Factsheet: Working Reduced Hours

April 2006

If you want to work less than full time hours, there are three main ways to do this:

• Working part time
• Voluntary reduced work time (V-time)
• Jobsharing

What do you want?

• How many hours a week would you ideally like to work?
• How much salary can you afford to lose? If for example you want to work half-time, your take home pay will be slightly more than half your full time pay.
• How many days a week? A short day every day or a more standard day for two, three, four days a week?
• Do you want to make a permanent reduction in your hours? If not, then see V-time for ideas on how you could negotiate reduced hours for a specific period, for example after maternity leave or to enable you to study.

Part-time work

Introduction

Part-time work has no legal definition but government statistics usually define it as working fewer than 30 hours a week. In practice it usually means working less than the normal full time hours at a particular workplace. It can range from working a few hours a week to just less than full time.

Who does it?

Part-time work is the most common way in the UK for people to balance work and other commitments and one in four of the workforce works part-time. In Autumn 2001 5.5 million women and 1.3 million men worked part time. A recent government survey found that part-time working was the most common form of flexible working, used by 44% of women and 8% of men. The survey also found a desire for part-time working amongst full time workers, with 35% of women and 21% of men saying they would like to switch to part-time working.

Part-time work has largely been associated with low grade jobs with low pay and low status. Now, a much wider range of jobs are carried out part-time, including some top managerial and other professionals posts including senior civil servants, police officers, doctors and accountants. However, despite the growth in part-time employment, it remains concentrated in lower paid occupations. The average hourly earnings of women who work part-time are just 75% of those of female full time workers.

The vast majority of part-time jobs are in the service sector:

• Over 40% of employment within the distribution, hotels and restaurants sector is part-time. A third of employment in public administration, education and health is also part-time.
• Part-time workers make up two-thirds of the female workforce in the retail trade.
• In contrast only one in twelve employees works part-time in manufacturing (Labour Force Survey 2001)

What's on offer?

Employers offer part-time hours for a variety of reasons, from covering busy periods to responding to employees’ requests. Some companies employ part-time workers on short shifts to cover their busiest periods.

Increasingly companies use part-time workers to help cover extended working in the evenings and at weekends. At Birmingham Midshires part-time workers help to staff its call centre's extended working hours of 8am to 8pm, Monday to Saturday. In situations where organisations provide round-the-clock services, such as in the NHS, part-time workers can play an important role in covering weekends and twilight hours. (IDS Study, 715, Part-time workers, 2001)

Oxfordshire County Council are typical of a growing tendency among employers to accommodate employees who want to work part-time. Part-time workers now account for more than 9,000 of the council's 16,000 staff.

Alexis Setty works as an administrator for a division of BP Oil International Ltd. She had worked for the company for five years before taking maternity leave in 1997. On her return she asked if she could work part time. She applied to a previous manager who was setting up a new IT project, which didn't need someone in a full time role. She arranged to work three days a week between 10.15 am and 4.30 pm as a secretary/administrator.

After her second child was born, almost three years ago, she returned for three days a week, but then, with support from her manager, reduced this to 2.5 days a week. BP have provided a PC and modem at her home and she now works two days in the office and a shorter day at home. She has found her managers extremely supportive and at one point, due to childcare problems she worked entirely at home for two months. She feels it works both ways and she feels very appreciated and valued. She is entitled to further training if she wants it.

Part-time work in senior and professional jobs

A survey in 1996 by the Institute of Management (Flexibility and Fairness) found that part-time employees were used at all levels and in a wide range of jobs including managers and professionals. Opportunities to work part-time are becoming more common and some of these are organised as job sharing partnerships (see below). A number of companies in the retail sector offer first line managers the option of working part-time. There are now a range of jobs worked on a reduced hours basis within the civil service

(Detailed case studies in the Inland Revenue, the DTI and the Lord Chancellor's Department can be found in 'Flexi-Exec: Working reduced hours in senior and managerial jobs' - New Ways to Work 2001)

At Airdale NHS Trust, the chief pharmacist has grown accustomed to appointing pharmacists and technicians on shorter hours contracts. It is a necessary measure to help keep skilled staff who have families.

