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The HR glossary for decision-makers
Plain-English definitions of the terms HR leaders work with every day, with the local rules, rates and thresholds attached across Australia, New Zealand, the UK, Singapore, the US and Canada. Written for people who make decisions, not for lawyers.
Employee tenure
Employee tenure is the length of time a person has been continuously employed by the same organisation.
HR metricsAttrition rate
Attrition rate is the percentage of a workforce that leaves an organisation over a period, measured against average headcount.
Roles and structuresC-suite
The C-suite is an organisation's most senior executive tier, made up of "chief" roles such as Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer and Chief People Officer.
Australia · Fair Work and entitlementsCasual loading
Casual loading is a percentage added to a casual employee's base hourly rate, typically 25% under Australian modern awards, to compensate for the paid leave, notice and redundancy entitlements that casual employment does not provide.
Australia · Fair Work and entitlementsLeave loading
Leave loading (annual leave loading) is an extra payment, commonly 17.5% of base pay, added to annual leave pay where an Australian modern award or enterprise agreement provides for it.
Australia · Fair Work and entitlementsNotice period
A notice period is the time between telling an employee (or employer) that employment will end and the final day of work.
Australia · Fair Work and entitlementsPsychosocial hazards
Psychosocial hazards are aspects of work design, management or workplace interactions that can cause psychological harm, such as excessive job demands, low support or bullying.
Australia · Fair Work and entitlementsWage theft
Wage theft is the deliberate underpayment of employees' wages or entitlements.
HR metricseNPS
eNPS (employee Net Promoter Score) measures employee loyalty with one question: how likely are you to recommend this organisation as a place to work? Scores run from -100 to +100, calculated as the percentage of promoters minus the percentage of detractors.
HR metricsBradford factor
The Bradford factor is an absence scoring formula (spells squared, multiplied by total days: S x S x D) that weights frequent short absences more heavily than single long ones, on the basis that unplanned short absences are more disruptive.
Australia · Fair Work and entitlementsModern award
A modern award is a legal document that sets minimum pay rates and employment conditions for an industry or occupation in Australia, sitting on top of the National Employment Standards.
Australia · Fair Work and entitlementsNational Employment Standards (NES)
The National Employment Standards (NES) are the minimum employment entitlements in the Fair Work Act that apply to all national system employees in Australia, covering hours, leave, notice, redundancy and superannuation.
Australia · Fair Work and entitlementsBetter Off Overall Test (BOOT)
The Better Off Overall Test (BOOT) is the test Australia's Fair Work Commission applies before approving an enterprise agreement: every award-covered employee, and every prospective employee, must be better off overall under the agreement than under the relevant modern award.
Australia · Fair Work and entitlementsCasual conversion
Casual conversion is the pathway that lets an eligible casual employee change to permanent (full-time or part-time) employment.
Australia · Fair Work and entitlementsStand down
A stand down is when an employer directs employees not to work, without pay, because they cannot be usefully employed for reasons outside the employer's control, such as an equipment breakdown, industrial action or a stoppage of work.
Australia · Fair Work and entitlementsRedundancy pay
Redundancy pay is the severance payment Australia's National Employment Standards require when an employee's job is made genuinely redundant, scaled from 4 up to 16 weeks' base pay by years of continuous service.
Australia · Fair Work and entitlementsLong service leave
Long service leave (LSL) is paid leave earned after an extended period of continuous service with one employer, typically around two months of leave after ten years.
Australia · Fair Work and entitlementsProbation period
A probation period is a contractual trial period at the start of employment, commonly three to six months, used to assess whether a new hire suits the role.
Australia · Fair Work and entitlementsUnfair dismissal
Unfair dismissal is a dismissal that Australia's Fair Work Commission finds harsh, unjust or unreasonable, where the employee was eligible to claim and the dismissal was not a genuine redundancy.
Australia · Fair Work and entitlementsGeneral protections
General protections are the provisions of the Fair Work Act (Australia) that make it unlawful to take adverse action against a person because they have, use or propose to use a workplace right, or because of attributes such as union membership or a protected personal characteristic.
