Part Time Working

The Part-Time Workers (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2000 gives part-time workers the right not to be treated less favourably than comparable full-time workers, unless it can be objectively justified. The regulations entitle part-time workers to:

Less favourable treatment will only be justified on objective grounds if it can be shown that the less favourable treatment is necessary and appropriate to achieve a genuine and legitimate business objective. For example, a different basic rate of pay would be objectively justified where a performance related pay scheme was in operation, provided that the comparable workers were shown to have different levels of performance measured by a fair and consistent appraisal system.

The law does not define what constitutes part-time work, but government statistics define it as working less than 30 hours per week. In Carillion part-time working will be defined as hours worked which are less than normal standard working hours for the site/business unit.

Workers are entitled to make a written request to their employer for a written statement of reasons if they believe they are being treated less favourably than a comparable full-time worker, and the employer must respond within 21 days. The purpose of this is to allow both parties to establish the facts and to reach a conclusion.

Under the regulations employers are not obliged to agree to a worker’s request to reduce their hours to part-time work. However, subsequent case law has meant that a refusal to allow a worker to return part time after maternity leave may be considered indirect sex discrimination unless the employer can show objective justification to refuse the request.

Carillion supports the achievement of a work/life balance for all its employees, and seeks to attain this by widening access to part-time work for employees, should they wish to do so. We will do this by:

GUIDELINES

Where an employee wishes to change their contractual working hours they should first discuss their request with their manager. The manager should consider the request in line with the guidance given below, and inform the worker of the outcome. If the worker is not satisfied with the reasons for the outcome they are entitled to issue a written request for a written response from their manager. The manager should provide this within 21 days of the written request being made. Further guidance is available from HR.

GUIDELINES FOR MANAGERS

Recruitment

Managers should review whether part-time workers could perform the post they are recruiting to. When approached by an applicant who wishes to work part-time the manager should give consideration as to whether part-time work arrangements could fulfil the requirements of the post.

Requests to work part-time

Managers should ensure they treat any request for reduced working hours from employees returning from maternity leave with due consideration for how the work could be reorganised to enable agreement to such a request. This may include:

Training

Managers should schedule training to take place at locations and times, which enable part-time workers to attend. Part-time workers should not be refused access to training because of their part-time status.

Promotion

Managers should not see previous or current part-time status as a barrier to promotion to a new post, whether the post is full or part-time. Part-time workers can suffer from others’ perceptions that they are not interested in promotion or career development. Reducing or blocking chances of promotion or movement around an organisation may result in the worker feeling demoralised or cause them to look elsewhere for job opportunities. Part-time workers should be considered for promotion on the basis of their suitability for the job role.

Redundancy

In redundancy situations managers must ensure the selection criteria used can be objectively justified. The criteria must not treat part-timers less favourably than full-timers.

Sharing Information

Providing less information on vacancies or other organisational information may disadvantage part-time workers by denying them opportunity to apply for vacancies or to participate in other events/activities. Managers should review their practice of sharing information around their employees, and ensure that part-time workers receive the same information as full-timers, at an appropriate time.

Further guidance can be obtained from HR.

Job sharing is a specific form of part-time working. It involves two people carrying out the duties of a post that would normally be done by one person. Each person is employed part-time but together they cover a full-time post and divide the pay, holidays and other benefits. The job can be divided a number of ways
to suit the circumstances of the workers and their employer. For example, one may work mornings, the other afternoons, or each may work 2.5 days per week. Sometimes there is a handover period where both jobsharers are working.

This arrangement enables jobsharers to have predictable hours, which allows them to make other arrangements (for example, childcare), while the employer knows there will always be cover. The employer also benefits from having two people working on a project, with their combined energy, skills and experience, rather than one, and is likely to have cover when one jobsharer is away or on holiday.

However, it can be difficult to organise a job share arrangement, because of the need to find two workers who can do the job, are capable of working together and who want to work complementary hours.

Guidelines

If a worker wishes to job share they should discuss their request with their manager and work with the manager to consider the viability of the request. The manager should then make the decision as to whether the request can be met, and confirm the outcome to the worker. If the worker is not satisfied with the reasons for the outcome they are entitled to issue a written request for a written response from their manager. The manager should provide this within 21 days of the written request being made.

Managers should ensure they treat any request for job share with due consideration for how the work could be reorganised to enable agreement to such a request. This may include:

Further guidance is available from HR.