Meaning & use
direct employee
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountablebusiness
A worker who is employed directly by a company, rather than through an agency or as a contractor.
Grammar: Countable: 'a direct employee', 'direct employees'. Often used in HR and business contexts.
Patterns
- a direct employee of a company
- hire someone as a direct employee
After six months, the temp was hired as a direct employee.
Direct employees receive full benefits, unlike contractors.
The company has 500 direct employees and many freelancers.
Word forms
| plural | direct employees |
|---|
Common combinations
- direct employee of
- She is a direct employee of the bank, not an agency worker.
- hire as a direct employee
- They decided to hire him as a direct employee after the trial period.
- direct employee benefits
- Direct employee benefits include health insurance and paid leave.
Synonyms and how they differ
- permanent employee
- Focuses on job security and contract type; 'direct employee' focuses on who employs you, not the length of the contract.
- staff member
- More general and informal; 'direct employee' is a specific HR term contrasting with indirect workers.
Opposites
Word family
- direct employment noun
- The state of being employed directly by a company.
- employ verb
- To give someone a job.
- employee noun
- A person who works for someone else.
Commonly confused: direct employee or director?
direct employee vs director
A director is a senior manager or board member; a direct employee is simply a worker employed directly.
Practice
What is a 'direct employee'?
Choose one answer.
A direct employee is employed directly by the company, so option B is correct. Option A describes an agency worker, which is the opposite. Option C is a contractor, not a direct employee. Option D confuses 'direct' with 'director' or 'directing'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “direct employee”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.