Australia · Fair Work and entitlementsEnterprise agreement
An enterprise agreement is a collective agreement on pay and conditions made between an employer (or several) and its employees, usually negotiated with unions, approved by Australia's Fair Work Commission and enforceable in place of the modern award for up to four years.
Australia · Fair Work and entitlementsPenalty rates
Penalty rates are higher rates of pay that Australian modern awards and enterprise agreements require for work at unsociable times: evenings, weekends, public holidays and overtime.
Australia · Fair Work and entitlementsSuperannuation guarantee
The superannuation guarantee (SG) is the minimum percentage of an employee's ordinary time earnings that an Australian employer must pay into their superannuation fund, set at 12% since 1 July 2025.
Australia · Fair Work and entitlementsEmployment termination payment (ETP)
An employment termination payment (ETP) is a lump sum paid in consequence of the termination of employment in Australia, such as severance beyond the tax-free redundancy amount, payment in lieu of notice or an ex gratia amount.
Australia · Fair Work and entitlementsNational minimum wage
The national minimum wage is the legal pay floor for Australian employees who are not covered by a modern award or enterprise agreement.
Australia · Fair Work and entitlementsFair Work Information Statement
The Fair Work Information Statement (FWIS) is a document published by Australia's Fair Work Ombudsman that every employer must give each new employee before, or as soon as practicable after, they start work.
Australia · Fair Work and entitlementsRight to disconnect
The right to disconnect is a workplace right under Australia's Fair Work Act that lets employees refuse to monitor, read or respond to work contact outside their working hours, unless the refusal is unreasonable.
HR metricsEmployee turnover rate
Employee turnover is the rate at which employees leave an organisation and need to be replaced, usually expressed as separations over a period divided by average headcount.
HR metricsEmployee retention rate
Employee retention rate is the percentage of employees who remain with an organisation over a period, calculated as the share of starting headcount still employed at the end.
HR metricsCost per hire
Cost per hire is the average amount spent to fill a role, calculated as total internal and external recruiting costs divided by the number of hires in the period.
HR metricsTime to hire vs time to fill
Time to fill measures the days from a requisition opening to an offer being accepted, while time to hire measures the days from a candidate entering the process to accepting.
HR metricsAbsenteeism
Absenteeism is the pattern of unplanned absence from work, beyond approved leave taken as intended.
HR metricsPresenteeism
Presenteeism is being at work while unwell, exhausted or disengaged and producing well below normal capacity.
HR metricsSpan of control
Span of control is the number of direct reports a manager has.
HR metricsFull-time equivalent (FTE)
A full-time equivalent (FTE) expresses workforce size in units of full-time workload rather than people: one FTE equals one full-time load (a 38-hour week under Australia's National Employment Standards), so two half-time employees are 1.0 FTE.
HR metricsOffer acceptance rate
Offer acceptance rate is the percentage of job offers that candidates accept, calculated as offers accepted divided by offers extended.
HR metricsCost of vacancy
Cost of vacancy is the value lost for every day a role sits unfilled, most simply estimated as the role's share of revenue per working day, scaled by role level.
HR metricsRevenue per employee
Revenue per employee is annual revenue divided by headcount (or, more precisely, by FTE).
HR metricsTime to productivity
Time to productivity (or ramp time) is how long a new hire takes to reach full expected output in their role, commonly around three to six months for professional roles.
HR metricsHR-to-employee ratio
The HR-to-employee ratio is the size of the HR function relative to the workforce it supports, usually expressed as HR FTE per 100 employees.
HR metricsPeople analytics
People analytics is the practice of using workforce data to understand and improve how an organisation hires, engages, develops and retains people, and to make people decisions that can be defended with evidence rather than instinct.
Culture and capabilityEmployee engagement
Employee engagement is the emotional commitment an employee has to their organisation and its goals, visible as discretionary effort: caring about the outcome, not just completing the task.