Legal points

• If you are a woman and are refused reduced hours work (for example on return to work after maternity leave) unless the employer can objectively justify the need to work on a full time basis, this can be found to be unlawful indirect sex discrimination. Contact the Equal Opportunities Commission for further infomation: www.eoc.org.uk or see our factsheet on Flexible Working
• Since April 2003 employers have had a legal duty to seriously consider requests for flexible working from parents of children under six. See our factsheet on Flexible Working
• Before making a complaint to the Employment Tribunal an employee must usually make a formal grievance to his or her employer - please ring our helpline for further information of look at www.dti.gov.uk/resolvingdisputes

Linda Emery had been a full time Head of Marketing for Brooke Bond Tea (part of Unilever) since 1994. She loved her job, but, in 1997, when her elder son was about to start school she felt stretched too thinly. She approached her boss, asking to work part-time. He was open minded about her proposal, although no one at her level had asked to work part-time before and there were no policies. Although he wasn't sure about it he said he would try to find a suitable job which could be done on a three day a week basis -which he did. Within three months a role as marketing controller, at the same level, was found and Linda was delighted to be still running a department. But after nine months she was looking for a more challenging role. Initially Linda took a sideways move but when this came to a natural end after 18 months she decided that she would like to work in the Human Resource Department.

Linda comments: "Most flexible workers negotiate for a change in arrangements in an existing job, but then it can be more difficult when you move on, particularly if potential new managers know you want to work part-time. There is still a traditional view that if you work part-time you don't want promotion. At one stage I was offered a demotion. People struggle with how a job role at very senior level can be organised differently." But then a vacancy arose for someone to drive diversity within the UK. Linda applied, and was successful. She has had a very good reception, with bosses who are open-minded and willing to try new ideas. She works three days a week, two in the office and one at home and is judged on what she delivers. "No-one is available all the time, whether working 'full time' or not. It is important to be open about different working arrangements, so as to empower others to try different things."

Your rights

Part-time workers still tend to be disadvantaged in terms of career progression and development opportunities. However the Part-time Workers (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2000 establish a minimum standard for part-time workers so that they can no longer be treated less favourably than the full time workers they work with in the same company. The regulations make it unlawful for employers to treat part-time employees less favourably than comparable full time workers, unless different treatment is justified on objective grounds. This ensures that part-time employees should:

• receive the same hourly rate as comparable full timers;
• receive the same hourly rate of over-time as comparable full timers, once they have worked more than the normal full time hours;
• not be excluded from training simply because they work part-time;
• have the same entitlements to annual leave and maternity/parental leave on a pro-rata basis as full time colleagues.

A comparable full timer must be engaged in broadly similar work taking account, where relevant, of whether he or she has a similar level of qualifications, skills and experience. The comparator must work under the same type of contract and in the same establishment as the part-timer. Where there is no full time comparator at the same establishment, the part-time employee can make comparison with a full timer engaged in similar work in a different establishment for the same employer.

Someone who changes to part-time work can compare their part-time conditions with their previous full time contract. This also applies to someone returning part-time after a period of absence, such as maternity leave, providing the period of absence does not exceed 12 months. This ensures that workers do not suffer worse conditions if they go part-time. Please see our Flexible Working factsheet for more information on the law.

Pre-retirement

The possibility of working reduced hours as a way of easing into retirement is becoming of increasing interest. Penguin Books negotiated a scheme with the trade union MSF (under Amicus) whereby six months before the date of retirement, an employee may work a four-day week and three months before the date of retirement work a three-day week. This ensures that they gradually adjust to the time when they will no longer be working. There is no loss of salary during this period.

The NHS has produced guidance for staff on winding down to retirement. They stress that pensions for part-time staff are calculated on the whole time equivalent salary, so if you wind down rather than retire, this should not reduce your eventual pension.

Example

Neil is a laboratory technician, aged 58, with 32 years pensionable service. He wants to spend more time helping with his grandchildren, but he doesn't want to stop work altogether, so he reduces to a two-thirds hours role. He eventually retires at 64. Working part-time he earns 66% of his previous salary, instead of a pension of 32/80ths (40%). When he does retire, 6 years later, his pension is calculated on the full-time pay of his job. And added to that will be a further 4/80ths - the equivalent of 4 years full service built up working 66% part-time over six years. (Department of Health, Working Lives: Flexible Retirement, 2001)

Advantages

• If you have caring responsibilities reducing your hours can give you the opportunity of combining paid work and caring roles.
• It is a good way to continue earning a regular wage while giving you time for other activities you want to be involved in which make you little or no money.
• You can keep up your skills and be up to date with developments, rather than taking a complete break from work.

Disadvantages

• You will earn less money.
• You could experience less job satisfaction.
• It is a common problem that part-time workers try and do a full-time workers workload.
• There may be pressure to work longer than the hours agreed.
• There could be some resentment from people working full-time.
• You could find your promotion prospects reduced.

