LD 019 Parttime workers seminar November 2018 Parttime

LD 019 Part-time workers seminar November 2018 Part-time workers seminar www. face 2 face. HR. com

This session focuses on the law applicable to part-time workers and provides guidance on how to manage them www. face 2 face. HR. com

What is part-time working? Ø Part-time worker works fewer hours than full-time workers Ø Part-time working includes: § § § working fewer days per week than full-time workers working fewer hours per day than full-time workers, and job-sharing www. face 2 face. HR. com

Did you know that … … workers cannot be required to work more than an average of 48 hours per week? Where part-time workers have more than one job, their line manager should ask how many hours they work in total. If a part-time worker works more than an average of 48 hours a week in total, the manager should ask the individual whether or not he or she wishes to sign an optout agreement. The manager should explain that, if the worker declines to do so, action will have to be taken to ensure that he or she does not work more than an average of 48 hours per week. www. face 2 face. HR. com

Reasons for working part-time Ø Historically, more women than men worked on part-time basis to take care of children Ø Part-time working now preferred working pattern for many men and women Ø Some roles available on part-time basis only www. face 2 face. HR. com

Benefits of part-time working Employers can benefit from employing part-time workers: Ø Part-time work fosters a healthy work-life balance Ø Many part-time workers flexible about their working arrangements Ø Evidence that retention rate of part-time workers better than that of full-time workers www. face 2 face. HR. com

Top tip ü When a vacancy arises, the line manager should consider whether or not the role could be performed on a part-time or job-share basis. This helps to ensure that the role is open to more people, which means that the manager is more likely to recruit the best person for the job www. face 2 face. HR. com

Requests to work part-time (1) Ø Employees have no right to transfer to part-time work but managers need to deal appropriately with requests to work part-time Ø Some employees have right to ask employer to work flexibly: § § § must be an employee must have a minimum of 26 weeks’ service must not have submitted a request in previous 12 months www. face 2 face. HR. com

Requests to work part-time (2) Ø Employees must fulfil certain criteria when submitting a request Ø No obligation on employer to agree to flexible working request Ø Deal with requests in a “reasonable manner” Ø Refusal of request must be based on business grounds specified in legislation www. face 2 face. HR. com

Requests to work part-time (3) Ø Deal with requests positively: § § § part-time working can have benefits for employee and organisation failing to agree to request might prompt employee to look for new job failing to agree to request could amount to indirect sex discrimination www. face 2 face. HR. com

Did you know that … … employers sometimes indirectly discriminate against employees or job applicants? Indirect sex discrimination occurs where an employer applies a provision, criterion or practice equally to men and women, but it puts one sex, including the person complaining, at a particular disadvantage when compared to the other sex, and the employer cannot show it to be a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim. A requirement for employees to work full-time is deemed to have a disproportionate adverse impact on women, because more women than men have primary responsibility for childcare and are less likely to be able to work full-time, and is likely to be indirect sex discrimination. The employer may, however, be able to justify the requirement. www. face 2 face. HR. com

Dos and don’ts (1) Do Don’t ü û ü ü ü Refer employee to organisation’s right to request flexible working policy Keep an open mind about how employee’s request could work in practice Bear in mind working part-time could improve employee’s motivation and performance Establish if employee willing to explore other patterns of working www. face 2 face. HR. com Dismiss employee’s request without giving it proper consideration

Dos and don’ts (2) Do ü ü ü Ask if other areas of business have any suitable part-time roles if cannot accommodate employee’s request Consider that, if you reject employee’s request, there is a risk he/she will resign Consider a trial period to test if part -time working appropriate www. face 2 face. HR. com

No less favourable treatment (1) Ø Employers must not treat part-time workers less favourably than a comparable full-time worker Ø If manager does this, and reason for treatment is individual works part-time, this will be unlawful (unless treatment can be objectively justified) Ø Right not to be treated less favourably applies to employees and workers www. face 2 face. HR. com

Definition of a “comparable full-time worker” A comparable full-time worker is someone who: Ø works under the same type of contract as the part-time worker; Ø does the same or broadly similar work as the part-time worker; and Ø works at same establishment as the part-time worker or works at a different establishment in the same organisation www. face 2 face. HR. com

No less favourable treatment (2) Part-time worker will not be working under same type of contract as full-time worker where, e. g. : Ø part-time worker is a worker and full-time worker is an employee; Ø part-time worker is working under a contract of apprenticeship and full-time worker is not; or Ø full-time worker has fixed hours and part-time worker has a zero-hours or casual-hours contract; Ø take into account all of similarities and differences between part- and full-time roles www. face 2 face. HR. com

Top tip ü To determine if two people do the same or broadly similar work, the manager should consider if they perform the same core activities. For example, if two secretaries are employed to type, they are likely to be doing the same or broadly similar work even where some of the activities that they perform as part of their role are not the same. www. face 2 face. HR. com