Culture and capabilityStructured interview
A structured interview asks every candidate for a role the same job-relevant questions in the same order, scored against agreed criteria on a defined scale.
Culture and capabilityBehavioural interview
A behavioural interview asks candidates to describe how they actually handled specific past situations ("tell me about a time when...") on the logic that past behaviour is the most reliable predictor of future behaviour.
Culture and capabilityPsychometric assessment
A psychometric assessment is a standardised, scientifically validated measure of psychological characteristics such as cognitive ability, personality traits or work preferences.
Culture and capabilityCulture fit
Culture fit is the alignment between how a person prefers to work and how a team or organisation actually works: its pace, decision style, collaboration patterns and values in action.
Culture and capabilityWork personality
Work personality is a person's characteristic way of operating at work: how they approach tasks, make decisions, collaborate and contribute to a team.
Culture and capabilityCompetency framework
A competency framework is a structured definition of the skills, knowledge and behaviours an organisation requires, organised by role and proficiency level, so that hiring, development, assessment and progression all reference the same standard.
Culture and capabilitySkills matrix
A skills matrix is a grid mapping people against skills, with each cell recording proficiency (and often certification status and expiry).
Culture and capability9-box grid
The 9-box grid is a talent review tool that plots employees on two axes, current performance and future potential, each rated low, medium or high, producing nine cells that inform succession planning and development priorities.
New Zealand · New Zealand employmentEmployment Relations Act 2000
The Employment Relations Act 2000 is New Zealand's core employment statute.
New Zealand · New Zealand employment90-day trial period
A 90-day trial period is a New Zealand employment agreement clause that lets an employer dismiss a new employee within the first 90 days without the employee being able to raise a personal grievance for unjustified dismissal.
New Zealand · New Zealand employmentPersonal grievance
A personal grievance is a formal claim by a New Zealand employee against their employer under the Employment Relations Act, most commonly for unjustified dismissal or unjustified disadvantage.
New Zealand · New Zealand employmentHolidays Act 2003
The Holidays Act 2003 is the New Zealand statute setting minimum leave entitlements: four weeks of annual holidays, ten days of sick leave, bereavement leave, family violence leave and twelve public holidays.
New Zealand · New Zealand employmentKiwiSaver employer contributions
KiwiSaver employer contributions are the payments New Zealand employers must make into the retirement savings scheme of each contributing employee, a minimum of 3.5% of gross salary since 1 April 2026 (rising to 4% from April 2028).
New Zealand · New Zealand employmentIndividual employment agreement
An individual employment agreement (IEA) is the written contract every New Zealand employee not covered by a collective agreement must have.
New Zealand · New Zealand employmentRedundancy in New Zealand
Redundancy in New Zealand is the disestablishment of a role for genuine business reasons.
New Zealand · New Zealand employmentParental leave in New Zealand
New Zealand parental leave combines job-protected leave under the Parental Leave and Employment Protection Act with government-funded parental leave payments for up to 26 weeks for the primary carer.
United Kingdom · United Kingdom employmentEmployment Rights Act 2025
The Employment Rights Act 2025 is the UK's biggest overhaul of employment law in a generation, passed in December 2025 and rolling out in stages through 2027.
United Kingdom · United Kingdom employmentUnfair dismissal (UK)
Unfair dismissal in the UK is a dismissal without a fair reason or fair process under the Employment Rights Act 1996.
United Kingdom · United Kingdom employmentStatutory Sick Pay (SSP)
Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) is the minimum sick pay UK employers must provide, payable from the first day of sickness absence since 6 April 2026 at the lower of £123.25 a week or 80% of average weekly earnings, for up to 28 weeks.
United Kingdom · United Kingdom employmentNational Living Wage
The National Living Wage (NLW) is the UK's legal minimum hourly rate for workers aged 21 and over, set at £12.71 from 1 April 2026.
