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Ask Employment Law |
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Remember: There is no substitute for legal advice on the actual
situation you find yourself in. The information posted on this site is for
general information only, is based on |
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Question: |
I’m a part time worker.
I feel I am not being treated as well as my full time colleagues. |
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Answer: |
The Part-time Workers
(Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2000 aim to ensure
that part-time workers are treated no less favourably in their employment
conditions than comparable
full-timers, unless this is justified on objective
grounds. Objective Justification: Will
depend on the factual circumstances in each particular instance: For
example under the Working Time Regulations 1998 all workers are entitled to
5.6 weeks paid leave per annum. This equates to 28 days including bank
holidays for people who work normal hours Monday to Friday. Part timers
should receive the same entitlement pro
rata to the hours actually worked. One would not normally expect a part
timer to get less favourable contractual sick pay (pro rata) than a full
timer, and it is hard to imagine how such a difference could be objectively
justified. The same applies to pension entitlement for example. With
respect to overtime the
government Guidance states ‘Part-time workers do not have an automatic right
to overtime payments once they work beyond their normal hours. Only when
part-time workers have worked up to the normal hours of comparable full-time
workers do they have a legal right to overtime payments.’ Comparing Part Timers
to Full Timers:
Part-timers will need to identify a comparable full-timer who is receiving
more favourable treatment. There are several tests to establish who is a
comparable full-timer. The part-timer must: ·
work for the same employer as the full-timer, and ·
do the same or broadly similar work (taking into account experience
and skills where relevant) as the full-timer. The Court
of Appeal case of Matthews v Kent & Medway Towns Fire Authority (2004)
demonstrates that one cannot assume that a part timer is employed under the
same type of contract and therefore comparable to a full timer. Although the
‘core obligation’ in this case for both full timers and part timers was
fighting fires, it was open to the tribunal to decide on the facts that they
are not engaged on the same or broadly similar work, in this case because the
full-timers had certain admin duties that the part-timers did not. See our
page on part time workers and bank
holidays Last
reviewed: July 2010 |
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Employment
Solicitor Reculver Solicitors Tel
0207 324 6271 Regulated
by the Solicitors Regulation Authority ©
Reculver Solicitors. 2005- |
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