Q&A - Explain the main issues with part-time employees

Approximately 25% of employees in the UK are employed part-time. That means that they work “less than full-time”. Not a very helpful definition! What that means is that part-time employment is the term used to describe various methods of employing people who don’t work a full working week.

Part-timers might be employed on a:

•`Weekly hours basis - e.g. 15 hours per week (5 hours on each of Monday, Wednesday & Friday)
• Zero hours contract – where there is no fixed number of hours, but the hours worked vary as the workload changes over time
• Job-sharing basis – where two or more employees share a single role, dividing up the time on an agreed basis

The main advantages and disadvantages of part-time employment for the start-up or small business are as follows: