Part-time working / change of hours

Part time / reduced hours may be a result of:

• An employee requesting a reduction in their working week, or working year (see term-time only working below).
• Two employees asking to share one full-time job (see job-share below).
• Establishing that a post that does not require full-time hours

Part-time employees have the same rates of pay and holiday (pro-rata) as full-time staff and the same entitlement to pension, maternity leave, sick pay, development opportunities and promotions. Reduced hours will normally result in a permanent contractual change. There may, however, be occasions where a temporary reduction of hours is agreed.

Reduced hours may be an attractive option for employees approaching retirement who may want to develop other interests and activities as they give up their working responsibilities. The Pensions Office should be contacted for advice about pension options or implications.

Key points:

• Recruitment to the remaining hours might provide an extra resource in terms of availability, flexibility and range of skills. If recruitment proves difficult it might be necessary to postpone the implementation of reduced hours.
• It may allow managers to use resources more flexibly or in different ways.
• Cover must be available at relevant times, duties delegated appropriately and workload distributed in accordance with the hours each employee works. Before agreeing to a change of hours both parties should ensure that workload can be adjusted in line with working hours.
• Where there are already a number of part-time employees in the section the impact on service delivery and planning of rotas, shifts, holidays etc. should be considered.
• Arrangements must be put in place to ensure that service levels are maintained and the burden of continuity does not always fall to full-time staff.

Increased Hours

Employees who have previously worked part-time may request an increase in their hours when their personal circumstances change. Managers are under no obligation to agree to this contractual change, but subject to budgetary considerations it may provide an opportunity to make beneficial changes to the service or staffing arrangements.