How to employ someone on a part-time basis

Authors: Katie Wood

Summary

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• Ensure that part-time employees are not treated less favourably than comparable full-time employees (unless this can be justified).
• Bear in mind that less favourable treatment of part-time employees could also give rise to claims for indirect sex discrimination.
• Provide all part-time employees with a written statement of employment particulars with a clear outline of their entitlements.
• Ensure that part-time employees receive the same hourly rate of pay, pro rata, as full-time employees.
• Decide in what circumstances part-time employees are entitled to overtime pay.
• Consider how to calculate annual leave entitlement for part-time employees.
• Consider how to calculate bank holiday entitlement for part-time employees.
• Ensure that part-time employees are not treated less favourably in relation to contractual benefits that cannot be pro rated.
• Ensure equal access to occupational pension schemes.
• Ensure that part-time employees are not treated less favourably in selection for redundancy.
• Ensure that part-time employees have a workload that is proportionate to their hours.
• Consider whether or not the availability of part-time work and opportunities for promotion for part-time employees can be improved.
• Make sure that part-time employees have access to training opportunities and meetings.