Part-time Employees' Rights
All people who work are covered by the Employment Rights act 1996. This stipulates that all workers are protected by basic employment rights and must be treated equally irrespective of the length of employment and the number of hours you work. In other words, those who work part time have the same rights and protection as full time employees. Therefore an employer is legally obliged to treat a part time worker the same to any other comparable employee, including those who work more hours. This would constitute anyone who is contracted to do similar work and has the same employment contract.
Part Time Workers' Pay
Due to the above statement part time workers should receive equal pay to those who work full time. This is based on that both employees deliver similar levels of performance per hour that they work. This means that a part time worker must be paid at the same level as a full time worker if they are administering work of equivalent value. If an employer can prove that there is disparity of performance been two employees then they can justify two different pay rates. Most employers will have an appraisal method for measuring an employer's contribution to work which is used to calculate an employee's rate of pay.
This fairness stance is also applicable to overtime payment, albeit only when a part time employee exceeds a full time employees contracted hours. Therefore if a normal full time employee works 35 hours a week, a part time worker will only be eligible for premium pay when they have worked up to 35 hours on normal pay and then any work beyond 35 hours would be acknowledged as overtime.
Part Time Workers' Equal Treatment
In addition to equal pay, part time employees should also receive equal access to the same benefits that full time employees receive. These can include the following, as well as others that maybe specific to certain companies or employers.
- Paid Annual Leave (Holiday)
- Sick, Maternity and Paternity leave and pay
- Bereavement Leave
- Access to training materials and courses to enhance their development
- Appropriate consideration for promotion
- Health cover
- Pension Schemes
- Employee discounts
- Transport Allowance
An example for Paid Annual Leave, if a full time employee receives 25 days holiday per annum, a part time worker who works 2 days a week will be entitled to 10 days annual leave.
Part Time Fairness
If as a part time employee you feel that you have been treated less favourably to a full time equivalent employee then you can request for a written response from your employer to justify their reasoning and actions. If they fail to respond within 21 days or you are still unsatisfied with their response you can complain to an employment tribunal. A tribunal is a court of justice that will determine whether the evidence submitted quantifies a compensation payment for a disparity in fairness in the workplace.