All employees have basic employment rights regardless of whether they work full time or part time. Part-time workers must be treated equally when working for the same employer and doing similar work under the same type of employment contract as full-time employees.
Part-time employees have legal rights from day one of employment. There is no minimum length of service for equal treatment to apply.
Pay for part-time workers
Compared with full-time workers, part-time workers should receive equal:
- Rates of pay – part-time workers must receive the same rate of pay as full-time workers who do the same job.
- Overtime pay – but only once they have worked more than the normal part-time hours of their contract.
- Enhanced rates of pay – for working outside of their normal contractual hours
Equal treatment of part-time workers
Compared with full-time workers, part-time workers should receive equal:
- access to any company pension scheme
- access to training and career development
- rights to career breaks
- rights to receive enhanced sick, maternity, paternity, and adoption leave and pay
- parental leave and other time off rights
- consideration for promotion, transfer, or redundancy
Pro-rata contractual benefits
Part-time workers have the right to receive contractual benefits pro rata
This applies to benefits such as:
- paid annual leave above the statutory minimum
- company cars
- staff discounts
- health insurance
- subsidised mortgages
- profit-sharing and share-option schemes
Complaints of less favourable treatment
If an employer has treated a part-time employee less favourably than a full-time worker then they have the right to receive a written statement of reasons for the treatment. This should be put in a written request and the employer must return the written statement within 21 days.
Part-time workers who still believe you are treating them less favourably, and don’t believe you have objectively justified this, can make a complaint to an industrial tribunal. A tribunal can make you pay compensation if they find it in the part-time worker’s favour.
For more advice on employment law, contact our team of expert solicitors who can provide you with more guidance.
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