United Kingdom · United Kingdom employmentStatutory redundancy pay (UK)
Statutory redundancy pay is the minimum severance UK employees with two years' service receive when made redundant, calculated from age, service and weekly pay: half a week's pay per year under 22, one week per year from 22 to 40, and one and a half weeks per year from 41, capped at 20 years and £751 per week.
United Kingdom · United Kingdom employmentTUPE
TUPE (the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006) is the UK law that transfers employees automatically to a new employer when a business or service provision changes hands, preserving their terms and protecting them from transfer-related dismissal.
United Kingdom · United Kingdom employmentPension auto-enrolment
Pension auto-enrolment is the UK requirement that employers automatically enrol eligible workers into a workplace pension and contribute to it, with minimum contributions of 8% of qualifying earnings, at least 3% from the employer.
United Kingdom · United Kingdom employmentStatutory holiday entitlement (UK)
UK workers are legally entitled to 5.6 weeks of paid holiday a year, 28 days for someone working five days a week, which can include bank holidays.
United Kingdom · United Kingdom employmentIR35 (off-payroll working)
IR35, formally the off-payroll working rules, is UK tax law that catches contractors working through their own companies who would be employees if engaged directly, taxing the engagement like employment.
Singapore · Singapore employmentEmployment Act (Singapore)
The Employment Act is Singapore's main employment statute, covering every employee under a contract of service regardless of salary (with narrow exceptions such as seafarers, domestic workers and public servants).
Singapore · Singapore employmentCPF contributions
CPF (Central Provident Fund) contributions are the mandatory retirement, housing and healthcare savings payments for Singapore citizens and permanent residents: employers pay 17% and employees 20% of wages for those aged 55 and below, on ordinary wages up to S$8,000 a month since 1 January 2026.
Singapore · Singapore employmentRetirement and re-employment ages (Singapore)
Singapore's statutory retirement age rose to 64 on 1 July 2026, and the re-employment age to 69: employers cannot dismiss anyone below 64 on age grounds, and must offer eligible employees re-employment from 64 up to 69.
Singapore · Singapore employmentWorkplace Fairness Act (Singapore)
The Workplace Fairness Act is Singapore's first workplace discrimination statute, passed in 2025 and taking effect at the end of 2027.
Singapore · Singapore employmentFlexible work arrangement requests (Singapore)
Since 1 December 2024, the Tripartite Guidelines on Flexible Work Arrangement Requests require every Singapore employer to have a process for formal FWA requests and to respond in writing within two months, with refusals based on reasonable business grounds.
Singapore · Singapore employmentRetrenchment (Singapore)
Retrenchment in Singapore is the termination of employees because roles become redundant.
Singapore · Singapore employmentEmployment Pass and S Pass
The Employment Pass (EP) and S Pass are Singapore's main work passes for foreign professionals and mid-skilled workers.
Singapore · Singapore employmentParental leave (Singapore)
Singapore provides 16 weeks of Government-Paid Maternity Leave, 4 weeks of mandatory Government-Paid Paternity Leave, and a shared parental leave pool of 10 weeks for children born from 1 April 2026, largely government-funded and administered through the employer.
United States · United States employmentAt-will employment
At-will employment is the US default rule that either the employer or the employee can end employment at any time, for any lawful reason or no reason, without notice.
United States · United States employmentFLSA exempt vs non-exempt
Under the US Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), non-exempt employees must receive overtime at 1.5 times their regular rate after 40 hours a week, while exempt employees do not.
United States · United States employmentFMLA
The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is the US federal law giving eligible employees up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave a year for serious health conditions, a new child, or qualifying family care, with health benefits maintained.
United States · United States employmentW-2 vs 1099 classification
W-2 employees are on payroll with taxes withheld and employment-law protections; 1099 contractors are self-employed, paying their own taxes with no employee protections.
United States · United States employmentWARN Act
The WARN Act (Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act) requires US employers with 100 or more full-time employees to give 60 days' written notice of plant closings and qualifying mass layoffs.
