Part Time Worker's Contract

As with full time workers, part time employees should receive a contract when taking employment. A part time worker’s contract does not necessarily have to be a written contract but a contract will be entered into between employer and employee when work commences. Part-time employees are also entitled to a written employment statement within two months of beginning any employment.

Terms and Conditions of the Contract

Part-time employees do have the same statutory rights as full time employees and this should be reflected in the part time worker’s contract. The only real difference between the full time employee and the part time employee will probably be the hours worked. This should be shown in the employment contract or written employment statement.

Rights of the Part Time Employee

Part time workers should not be treated any differently than full time workers. A part time employee who is employed to do the same job as a full time member of staff should receive the same hourly rate. The rate of pay should be stipulated in the part time worker’s contract or written statement.

An employer will have to show reasonable justification if the part time worker has been given less favourable terms and conditions that a full time member of staff. But all statutory rights such as sick leave, holidays, maternity leave and notification of termination should be the same for part time and full time workers but worked out on a pro rata scale.

Part Time Workers and Pro Rata

Most terms such as pay, sick pay, maternity pay and holidays will be worked out on a pro rata scale and should be stated in the part time worker’s contract. So if a part time employee works two days per week and is absent through illness then his or her sick pay should be two full days sick pay per week for the duration of the sick pay period. Similarly with factors such as bonuses and shift allowances the part time worker should be treated equally with the full time worker and a pro rata scale should be used.

Part Time Worker’s Contracts

There are a range of different contracts for part time workers depending on the length of work. Many part time workers will be employed permanently with a company and as such should have the same type of employment contract. But many part time workers do so for the flexibility and free time it affords them. There are plenty of part time workers that use employment agencies specifically for short term jobs. The employee will be employed through an agency and their contract will be with the agency not the company that hires them.

Part time worker’s contracts can be ongoing or they can terminate the contract when the job finishes and then decided to renew it. Alternatively the company may offer to renew the contract after three to six months and it will be up to the employee whether he or she renews the contract.

Legislation for Part Time Workers

The Part Time Worker’s Directive is legislation that was drawn up in order to end less favourable treatment of part time employees. The legislation was brought in in July 2000 with one of the main aims being that employees could not be less favourable towards the contractual terms of a part time employee. This new legislation means that if part time workers are treated less favourably then a grievance can be made against the employer and action can be taken.

Overtime and the Part Time Worker

One of the major differences between the full time worker and the part time worker will be the right to overtime pay. Part time workers will not usually receive overtime pay until they have worked over the same amount of hours as a full time member of staff. This stipulation should be stated in any part time employee’s contract or in another document or staff terms and conditions handbook held within the employer’s company. The part time worker should have full access to this documentation and should be made aware of it when they commence employment.

The new legislation brought out in 2000 was good news for part time employees regarding their contractual terms and conditions of employment. It not only brings their rights and terms of employment into line with full time workers but should also put an end to any other unfavourable treatment of part time workers that has occurred in the past.