The full-time equivalent (FTE) is a standardised unit that converts different employment volumes into a comparable measure. A full-time role equals 1.0 FTE; a 50-percent role equals 0.5 FTE; a Minijob with ten hours per week against a 38.5-hour full-time benchmark sits at around 0.26 FTE.
FTE is the central management metric in many areas: universities allocate teaching capacity by FTE, hospitals plan nursing staff in FTE, the public sector reports headcount growth often in FTE. EU and federal funding applications likewise require FTE figures.
For candidates, FTE matters because job postings often state part-time shares ("50% FTE" or "0.5 FTE"). To translate into weekly hours, candidates can use the collectively or contractually defined full-time week as a reference.
Lunigi shows weekly hours and FTE share in its emails so candidates can assess load and work-life balance easily.