Working to a different pattern

Everyone in the Services essentially works a nine-to-five job. Before the howls of outrage and derision from the Middle East, the Balkans, Germany and throughout the UK blow us all completely out of the water, what this means is a traditional working pattern, with one employer, tax and National Insurance deducted at source, pension contributions paid, and reasonable job security until retirement.
It does not mean there are not huge swings and variations in work performed, overtime (in the Services' case unpaid), separation, hardship and the rest.
Many people continue to work in similar patterns when they leave the Services. But even the most traditional of organisations is likely to have part-time staff, working fewer than full-time hours each week. Please do not confuse this with Forces 'part-timers' - reservists who work full-time for the period they are with the Regulars but then generally revert to civilian employment. Quite apart from legal and social changes, technology has driven some of this change, with modern machinery able to cut the tasks that used to be performed manually by office staff.
Increasingly the law recognises the rights of such workers and protects them. Increasingly, too, employers are adopting more 'worker-friendly' employment policies and enabling workers to achieve a balance between work and life that suits their individual circumstances; the day of the male bread-winner being the only socially acceptable employment model are over.
Although most people will admit that there is still some way to go to achieve full equality, the empowerment of women in the workplace has exploded rather than eroded traditional employment patterns. Many men, too, have realised that there may be more to life than sitting at a desk and now wish to arrange their whole lives in the way that is best for them. Forward-thinking employers have encouraged this trend, while all have to go along with it.
Part-time workers simply have a contract to work for a certain number of hours each week at the same salary rate as a full-time worker but paid for hours worked. This arrangement often suits people involved in caring for children or other family members - traditionally the wife's role but now increasingly taken on by husbands and grandparents. Conditions of employment - holidays, sick pay, notice periods and the like - are usually the same as for full-time staff, while pension and other financial areas will reflect the hours worked.
A variation on this theme is job-sharing: two part-timers doing a full-time job between them. Terrific in theory, this requires a high degree of co-ordination and carefully matched skill sets if one person is to be able to pick up another's work seamlessly and pass it back to them at the end of their shift. Nevertheless, some very successful job-sharing partnerships are reported, and Service leavers should expect to meet such arrangements in the workplace.
Contract or term employment simply means that the individual is hired for a specified period of time or to fulfil a specific purpose - sometimes to cover the absence of a permanent employee. Contract lengths vary from a few days to several years, and interim management is really just one form of contract employment. Contractors will usually be entitled to fewer benefits than permanent staff and, if they have several employers simultaneously and obey other rules, may be responsible for their own tax and National Insurance. They will often not be paid for holidays or sickness, but a contract can be a most effective way of gaining permanent employment if the contractor manages to impress their employer during the contract. Many people enjoy contract working for the variety and freedom that comes with it.
Temping is a form of contract working, although the individual will usually be paid by the agency rather than the employer they are working for. Many people enjoy working for various employers for periods from one day to several months or even years. Others prefer a more settled regime. However, temping does have the great advantage of being able to fit in work round other commitments, so can be ideal for the parents of young children or the carer for older family members.
Portfolio working involves working for more than one employer, often in different areas, like acting as book-keeper for one company, teaching business courses at a college, acting as a health & safety adviser for two clients, and running yoga classes at a local gym. This is different to running your own business making widgets for a number of different customers. It is an interesting way to work, but it demands good self-organisation.
All of these options, and many more, are open to the Service leaver; but the safest transition is to stay with secure employment until you know a little more about the commercial world. Make your mistakes at someone else's expense before setting up on your own.