No less favourable treatment (3) Ø If less favourable treatment not because individual works part-time, not less favourable treatment on basis of part-time status www. face 2 face. HR. com

Objective justification Ø Less favourable treatment of part-time worker lawful if employer can objectively justify it Ø Employer must demonstrate less favourable treatment is necessary and appropriate to achieve a legitimate business objective www. face 2 face. HR. com

Pay and benefits Ø Part-time workers should not receive less favourable terms and conditions than their full-time colleagues (unless can be objectively justified) Ø Part-time workers should be granted access to pay and benefits on same basis as a comparable full-time worker Ø Employers should not treat part-time workers less favourably in relation to: § § length of service needed to qualify for such benefits, or length of time over which such benefits are given www. face 2 face. HR. com

Pro rata principle Ø Part-time workers entitled to same terms and conditions as comparable full-time worker but on pro rata basis Ø Part-time worker’s pay and benefits should be proportion of comparable full-time worker’s, calculated on basis of number of hours he/she works Ø Not always appropriate to pro rate part-time worker’s pay and benefits www. face 2 face. HR. com

Basic pay Ø Part-time workers should receive same rate of pay as comparable full-time worker on pro rata basis (unless can be objectively justified) Ø Managers may be able to justify different rate where based on performance, skills and qualifications Ø Conduct fair appraisal of all employees to measure such factors www. face 2 face. HR. com

Enhanced pay Ø Rule against less favourable treatment of part-time workers applies to: § § § bonus payments shift allowances unsocial hours payments Ø Part-time employees entitled to statutory maternity, paternity and adoption leave and pay Ø Where full-time employee enjoys enhanced maternity, paternity and adoption pay, comparable part-time employee should receive enhanced pay on same basis www. face 2 face. HR. com

Examples of enhanced pay applied to part-time workers Full-time worker Part-time worker Full-time worker receives an £ 800 Christmas bonus Someone who works 50% of fulltime hours receives a £ 400 Christmas bonus Part-time worker receives double pay for working Sunday shifts, even though he or she works on Sundays only Part-time worker receives a £ 10 one-off payment for working a night shift Full-time worker receives double pay for working Sunday shifts Full-time worker receives a £ 10 one-off payment for working a night shift www. face 2 face. HR. com

Overtime Ø Part-time employees entitled to same overtime rate as comparable full-time colleague Ø To qualify for overtime, part-time worker must have worked same number of hours as full-time worker Ø Managers should not exclude part-time workers from volunteering for overtime on basis of their part-time status www. face 2 face. HR. com

Pay for union duties Ø Employee trade union representatives entitled to be paid for carrying out union duties during their working hours Ø However, where part-time employee carries out union duties outside his/her normal working hours, but during full-time employee’s working hours, he/she is entitled to be paid www. face 2 face. HR. com

Annual leave Ø Workers entitled to 5. 6 weeks’ paid holiday per year Ø Amount of annual leave to which part- time worker entitled depends on number of days he/she works Ø If comparable full-time worker’s contract gives enhanced annual leave, additional entitlement should be given to part -time workers on pro rata basis www. face 2 face. HR. com

Bank and public holidays (1) Ø No statutory right to paid time off on bank and public holidays Ø Where employer grants paid time off on such holidays, paid days may be counted as part of statutory holiday entitlement Ø In such cases, bank holidays falling on days part-timer works can be included in his/her holiday entitlement www. face 2 face. HR. com

Bank and public holidays (2) Ø Problems arise where workers entitled to these holidays on top of statutory holiday entitlement Ø Most bank holidays fall on Monday and not all part-timers work on Monday Ø Fairest approach is to calculate bank holiday entitlement on a pro rata basis www. face 2 face. HR. com

Over to you… Some benefits are not easily divisible according to the number of days or hours that a part-timer works. These are examples of some indivisible benefits. Can you think of others? Ø Provision of a company car Ø Health insurance www. face 2 face. HR. com

Indivisible benefits Ø Often simplest solution to give part-time worker -equivalent of benefit Ø Organisation should consider each benefit with a view to not treating part-time workers less favourably Ø Might give part-time workers benefits in excess of pro rata entitlement Ø Might be able to justify not providing indivisible benefit on basis of cost www. face 2 face. HR. com cash

Other treatment Ø Part-time workers’ right not to be treated less favourably extends to other areas, e. g. sabbaticals and promotion Ø Managers should not expect part-time workers to achieve same output as full-time colleagues Ø Take into account number of hours part-timer works when setting their targets www. face 2 face. HR. com

Redundancy Ø Selecting part-time workers for redundancy because parttime unlawful unless objectively justified Ø Managers should not treat part-time workers less favourably than a comparable full-time worker when applying redundancy selection criteria Ø Managers should not treat part-time employees less favourably in respect of statutory and enhanced redundancy payments www. face 2 face. HR. com

