Permanent Employment

Permanent Employment

Permanent employees, regular employees or the directly employed work for a single employer and are paid directly by that employer. In addition to their wages, they often receive benefits like subsidized health care, paid vacations, holidays, sick time, or contributions to a retirement plan. Permanent employees are often eligible to switch job positions within their companies. Even when employment is "at will", permanent employees of large companies are generally protected from abrupt job termination by severance policies, like advance notice in case of layoffs, or formal discipline procedures. They may be eligible to join a union, and may enjoy both social and financial benefits of their employment.

Rarely permanent employment means employment of an individual that is guaranteed throughout the employee's working life. In the private sector, such jobs are rare; permanent employment is far more common in the public sector, where profit and loss is not as important.