Job sharing

Introduction

Job sharing is an arrangement where two people voluntarily carry out the duties of a job that would normally be done by one person. Each person is employed on a part-time basis but together they cover a full time post and divide the pay, holidays and other benefits. It is a way of opening up part-time opportunities for jobs that are traditionally only available on a full time basis.

Who does it?

Job sharing is still relatively rare, with only 4% of employees in a recent government survey working in this way.

What's on offer?

Although initially largely used in local councils and the civil service, over the last ten years a range of companies have introduced job share schemes, and it is an option offered by many employers as part of their work-life balance policies. Boots the Chemist was the first company to introduce a scheme in 1989 to help them retain senior managers, who after maternity leave wanted to return on a part-time basis, but could only do so by returning at a lower level.

What do you want?

If you would like to work part-time but if either you/and or your manager do not think that this is feasible because there is a need for full time cover in the job role, then this could be an option. You will need to consider the following points:

• Think about whether you have the right personality to share your job. Some people prefer to work largely on their own.
• Many people who job share love having the opportunity to discuss work and share both the ups and downs of a job. It can be more satisfying than working part-time on your own.
• There can also be important benefits to employers such as having two sets of skills and ideas and the greater energy and freshness two people can bring.

Working out the details

There are two basic forms of job sharing:

Shared responsibility is where you share the responsibilities and tasks of one full time job. Both partners are interchangeable, with either member of the team able to pick up where the other left off. This arrangement is most suited to ongoing, rather than project based work. It requires the highest level of communication and coordination, but if carefully organised, need not disrupt clients and co-workers. Well matched partners are essential to the success of this type of arrangement.

Divided responsibility is where you share one full time position and divide responsibilities between you. Partners may also provide back up for each other as needed. This arrangement is useful when work can be easily divided by client group or project, and may be performed when partners do not know each other well.

You will need to check the following:

• Entitlements, access to pension provision, cover arrangements and the procedures which apply when one partner leaves.
• The allocation of hours should be agreed between you and your employer and be varied only by agreement of all parties.
• Jobsharers should be paid the salary for the grade of the post pro-rata to the hours worked. Increments, allowances and other payments should be determined on an individual basis and also paid pro-rata.

Sue Osborn and Sue Williams first applied together for a job share partnership in 1985. Since then they have shared jobs and been promoted together on several occasions. They were both working as senior managers in the same hospital and had read about job sharing in a New Ways to Work (now part of Working Families) publication. They stress that, because job sharing is an unusual way of working, it is important to make interviewers feel comfortable with the arrangement. They also feel that at a managerial level it is important that you really know how each other works and that you trust each other. They think the advantages to their employers are:

• their energy and innovation;
• they are very focused and task orientated;
• they bring different perspectives;
• they have different personalities and connect with different people.

(For full case study see Flexi Exec: Working flexibly at senior and managerial levels, New Ways to Work 2001.)

Jobshare Issues

• Jobsharers should not be made to cover for their partner's absence.
• Overlap between partners will be beneficial to help with communication. This can vary from an hour to a whole day.
• In the event of a jobsharer leaving, the remaining partner may be offered the full time post. If they do not wish to do this, the vacant jobshare should be advertised in accordance with the normal procedure. If no jobsharer can be recruited within a reasonable period, the employer will need to consider the possibility of the existing jobsharer working part-time in the same post.
• Jobsharers should be able to apply, whether individually or jointly, for promotion on equal terms with full-time employees.

Finding a job share partner

Some employers require you to find a job share partner. You may decide to apply with someone you know or work with.
(See www.flexecutive.co.uk to join their online job share partner matching service).

Voluntary reduced working hours (V-time)

Introduction

Voluntary reduced working time (V-time) allows people to reduce working hours for a specific period, usually a year, with the right to return to full time at the end of that period.

Who does it?

There are no figures available for V-time in the UK. Formal schemes have not developed in the same way as they have in the USA. New York State introduced V-time in 1984 and by 1989 1,125 people (1.9% of the workforce) were taking advantage of the scheme. One feature in the USA was the number of people who have used V-time for relatively short periods. Sheffield City Council offer a V-time option on an individually negotiated basis as part of a scheme Flexible Ways of Working for Carers and Employees with Disabilities.

What's on offer

The form in which you take the reduced time is a matter for negotiation, taking into account the needs of the organisation. The options include:

• working a shorter day;
• taking a half-day or day off per week;
• taking short blocks of time off at regular intervals.

Working out the details

Liverpool City Council introduced a V-time scheme primarily aimed at staff who might otherwise leave. Application for V-time is open to all employees, but if all requests cannot be accommodated, then staff with caring responsibilities are given priority.

