essential functions
Necessary job tasks
Essential functions are the core duties of a job that an employee must be able to perform.
The term appears primarily in employment law, particularly disability accommodation contexts: an employer must provide reasonable accommodations unless they prevent someone from performing essential functions.
Answering phones is an essential function of the receptionist position.
The distinction matters because marginal tasks can be reassigned, but essential functions cannot.
- coreCentral essential portion
- vitalEssential or sustaining existence
- mission criticalEssential to core operations
- fundamentalForming the base
- criticalExpressing disapproval or importance
necessary · bare bones · duties · tasks · job description · responsibilities · day to day · basic · bread and butter · meat and potatoes · primary · key · operations · nuts and bolts · requirements · indispensable · crucial · heavy lifting
essential functionsnice-to-haves
Desired but unnecessary features
frills · add-ons · bells and whistles · extras · luxuries
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