to contact them, explaining the reasons their skills and abilities make them suitable for this particular
role – also stating how much they’d charge. The employer is then able to choose from a number of proposals to
find the best fit, discuss next steps, and come to a mutual agreement on how and when the work will be done.
After it’s completed to the required standard, payment will be made.
 Almost every service an employer needs can be outsourced to a freelancer. However, there are certain fields
and industries where freelance work is particularly common. These include: Graphic design, Marketing, media &
PR, Financial support (e.g. bookkeeping)Writing, editing & proofreading, Fashion and Photography.


 Shift work

Shift work is work that takes place on a schedule outside the traditional 9 am – 5 pm day. It can
involve evening or night shifts, early morning shifts, and rotating shifts. Many industries rely heavily
on shift work, and millions of people work in jobs that require shift schedules.
Additional rules apply to shift workers on top of the rules on maximum weekly working hours and
rest breaks. They must not work more than an average of 8 hours in a 24-hour period. The average
is usually calculated over 17 weeks, but it can be over a longer period of up to 52 weeks if the
workers and the employer agree, eg by collective agreement.
Popular shift working jobs include;
Baggage loaders
Emergency services ie the police
Manufactories
 Permanent contracts
permanent contract is the most common type of employment, an indefinite contract whereby you are employed by the
company until such time as the employer or the employee no longer wish to work there. All permanent contracts must
include a Principal Statement, detailing the following:
 Your name and your employer’s name
 Your job title or a brief job description
 The date when your employment began
 Your pay rate and when you will be paid
 Your hours of work
 Your holiday entitlement
 Sick pay arrangements
As the contract is a mutual agreement, the employer has to give work to an employee in exchange for a paid salary, and
likewise, the employee is obliged to work. If an employee refuses to work, the employee is there for in breach of contract. As
permanent contracts can last for an indefinite duration, employers are obliged to add some flexibility into the contract, such
as working hours, any employee benefits, maternity pay rules, and also details should they change hours or the place of
work.
 Temporary contracts

 temporary contracts are offered when a contract is not expected to become permanent.
 Usually they would have some form of end date included, however, these may be subject to
change. As such, temporary workers may have their contracts extended in line with demand and
availability.
 Despite their short-term status, temporary workers are entitled to the same rights as any other
member of staff. Benefits of temporary contracts include increased flexibility, the ability to manage
work around study or other interests, and building experience within a specific sector.
 Temporary workers may work full-time or part-time depending on the individual situation. In some
instances, temporary workers receive benefits (such as health insurance), but usually benefits are
only given to permanent employees as a cost-cutting measure by the employer to save money.
 Zero hour contract

Zero-hours contracts, or casual contracts, allow employers to hire staff with no guarantee of work.
They mean employees work only when they are needed by employers, often at short notice. Their pay depends on
how many hours they work.
Some zero-hours contracts require workers to take the shifts they are offered, while others do not.
Sick pay is often not included, although holiday pay should be, in line with working time regulations.
Zero hours contracts can be used to provide a flexible workforce to meet a temporary or changeable need for staff.
Examples may include a need for workers to cover:
unexpected or last-minute events (e.g. a restaurant needs extra staff to cater for a wedding party that just had their
original venue cancel on them)
temporary staff shortages (e.g. an office loses an essential specialist worker for a few weeks due to bereavement)
on-call/bank work (e.g. one of the clients of a care-worker company requires extra care for a short period of time).
 Multi skilled worker

 Multi-skilled workers have training and skills in more than one area of a business. For example, in
a manufacturing environment, multi-skilled workers may receive training in all aspects of
building product, as well as the ability to perform quality inspections. Such accommodations
allows a firm to move workers where they're needed from one moment to another. Companies
cross-train employees to increase productivity and reduce labour costs.
 A company with multi-skilled employees has a flexible workforce, which provides the employer
with the ability to schedule and arrange workers to best suit the needs of the business. Workers
are able to fill in for absent employees and work in any area of the business that requires
increased manpower at any time, and for any duration. This allows the business owner to
maintain production levels under many circumstance that would otherwise leave workers idled
or profits left on the table.
 Voluntary worker

 A voluntary worker works for a charity, voluntary organisation, associated fund raising body or a statutory body who does not
receive:
 any benefits in kind, except some or all of his subsistence and/or accommodation which is reasonable in the circumstances of
the employment, nor
 any monetary payment, except reimbursement of expenses actually incurred (or reasonably estimated as likely to be or to have
been incurred) in the performance of their duties, for example purchase of required uniform or tools, or
 reimbursement of expenses actually incurred (or reasonably estimated as likely to be or to have been incurred) to enable the
worker to perform their duties and that are not accommodation expenses, for example home to work transport costs or
increased childcare costs
 The only exception to these conditions is where the voluntary worker is employed to work under arrangements made by a charity
(in the course of its charitable purposes) and the work is done for another charity, voluntary organisation, an associated fund-
raising body or statutory body. In these circumstances the subsistence may be paid instead of provided as a benefit in kind.
 This can be seen if a voluntary worker who works for a charity which specialises in placements with a hospital or charitable care
home can receive money to cover subsistence at the placement.
 Casual worker

 The phrase ‘casual worker’ is often used to describe workers who are not part of the permanent workforce, but who supply services
on an irregular or flexible basis, often to meet a fluctuating demand for work. Their legal rights will depend on their legal status:
whether they are employed, self employed or a worker.
 Piecework is any type of employment in which a worker is paid a fixed piece rate for each unit produced or action performed
regardless of time
 Output work can usually only be used in limited situations when the employer doesn’t know which hours the worker does (such as
with some home workers). If an employer sets the working hours and the workers have to clock in and out, this counts as time work,
not as output work.
 The fair rate is 1.2 times the rate which lets a worker of average speed earn the National Minimum (or Living) Wage, the employer will
find out how many pieces or tasks an average worker can complete in an hour.
 To work out the fair rate:
 Find out the average rate of work per hour (by counting the number of tasks or pieces completed).
 Divide the minimum wage by the average number of pieces to establish a base rate per item.
 Multiply this figure by 1.2 to establish a fair rate for each piece completed
 Sources document

https://www.inc.com/articles/2000/02/16994.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Full-time

https://www.totaljobs.com/careers-advice/part-time

https://www.reed.co.uk/career-advice/freelance-
work-what-you-need-to-know/
http://smallbusiness.chron.com/advantages-
multiskilled-labor-18280.html
https://www.nibusinessinfo.co.uk/content/definition-
voluntary-worker-minimum-wage-purposes