• Their guidance notes give examples of situations in which they may be appropriate:
• hours reduced from five days to four days a week for a year on return from maternity leave;
• hours reduced from seven hours a day to six hours a day to care for an elderly relative;
• hours reduced to a nine-day fortnight for a three year period to undertake work related to a college course;
• employee has 1.5 days unpaid leave each month, which is banked and used like annual leave, to have extra time available during the school holidays.

How to negotiate a reduced hours arrangement

Consider the responsibilities and tasks involved in your job:

• the time they take;
• the knowledge and skills required to carry them out;
• the general responsibilities of the job, for example management responsibilities, relations beyond the department/team and the requirements of customers
• the peaks and troughs of the work and the resources of the team you are in.
• You will need to:
• Work out the details of how your job could be done on a reduced hours basis;
• Make a clear list of the benefits to the employer of this kind of working arrangement, together with the ways in which potential problems could be overcome;
• Try the arguments out on a friend or former colleague first;
• Be persistent.

Many people who opt to work reduced hours will wish to return to full time work in the longer term. Consider suggesting a V-time arrangement if you only want to reduce hours for a specific period. Attitudes to part-time work can be negative - it is important to suggest working reduced hours as a positive step with benefits for both the workplace and yourself.

The benefits of reduced hours working for employers

• It can provide the opportunity for managers to reorganise work within a team more effectively.
• By far the most common reason for employing part-time workers is to achieve flexibility of cover. The next most important factors are the need for the work to be done only at particular times, and the need for cover at peak times.
• Offering the option to work reduced hours can help employers retain staff who want to spend more time with their families, on further study or on other interests. It can also attract back into employment those who have taken a career break, and who want to return on a less than full time basis.
• People who are working hours that suit the rest of their life, and who are working for a reduced period, are more likely to stay fresh, energetic, creative and less stressed during the hours they work. This can lead to improved output.

Management issues common to all reduced hours arrangements

• Decide how to redistribute or reschedule work within existing resources.
• Existing part-time employees could be offered an increase in hours.
• The money saved/hours available could be used to create a development opportunity for other members of staff.
• If there are a number of people reducing hours in one team/department a new full time or part-time post could be created.
• It is important to ensure that workload matches working time.
• Ensure that other team members are not overloaded with work when a team member reduces their hours.
• If managers and staff are working different hours, it may be necessary to establish back up options for when managers are not available.
• Managers may need to plan work more carefully with staff and monitor work in relation to outputs and outcomes, with more emphasis on performance than working times.
• Keeping everyone informed of working schedules is important - these could be posted on notice boards.
• There can be direct extra costs, such as training, extra office furniture etc. In addition there may be extra administration required. Employers often express the view that any extra costs are more than compensated for by higher productivity, lower absenteeism and reduction in staff turnover.

In addition to extra costs, there can be logistical problems associated with training, due to having to arrange training provisions to fit in with part-time workers/job sharers/V-time workers' hours.

• There is a need to change perceptions that people working reduced hours are less committed. Employers are finding the reverse to be true in many cases. But there can be extra management input needed - particularly if output increases.

Useful contacts

Working Families

1-3 Berry St, London, EC1V 0AA

Telephone: 0800 013 0313

Waving not drowning project for parents of disabled children: Janet on 020 7253 7243

www.workingfamilies.org.uk

info@workingfamilies.org.uk

Registered Charity No 1099808

Company No 4727690

Equal Opportunities Commission
offers advice and publications on sex discrimination and how to bring your case to an employment tribunal.
Advice line: 0845 601 5901
Email: info@eoc.org.uk or
visit the website at www.eoc.org.uk

Citizens Advice Bureau
You can find out where your nearest Citizens Advice Bureau is through the National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux www.nacab.org.uk. Advice from the CAB is available at www.adviceguide.org.uk

ACAS

Free advice line giving employment law advice

Telephone: 0845 747 47 47

www.acas.org.uk

Community Legal Service (Directory)

For finding a solicitor with the CLS quality mark in your area

Telephone: 0845 608 11 22

www.justask.org.uk

Employment Tribunal Enquiry Line

Telephone orderline: 0845 795 9775

www.ets.gov.uk

Law Centres Federation

To find out if there is a free legal advice centre in your area

0207 387 8570

The advice given in this factsheet is accurate at April 2006. It may not be accurate after that date.

Working Families operates a complaints procedure to ensure any complaints are dealt with thoroughly and fairly. If you would like to have details of the procedure or to make a complaint please contact the Chief Executive at Working Families.

www.lawcentres.org.uk