Permanent employees work for an

employer Employment is a relationship between two parties regulating the provision of paid labour services. Usually based on a contract, one party, the employer, which might be a corporation, a not-for-profit organization, a co-operative, or any o ...

and are paid directly by that employer. Permanent employees do not have a predetermined end date to employment. In addition to their wages, they often receive benefits like subsidized

health care Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is delivered by health pr ...

, paid

vacation A vacation (American English) or holiday (British English) is either a leave of absence from a regular job or an instance of leisure travel away from home. People often take a vacation during specific holiday observances or for specific fes ...

holiday A holiday is a day set aside by custom or by law on which normal activities, especially business or work including school, are suspended or reduced. Generally, holidays are intended to allow individuals to celebrate or commemorate an event or t ...

sick time Sick leave (or paid sick days or sick pay) is paid time off from work that workers can use to stay home to address their health needs without losing pay. It differs from paid vacation time or time off work to deal with personal matters, because si ...

, or contributions. 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 Termination may refer to: Science *Termination (geomorphology), the period of time of relatively rapid change from cold, glacial conditions to warm interglacial condition *Termination factor, in genetics, part of the process of transcribing RNA ...

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. With exception of

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

and

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

where extensive laws and regulations make firing of permanent employees nearly impossible, rarely does "permanent employment" mean employment of an individual that is guaranteed throughout the employee's working life. In the

private sector The private sector is the part of the economy, sometimes referred to as the citizen sector, which is owned by private groups, usually as a means of establishment for profit or non profit, rather than being owned by the government. Employment The ...

, with the notable exception of

academic tenure Tenure is a category of academic appointment existing in some countries. A tenured post is an indefinite academic appointment that can be terminated only for cause or under extraordinary circumstances, such as financial exigency or program disco ...

, such jobs are rare; permanent employment is far more common in the

public sector The public sector, also called the state sector, is the part of the economy composed of both public services and public enterprises. Public sectors include the public goods and governmental services such as the military, law enforcement, inf ...

, where it is often used to strengthen civil service independence from politicians. Permanent employment is often considered the gold standard for employee life quality and society development as it gives stability and peace of mind to citizens. It has been seen that permanent employment gives better results for social development in the long term because of various reasons such as steady circulation of liquid wealth through wages, peaceful society, regular upskilling by companies etc.

Industry-specific examples

* Partner at a

law firm A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise clients (individuals or corporations) about their legal rights and responsibilities, and to ...

* Tenure of a senior

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, ...

Civil service The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...

employees, e.g. Beamte in Germany

In Japan

Definition

A Japanese version of permanent employment often related to lifetime employment (終身雇用 ''shūshin koyō'') defined as lifetime job contract. The term originally was workers' "lifetime commitment" to companies, which was coined by James Abegglen in his book ''"The Japanese Factory.".''

Origin

Japan’s lifetime employment originated in large companies around 1910 but became widespread during the economic growth period following World War II. Before the war period, Japanese companies owed more its fund on direct financing. However, as the government started to take control of

Zaibatsu is a Japanese term referring to industrial and financial vertically integrated business conglomerates in the Empire of Japan, whose influence and size allowed control over significant parts of the Japanese economy from the Meiji period unt ...

, Japanese conglomerates, shareholders had difficulty in exerting their influence to them. In the enforcement of occupation policies GHQ dissolved Zaibatsu and emerging labor unions had started to claim for a higher standard of benefit.

Significance

Lifetime employment took an important role in Japan’s economic prosperity. In addition to the tendency to pursue equality and loyalty between employee and employer which have their basis on the informal nexus, Confucius norm. In industrial corporations, wage system expects labor's future improvement in productivity. Therefore, the first half of contract duration labor's productivity is below the wage. However, as labor adept in their operation, the labor productivity exceeds the payment.

References

External links

In Japan, Secure Jobs Have a Cost
{{Employment Employment classifications Recruitment