Employment is a relationship between two parties, usually based on a contract where work is paid for, where one party, which may be a corporation, not-for-profit organization, or other entity is the employer and the other is the employee. Employees work in return for payment, which may be in the form of an hourly wage, by piecework or an annual salary, depending on the type of work an employee does and/or which sector she or he is working in. Employees in some fields or sectors may receive gratuities, bonus payments or stock options. In some types of employment, employees may receive benefits in addition to payment. Benefits can include health insurance, housing, disability insurance or use of a gym. Employment is typically governed by employment laws or regulations and/or legal contracts.
An employee contributes labor and expertise to an endeavor of an employer and is usually hired to perform specific duties which are packaged into a job. An employee is a person who is hired to provide services to a company on a regular basis in exchange for compensation and who does not provide these services as part of an independent business.
"Employment" is a classic science fiction story pioneering the concept of de-extinction by L. Sprague de Camp. It was first published in the magazine Astounding Science-Fiction for May, 1939. The story appeared under the pseudonym Lyman R. Lyon (the name of his maternal great-grandfather) as the magazine's policy did not allow the name of any author to be repeated on the same contents page, and de Camp had another piece in the same issue under his actual name (part one of his article "Design for Life"). It first appeared in book form in the anthology Imagination Unlimited (Farrar Strauss and Young, 1952; It later appeared in the anthologies Men of Space and Time (The Bodley Head, 1953), and Science Fiction Inventions (Lancer Books, 1967), as well as the de Camp collection The Best of L. Sprague de Camp (Doubleday, 1978). It was credited to de Camp's real name in all publications subsequent to its first appearance. The story has been translated into German.
A vacation or holiday is a leave of absence from a regular occupation, or a specific trip or journey, usually for the purpose of recreation or tourism. People often take a vacation during specific holiday observances, or for specific festivals or celebrations. Vacations are often spent with friends or family.
A person may take a longer break from work, such as a sabbatical, gap year, or career break.
The concept of taking a vacation is a recent invention, and has developed through the last two centuries. Historically, the idea of travel for recreation was a luxury that only wealthy people could afford (see Grand Tour). In the Puritan culture of early America, taking a break from work for reasons other than weekly observance of the Sabbath was frowned upon. However, the modern concept of vacation was led by a later religious movement encouraging spiritual retreat and recreation. The notion of breaking from work periodically took root among the middle and working class.
In the United Kingdom, vacation once specifically referred to the long summer break taken by the law courts and then later the term was applied to universities. The custom was introduced by William the Conqueror from Normandy where it facilitated the grape harvest. In the past, many upper-class families moved to a summer home for part of the year, leaving their usual home vacant.
Vacation is the second studio album by the American rock band The Go-Go's, released in 1982 on the I.R.S. Records label. The album reached No. 8 in the U.S. Billboard 200, and was certified gold. The title track was a U.S. summer smash, reaching No. 8 on the Billboard pop singles chart. The Go-Go's were riding high at the time of the album's first release, their future to all outward appearances looking bright. Future problems were beginning to take shape, as the members' drug use and internal fighting began to escalate.
Besides the title track, two more singles were pulled from the album at the time: "Get Up and Go" and "This Old Feeling", which were minor hits in the United States. A fourth song featured on the album, the cover version of the 1960s hit "Cool Jerk", appeared as a single in 1991 to promote the band's first compilation album, Greatest. The single "Vacation" was also issued as what was perhaps the first cassette single ever.
The song "Speeding," which is not on the album, is a Caffey/Wiedling composition that was used as B-side of the single for "Get Up and Go," and is also part of the movie Fast Times at Ridgemont High soundtrack.
"Vacation" is a song by Danish pop band Alphabeat, released on 12 March 2012 as the lead single from their third studio album, Express Non-Stop (2012). The song was originally intended to be released in the United States on the same date, but due to "faults in the system", it was ultimately released on 26 March 2012. The song peaked at number fifteen on the Danish Singles Chart. Alphabeat performed "Vacation" live on the season five finale of the Danish version of X Factor on 23 March 2012.