Career development and training (1) Ø Treat part-time workers no less favourably than full-time workers in relation to career development and training unless can objectively justify Ø In managers’ interests to nurture all team members Ø Give same support to part-time workers as full-time workers so part-timers have same opportunity to develop their career www. face 2 face. HR. com

Dos and don’ts Do Don’t ü û ü ü Adopt a flexible approach towards timing of, and arrangements for, training Include part-time workers in appraisal system Give part-time workers regular feedback Consider part-time workers for promotion Give thought to how senior roles could be adapted to be performed on a part-time basis www. face 2 face. HR. com û Ignore part-time workers’ needs when considering what training courses to offer Forget that part-time workers are likely to be as motivated as full-time workers to have a successful career

Career development and training (2) Ø To ensure part-time workers can participate in training, managers could: § § § schedule training sessions on days part-timers work hold more than one training session per subject and on different days ask part-timers to swap one of their working days for a day on which training is taking place pay part-timers for an additional day or give them a day off in lieu if they agree to come into work on a training day, if they don’t work on that day consider other learning options www. face 2 face. HR. com

Communication Ø Risk of part-time workers being excluded from communication Ø Managers should ensure part-time workers receive all information relevant to their role and involved in decisions affecting their role Ø Managers could: § § § hold departmental meetings on days and at times part-timers work make arrangements for a part-timer to join an important meeting via teleconference if it needs to take place when he/she is not working, and provide time off in lieu ensure part-timers receive departmental meetings’ minutes if not able to attend www. face 2 face. HR. com

Top tip ü Arranging working hours so that all team members work on the same day at least once a week will enable weekly departmental meetings to take place www. face 2 face. HR. com

Written statement of reasons for less favourable treatment Ø Part-time worker who believes he/she has been treated less favourably due to part-time status entitled to make a request to employer for written statement of reasons for less favourable treatment Ø Seek advice from HR if receive a request as failure to respond or evasive response can result in adverse inference where worker brings tribunal complaint www. face 2 face. HR. com

Remedies Ø Part-time worker treated less favourably due to part-time status can bring tribunal complaint Ø Where tribunal finds in favour of worker, may: make a declaration, award compensation and make a recommendation Ø Worker may also bring complaint where he/she is dismissed, selected for redundancy or subjected to detriment for exercising or asserting his/her rights as parttime worker www. face 2 face. HR. com

Q: Which one of the following is correct? a) Part-time workers should receive the same annual salary as a comparable fulltime worker, on a pro rata basis b) Part-time workers will qualify for a statutory redundancy payment only if they have four years’ continuous service c) Where full-time workers are not entitled to receive a Christmas bonus unless they have made at least £ 100, 000 worth of sales in the past year, part-time workers should not be entitled to receive a Christmas bonus unless they have made at least £ 100, 000 worth of sales in the past year d) Part-time workers who work only weekends should not be entitled to receive the same unsocial hours payments that full-time workers receive for working on weekends www. face 2 face. HR. com

Q: Which one of the following is correct? a) Part-time workers should receive the same annual salary as a comparable full-time worker, on a pro rata basis b) Part-time workers will qualify for a statutory redundancy payment only if they have four years’ continuous service c) Where full-time workers are not entitled to receive a Christmas bonus unless they have made at least £ 100, 000 worth of sales in the past year, part-time workers should not be entitled to receive a Christmas bonus unless they have made at least £ 100, 000 worth of sales in the past year d) Part-time workers who work only weekends should not be entitled to receive the same unsocial hours payments that full-time workers receive for working on weekends www. face 2 face. HR. com

Q: Full-time workers at Yourcommute. com work 40 hours per week. They are entitled to overtime pay if they work over 40 hours per week. In which of the following scenarios would a part-time worker who works 20 hours per week be entitled to overtime pay? a) For any hours worked over 20 hours per week b) For any hours worked over 25 hours per week c) For any hours worked over 30 hours per week d) For any hours worked over 40 hours per week www. face 2 face. HR. com

Q: Full-time workers at Yourcommute. com work 40 hours per week. They are entitled to overtime pay if they work over 40 hours per week. In which of the following scenarios would a part-time worker who works 20 hours per week be entitled to overtime pay? a) For any hours worked over 20 hours per week b) For any hours worked over 25 hours per week c) For any hours worked over 30 hours per week d) For any hours worked over 40 hours per week www. face 2 face. HR. com

Q: Geraldine works two days a week. Full-time employees working five days a week are entitled to 30 days' annual leave. How much holiday should Geraldine be able to take? a) 10 days b) 12 days c) 14 days d) 16 days www. face 2 face. HR. com

Q: Geraldine works two days a week. Full-time employees working five days a week are entitled to 30 days' annual leave. How much holiday should Geraldine be able to take? a) 10 days b) 12 days c) 14 days d) 16 days www. face 2 face. HR. com