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Employers' Guide to HR
Part-Time Workers Regulations
The Part-time Workers Regulations came into effect on 1 July 2000, and are designed to ensure that Britain’s six million part-timers are not treated less favourably than full-time workers.
Last Modified on: 2009/08/17 11:32
Scope and definition
As with the Working Time Regulations these regulations apply to all 'workers' rather than just 'employees'. A worker is a part-time worker for the purposes of the regulations if he is paid wholly or partially by reference to the time that he works, and cannot be identified as a full-time worker when compared to other workers on the same type of contract. The rights are exercisable by complaint to an Employment Tribunal.
One of the key aspects of this legislation (as with Equal Pay legislation) is the ability to be able to compare a worker's treatment with that of another worker. The potential comparable worker is defined as a full-time worker where at the time the treatment is alleged to take place:
Both workers are employed by the employer under the same contract, and are engaged in the same or broadly the same work, taking into account whether they have a similar level of qualification, skills and experience; and
The full-time worker works at the same establishment as the part-time worker or, where there is no full-time worker in accordance with the above, works at a different establishment and satisfies those requirements.
Therefore a part-timer cannot compare themselves to any full-timer, only one engaged on a similar contract working for the same company. For example a part-time permanent accountant could compare themselves to a
' Scope and definition As with the Working Time Regulations these regulations apply to all 'workers' rather than just 'employees'. A worker is a part-time worker for the purposes of the regulations if he is paid wholly or partially by reference to the time that he works, and cannot be identified as a full-time worker when compared to other workers on the same type of contract. The rights are exercisable by complaint to an Employment Tribunal. Comparisons One of the key aspects of this legislation (as with Equal Pay legislation) is the ability to be able to compare a worker's treatment with that of another worker. The potential comparable worker is defined as a full-time worker where at the time the treatment is alleged to take place: Both workers are employed by the employer under the same contract, and are engaged in the same or broadly the same work, taking into account whether they have a similar level of qualification, skills and experience; and The full-time worker works at the same establishment as the part-time worker or, where there is no full-time worker in accordance with the above, works at a different establishment and satisfies those requirements. Therefore a part-timer cannot compare themselves to any full-timer, only one engaged on a similar contract working for the same company. For example a part-time permanent accountant could compare themselves to a full-time permanent accountant working alongside them. Less favourable treatment The core right not to be discriminated against states that the part-time worker has the right not be treated less favourably than the employer treats a comparable full-time worker as regards the terms of his contract, or being subjected to any other detriment by any act, or deliberate failure to act by his employer. Importantly this right only applies if the reason for the treatment is that the worker is a part-time worker and the treatment is not justified on objective grounds. In determining whether the worker has been treated less favourably the pro-rata principle must be applied where appropriate. This means that where a full-time worker receives pay or a benefit a part-time worker should receive not less than the proportion of that pay or benefit relating to the number of hours that they work. Right to receive written statement of reasons for less favourable treatment A worker can request a written statement from the employer detailing the reasons for what the worker considers to be less favourable treatment. The employer must reply within 21 days. Practical issues Remuneration Part-time workers should receive the same hourly rate as comparable full-time workers. Part-time workers should receive the same hourly rate of overtime pay as comparable full-time workers, once they have worked more than the normal full-time hours — the Regulations specifically address this situation, stating that it is only after the normal full-time hours have been worked that a worker is entitled to overtime payments. Part-time workers should be able to participate in any profit sharing or share option schemes that are available for full-time staff, unless there are objective grounds for excluding them. Part-time workers should not be treated less favourably than full-time workers for the purposes of the following: calculating the rate of sick pay or maternity pay; the length of service required to qualify for payment; the length of time the payment is received. Benefits The benefits part-time workers receive (for example holiday entitlement) should be pro rata to those received by comparable full-time workers. They should also not be excluded from benefits such as access to pension schemes, subsidised mortgages, and staff discounts unless different treatment is justified on objective grounds. Where a benefit, such as health insurance, cannot be applied pro rata, this is not a sufficient justification for denying it to part-time workers. The less favourable treatment of part-time workers must still be justified on objective grounds. This might include the disproportionate cost to the organisation of providing such a benefit. Any contractual maternity and parental leave entitlements offered by the employer should be available to part-time workers as well as to full-time workers. Career break schemes should be available to part-time workers in the same way as for full-time, unless their exclusion is objectively justified on grounds other than their part-time status. Training Employers should not exclude part-time staff from training simply because they do not work full-time, and should try to schedule training at times when part-timers can attend. Organisational Issues In reorganising workloads part-time workers should not be treated less favourably than full-time workers, unless the treatment can be objectively justified. Having worked part-time previously or currently working part-time should not prevent a worker from being promoted, whether the new post is full-time or part-time. When choosing the criteria to select jobs for redundancy, the criteria must be objectively justified and part-time workers must not be treated less favourably than comparable full-time workers. Best practice guidance As well as the statutory requirements required by the legislation the Government has also issued some best practice guidance for employers to follow. For example: Requests for job sharing and to change to part-time working must be seriously considered. Larger organisations should keep a database of those interested in entering job-sharing arrangements. Employers should consider establishing a procedure for discussing with workers whether they wish to change from full-time to part-time employment for any reason, and should explore ways to make it easier for workers to vary their hours. Employers should keep under review how the availability of part-time and full-time positions is communicated to workers. Workers’ representatives and workers’ councils should be provided with information about part- time working. Employers may find it of benefit to compensate part-time workers for the fact that the majority of bank and public holidays fall on a Monday. They suggest allocating part-timers a pro rata entitlement to bank/public holidays according to the length of their working week. Latest Amendments The Fixed-term Employee Regulations have brought about a change in the part-time workers Regulations in that previously a part-timer on a fixed-term contract had to compare him or herself with a full-time employee on a fixed-term, and not a full-time employee on a permanent contract. However, fixed-term employees can use either a part-time or permanent employee as a comparable. After implementing the Fixed-term Regulations it was believed that this lead to less favourable treatment of part-timers. Part-timers are now allowed to compare themselves to a full-time colleague irrespective of whether either party’s contract is permanent or fixed-term. The information contained in this article is for general guidance only and represents our understanding of employment and associated law and employee relations issues at the date of modification. VizualHR cannot be held responsible for any action or inaction taken in reliance upon the contents. Specific advice should be sought on any individual matter.
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