Part Timers Know Your Rights
In the bad old days part time workers were entitled to feel like second class citizens from an employment law point of view. For example, they had to work for five years before being protected from being unfairly dismissed whereas full timers only had to work for 2 years. Today of course the qualifying period for both full and part time workers is one year.
We do not live in a perfect world and it would be wrong to say that part time workers get the same treatment as full timers today, however, the position is a lot better than it used to be.
A big step in the right direction came about with the Part Time Workers (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulation 2000. A wordy title but it does exactly what it says! The regulations were introduced to comply with European law, and their aim is to end less favourable treatment for part time workers, and to support the development of a flexible labour market. While the regulations apply to both male and female part timers it is a fact that most part timers are female and so the regulations should also help reduce unjustified differences in the treatment of male and female workers.
So what do the regulations say?
Part timers are generally entitled to the same terms and conditions of employment on a pro rata basis as a comparable full time worker. A full timer is comparable if he or she is engaged in the same or similar work by the same employer, with a similar level of qualification or experience.
This means that the part timers must be able to identify a full timer doing essentially the same work to be able to use these regulations. It’s important to remember that part timers are entitled not to be treated less favourably, however, this does not mean that they have to be treated the same as full timers.
For example, Susan works full time (40 hours a week) as a cleaner. She is paid £7 per hour and is entitled to 5 weeks’ holiday. Charlotte works part time (20 hours a week) for the same company also as a cleaner. She is paid £6.50 per hour and is entitled to 4 weeks’ holiday.
Under the regulations Charlotte is entitled to 5 weeks’ holiday and to be paid £7 per hour. Charlotte’s holiday pay will of course be based on a 20 hour week.
Charlotte needs to write to her employers raising a grievance about this different treatment. If Charlotte’s employers do not increase Charlotte’s basic pay and her holiday allowance, she would be entitled to make a claim to an Employment Tribunal (within 3 months). The likely result at the Tribunal would be that it would tell Charlotte’s employers to equalise her terms of employment, as well as possibly awarding her some compensation.
Overtime pay and bank holidays are thorny subjects under the regulations. Susan gets overtime pay at double time (£14.00 per hour) when she works more than 40 hours a week. Charlotte’s basic pay has been increased under the regulations to £7 per hour but she is only entitled to double time when she works more than 40 hours a week (the same as Susan). She is not entitled to more than her basic rate for any hours worked between 21 and 40 per week, although, for her, this amounts to “overtime”.
Charlotte never works on a Monday and so does not benefit from the bank holidays that Susan gets. Under the regulations she is entitled to pro rata time off. She must not be treated less favourably than Susan.
Part timers are also entitled under the regulations to the same training, promotion and pension opportunities as full timers.
Sacking a part time worker because they complain that they are being treated unfairly compared with a full timer is an automatically unfair dismissal.
Responsible employers should regularly look at the terms and conditions of part timers, at least every 12 months, to ensure that they are treated on the same basis as full timers.
Outdated assumptions about part timers not being “as important” as full timers should be avoided.
Published 27/09/2006.