United States · United States employmentPTO (paid time off)
PTO (paid time off) is the US umbrella for paid vacation, personal and often sick time, usually pooled into one bank.
United States · United States employmentFederal minimum wage (US)
The US federal minimum wage is US$7.25 an hour, unchanged since 2009, the longest freeze in the law's history.
United States · United States employmentPay transparency laws (US)
US pay transparency laws require employers to disclose pay information, most commonly salary ranges in job postings.
Canada · Canada employmentEmployment standards in Canada
Canadian employment law splits by jurisdiction: about 94% of workers fall under their province or territory's employment standards legislation (such as Ontario's Employment Standards Act), while roughly 6% in federally regulated industries (banks, telecom, interprovincial transport) fall under the Canada Labour Code.
Canada · Canada employmentReasonable notice (Canada)
Reasonable notice is the common law entitlement of Canadian employees to notice (or pay in lieu) on without-cause termination, assessed from age, length of service, character of the role and re-employment prospects.
Canada · Canada employmentTermination and severance pay (Ontario)
Ontario's Employment Standards Act requires termination notice or pay in lieu of one week per year of service up to 8 weeks, plus, separately, severance pay of one week per year up to 26 weeks for employees with five or more years' service where the employer's payroll is at least $2.5 million.
Canada · Canada employmentCPP and EI contributions
CPP (Canada Pension Plan) and EI (Employment Insurance) are Canada's mandatory payroll contributions.
Canada · Canada employmentConstructive dismissal (Canada)
Constructive dismissal in Canada occurs when an employer unilaterally makes a fundamental change to the employment relationship (pay cuts, demotion, forced relocation, toxic conditions), entitling the employee to treat the contract as terminated and claim notice damages as if dismissed.
Canada · Canada employmentJust cause termination (Canada)
Just cause termination is dismissal for serious misconduct that fundamentally breaches the employment relationship, ending employment in Canada without notice or severance.
Canada · Canada employmentVacation pay (Canada)
Canadian vacation entitlements are set by each jurisdiction and expressed as both time and pay: Ontario provides 2 weeks at 4% of wages, rising to 3 weeks and 6% at five years' service, while federally regulated employees receive 2, 3 and 4 weeks at 1, 5 and 10 years.
Canada · Canada employmentEI maternity and parental benefits
Canada funds parental leave through Employment Insurance: 15 weeks of maternity benefits plus a parental choice between the standard option (up to 40 weeks shared at 55% of earnings, maximum 35 weeks per parent) and the extended option (up to 69 weeks shared at 33%).
Pay and remunerationOTE (on-target earnings)
OTE, or on-target earnings, is the total pay a person earns if they hit 100% of their targets: base salary plus the variable component (commission or bonus) at full achievement.
Pay and remunerationCommission
Commission is variable pay calculated as a share of the sales or revenue a person generates, paid on top of (or occasionally instead of) a base salary.
Pay and remunerationBonus vs commission
A commission is a formula: a defined share of the sales or revenue a person generates, earned automatically as the results land.
Pay and remunerationEmployee share scheme (ESOP)
An employee share scheme gives employees ownership in the company they work for, through shares, options or rights, usually earned over time.
Pay and remunerationEquity compensation
Equity compensation is pay delivered as ownership rather than cash: shares, options, restricted stock units or other rights whose value tracks the company.
Pay and remunerationVesting
Vesting is the process by which promised equity or benefits become actually owned over time.
Pay and remunerationRestricted stock units (RSUs)
Restricted stock units are a promise to deliver company shares on a future schedule, usually tied to continued employment.
Pay and remunerationEmployee stock options
Employee stock options give the right, not the obligation, to buy company shares at a fixed exercise (strike) price for a set period.
Pay and remunerationBase salary
Base salary is the fixed, guaranteed component of pay for performing a role, before superannuation or pension contributions, variable pay, allowances or benefits.
Pay and remunerationTotal remuneration package
A total remuneration package (or total compensation) is the full value an employer provides: base salary, mandatory retirement contributions, variable pay at target, equity, allowances, insurances and benefits, expressed as one annual figure.
