PART-TIME WORKERS

Introduction
 Part-time work is prevalent in the UK labour market.

  • Over five and a half million people work less than full-time hours - that is less than 30 hours per week.
  • This amounts to a quarter of the total workforce, compared with an average of just 16% for our EU partners.
  • The growth of employment in the UK in recent years has mainly been the result of the creation of more part-time jobs.
  • Between 1992 and 1996 over half of all jobs created were part-time; less than one in ten were permanent full-time.
  • It is estimated that by the millennium one third of UK employees will be working part-time.
  • The vast majority of part-time workers, four out of five, are women.
  • Part-time work accounts for almost half of all female employment.

The legal position of part-timers
Up until a couple of years ago there did not appear to be anything to stop employers discriminating against part-time workers.

However, recent decisions by the European Court of Justice and of the UK courts have given part-timers more rights to be treated equally with full-timers. These legal rights have been won by showing that discriminatory qualifying periods amount to sex discrimination because a lot more women than men work part-time.

One of the most important changes that has occurred is that part-timers are no longer discriminated against in respect of access to statutory rights such as unfair dismissal and redundancy pay. It does not matter if a worker is employed for 5 hours or 50 hours, she has the same statutory rights. Thus a worker who is employed for 5 hours a week can enter a claim for unfair dismissal provided she has been employed for two years by the same company - exactly the same as a full-time employee.

Despite these advances there still remains discrimination. One common form is when employers pay workers just below the Lower Earnings Limit (LEL) so saving on National Insurance contributions. The LEL for 1997/98 is £62.00 per week. The result of this practice is that the part-timer is excluded from rights like Statutory Sick Pay, Maternity Pay and even the basic pension because the worker has not paid sufficient contributions. Workplace representatives should try to determine whether this practice is occurring where they work and if it is to consider raising it with management.

EU Directive
It is important for reps to be aware that the European Union is in the final stages of passing a Directive, the aim of which is to end discrimination against part-time workers. The Directive will probably not come into effect for two or three years but its provisions can form the basis of negotiation with the employer. You can argue that it will be in the employer's interest to plan for the Directive rather than having to make costly last minute adjustments.

The directive will:

  • establish the legal principle of equal rights of part-time workers with full-time workers without having to demonstrate indirect sex discrimination
  • cover men as well as women
  • give equal access to pay, bonus, shift and other additional payments for comparable full-time employees
  • give equal contractual terms - such as occupational sick leave and paid holiday leave for comparable workers
  • give equal access to all benefits such as share options, staff discounts and occupational pensions for comparable workers
  • ensure that any holiday over the Working Time Directive level (four weeks paid leave, though this can be limited to three weeks in the initial stages) is on an equal pro-rata basis.

It should be noted it is possible that these provisions may not apply to casual part-timers though this should not stop union reps from negotiating for equal rights for the whole of the workforce.

Recruiting Part-time Workers into the Union
Part-time workers need unions and unions need part-time workers. However, union reps often find it difficult to recruit part-timers into the union. Reasons for this difficulty include:

  • they say they can't afford the subscriptions
  • there is a high turnover of part-time workers
  • it is difficult for reps to contact them
  • they cannot attend meetings because of their hours
  • they do not have their own representatives.

If your union is to recruit more part-time workers it is essential that workplace reps try to overcome these problems. It is important to remember that union subscriptions are the best value for money there is. For about the price of half a pint of beer a week, part-time workers have access to all the benefits of union membership:

  • support with problems at work
  • better pay and conditions from union negotiations
  • all your union's fringe benefits.

Make sure you know what benefits and services your union offers part-timers so you can argue confidently that membership of your union is really good value for money. Other things you may want to do are:

  • hold meetings at times part-timers can attend
  • have a part-time worker represent part-timers and distribute leaflet to them
  • make sure part-timers' interests are included in your negotiations with management.

Further information:

  • Part-time workers - March 1996 (LRD)
  • Organising for Union Recruitment - May 1997 (LRD)
  • Labour Research Dept. (LRD), 78 Blackfriars Road, London SE1 8HF Tel: 0207 928 3649

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