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employer

UK/ɪmˈplɔɪə/US/ɪmˈplɔɪ.ɚ/
nounB1+Common in everyday speech and writing · #3,556 of 15,258leans written

Other forms: employers

An employer is the company or person that pays people to work. A good employer, the largest employer in town, your current employer.

The counterpart is employee, and the relationship carries legal duties on both sides — an employer must provide a contract, a safe workplace and the minimum wage. Employer's liability insurance is compulsory in Britain. Note prospective employer, former employer; and that the distinction between an employee and a self-employed contractor is one of the most litigated questions in employment law.

Definitions of employer

  1. 1nounemployerA company or person that pays people to work.B1+

    “My employer lets me work from home on Fridays.”

employer is a party in a working relationship.

Where it comes from

The word is employ plus -er, from French employer and Latin implicare, to enfold or involve — the same verb as imply and implicate. To employ somebody was originally to involve them in something.

From employ + er, late 16th century. Compare French employeur.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in Work & Careers

Practise this word

employer in the wild

  • Through co-employment, the PEO becomes the employer of record for tax purposes, filing payroll taxes under its own tax identification numbers.

    Professional employer organization

  • The most important such relationship for practical purposes is that of employer and employee.

    Vicarious liability

  • Other employment sites offer employer reviews, career and job-search advice, and information about job roles and employers.

    Employment website

  • There are several types of job frauds that employees or potential employees commit against employers.

    Job fraud

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.