Pay and remunerationVariable pay
Variable pay is the at-risk portion of remuneration that moves with performance or results: commissions, bonuses, incentives and profit shares.
Pay and remunerationSalary sacrifice
Salary sacrifice (or salary packaging) is an arrangement where an employee gives up part of their pre-tax salary in exchange for benefits of similar value, most commonly extra superannuation or pension contributions, vehicles or devices.
Pay and remunerationSign-on bonus
A sign-on bonus is a one-off payment for joining, used to close a gap the ongoing package cannot: forfeited equity or bonuses at the old employer, a base-salary shortfall against expectations, or plain competition for scarce skills.
Pay and remunerationRetention bonus
A retention bonus is a payment promised for staying: a lump sum (or instalments) conditional on remaining employed to a set date or through a defined event such as a merger, restructure or critical project.
Pay and remunerationClawback
A clawback is a contractual right to recover pay already delivered (or cancel pay already promised) when defined conditions occur: leaving early after a sign-on, misconduct, misstated results, or risk failures that surface later.
Pay and remuneration13th month pay
13th month pay is an extra month of salary paid annually, usually at year end.
Pay and remunerationEmployee allowances
Employee allowances are fixed payments on top of base salary that compensate for costs or conditions of the work: travel, vehicles, meals, tools, remote-work expenses, higher duties or unsociable conditions.
Pay and remunerationSalary bands
Salary bands (or pay bands) are defined ranges for what an organisation pays roles at each level, with a minimum, midpoint and maximum.
Pay and remunerationCompa-ratio
A compa-ratio is an individual's salary divided by the midpoint of their band, expressed as a ratio or percentage: 1.00 means paid exactly at midpoint, 0.90 below it, 1.10 above.
Pay and remunerationSalary benchmarking
Salary benchmarking is comparing an organisation's pay against the market for comparable roles, using survey data, published ranges and offer intelligence, to set bands and price offers that attract without overspending.
Pay and remunerationPay equity
Pay equity means people doing the same or comparable work are paid consistently, with differences explainable by legitimate factors (level, performance, experience) rather than gender, background or negotiation history.
Pay and remunerationMerit increase
A merit increase is a performance-based addition to base salary, usually awarded in an annual review cycle from a fixed budget, as distinct from across-the-board, cost-of-living or promotion increases.
Pay and remunerationCost-of-living adjustment (COLA)
A cost-of-living adjustment is a pay increase tied to inflation rather than performance, intended to preserve the purchasing power of salaries.
Pay and remunerationPay compression
Pay compression is when pay differences stop reflecting differences in experience, performance or level: new hires earning as much as tenured staff, or team members earning at or above their managers.
Pay and remunerationShort-term incentive (STI)
A short-term incentive is variable pay earned over a year or less, usually an annual bonus against a scorecard of individual, team and company measures, expressed as a target percentage of salary.
Pay and remunerationLong-term incentive (LTI)
A long-term incentive is variable pay earned over multiple years, usually three or more, delivered as equity (performance rights, options, RSUs) or multi-year cash, and vesting only if service and performance conditions are met.
Pay and remunerationProfit sharing
Profit sharing distributes a defined slice of company profit to employees, usually annually and by formula (equal amounts, salary-proportional, or service-weighted).
Pay and remunerationGolden handcuffs
Golden handcuffs are pay structures that make leaving expensive: unvested equity, deferred bonuses, retention payments and repayable benefits that are forfeited on exit.
Pay and remunerationSeverance package
A severance package is everything an employer provides on ending employment: statutory entitlements (notice, redundancy or severance pay, accrued leave) plus anything negotiated on top, such as ex gratia payments, extended benefits, equity treatment and outplacement, usually in exchange for a release of claims.
Pay and remunerationGarden leave
Garden leave is when an employee serving out notice is directed to stay away from work, on full pay and benefits, while remaining employed and bound by their obligations.
