Employment gives us time (5)
I believe the answer is:
usage
'employment' is the definition.
(I know that employment can be written as usage)
'us time' is the wordplay.
'time' becomes 'age' (an age is a period of time).
'us'+'age'='USAGE'
'gives' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for usage that I've seen before include "phraseology" , "Habit" , "Terminology - custom" , "Application" , "Acceptable language" .)