Hesitated, being employed by father (6)
I believe the answer is:
paused
'hesitated' is the definition.
('pause' can be a synonym of 'hesitate')
'employed by father' is the wordplay.
'employed' becomes 'used' ('use' can be a synonym of 'employ').
'by' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'father' becomes 'pa' (pa is a kind of father).
'used' after 'pa' is 'PAUSED'.
'being' is the link.
(Other definitions for paused that I've seen before include "Stopped temporarily or hesitated" , "Hesitated, stopped briefly" , "Ceased temporarily" , "Waited a moment" .)