# Employment Status > Employment Status means a classification denoting full-time or part-time working hours held, and active or on-approved leave conditions. **Term:** Employment Status **Last updated:** 2026-07-29 ## Definition ## What Employment Status Means in a Contract Employment Status refers to the classification within an employment relationship that identifies whether an individual works full-time or part-time, and whether they are actively performing duties or on some form of approved leave. It is not the same as a person's legal employment category, such as employee versus worker or contractor, though the two concepts are sometimes discussed together. Instead, this term focuses on the operational and administrative snapshot of a person's working arrangement at a given moment. Contracts use Employment Status to communicate expectations around hours, pay calculations, and access to workplace benefits. For example, a full-time employee on active status may be entitled to different holiday accrual rates than a part-time employee on approved leave. This classification allows both employer and employee to reference a shared, agreed definition rather than relying on assumptions. Because the term touches pay, leave, and hours, it frequently appears alongside other defined terms in an