Employment glossary
Understand the words in a job posting, a payslip or an offer. Definitions and examples for your next move, with country differences explained.
44 terms
A3
Applicant tracking system (ATS)
An applicant tracking system, or ATS, is software an employer uses to collect applications and manage candidates through recruitment.
Apprenticeship
An apprenticeship combines paid work with structured training for a particular occupation.
At-will employment
At-will employment is a U.S. employment arrangement in which either side can generally end the relationship, subject to legal and contractual limits.
B3
Background check
A background check verifies information about a candidate, such as employment history, qualifications or records relevant to the role.
Base salary
Base salary is the fixed pay agreed for your ordinary work before additional payments and personal deductions.
Benefits
Employment benefits are provisions such as paid leave, insurance or retirement contributions that form part of what a job offers.
C7
Career change
A career change is a move into a different kind of work, often involving a new occupation, industry or professional direction.
Career gap
A career gap is a period in your work history when you were outside paid employment or your usual career path.
Collective bargaining
Collective bargaining is negotiation between employers and workers' organisations over pay, working conditions and employment relations.
Compensation package
A compensation package combines the pay, incentives and benefits offered for a job.
Contract work
Contract work is a broad hiring label that can describe a temporary employee, an agency assignment or an independent business engagement.
Cover letter
A cover letter introduces your application and explains how your experience relates to a particular job.
Curriculum vitae (CV)
A curriculum vitae, usually shortened to CV, presents your experience, education and qualifications for an application.
E4
Employee
An employee works for an employer under an employment relationship, with rights and responsibilities determined by the applicable law and agreement.
Employer of record (EOR)
An employer of record, or EOR, employs someone to work for another company and handles agreed employment administration.
Employment contract
An employment contract is the agreement setting out the terms, rights and responsibilities of an employment relationship.
Equity compensation
Equity compensation rewards work through shares, rights to acquire shares or payments linked to a company's share value.
F4
Fixed-term contract
A fixed-term contract is an employment contract that ends on a specified date or when an agreed task or event is completed.
Flexible working
Flexible working allows an agreed variation in working hours, days or location.
Freelance work
Freelance work usually means providing services to clients through your own business, with payment agreed by project, time or another measure.
Full-time employment
Full-time employment means working the standard full schedule for a role under the relevant contract, workplace rules and local law.
G1
H1
I1
J4
Job description
A job description explains the work an employer expects someone in a particular role to do.
Job offer
A job offer is an employer's proposal to hire you on stated terms, sometimes subject to conditions being met.
Job referral
A job referral happens when someone introduces or recommends a candidate to an employer for a particular opportunity.
Job title
A job title is the name an employer gives a role, which may suggest its function or level of responsibility.
M1
N2
O3
Onboarding
Onboarding is the process of introducing a new worker to the organisation, people, tools and expectations of their role.
On-site work
On-site work means doing your job at a designated workplace, such as an office, shop, factory or customer location.
Overtime
Overtime is work beyond an applicable working-hours threshold, with payment rules that depend on the job and jurisdiction.
P3
Paid time off (PTO)
Paid time off is time away from work for which an employee continues to receive pay under applicable rules or policies.
Part-time employment
Part-time employment involves fewer working hours than the applicable full-time arrangement, with the schedule and rights depending on the job.
Probation period
A probation period is an initial period of employment during which the employer assesses how someone is performing in the role.
R3
Recruiter
A recruiter finds and assesses candidates for vacancies, either inside an employer or through an external recruitment business.
Redundancy
Redundancy is the ending of employment because an employer no longer needs a role or needs fewer people doing that work.
Remote work
Remote work is work carried out away from an employer's usual premises, often from an agreed home or other location.