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Part Timers & Working From Home

Nikki Baines

| 0 Posts

9 May, 2022 10:39

Hi everyone Is it discriminatory to ask part timers to work in the office for the same number of days as full timers?
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  • Teresa

    | 0 Posts

    9 May, 2022 10:47

    Potentially yes if it would mean that they are having to spend a greater proportion of their working week in the office, compared to a full time employee e.g. a requirement to work in the office 3 days a week means that someone who only works 3 days a week has to spend all those days in the office whilst someone full time gets to spend 2 days a week WFH.

    Its not necessarily discrimination - more a potential breach of the 'Part time workers - prevention of less favorable treatment regulations, Part III of regulation 5 of which suggests pro rata as a general principle

    www.legislation.gov.uk/.../made

    The employer can however apply this if there is objective justification for doing so
  • Nikki Baines

    | 0 Posts

    9 May, 2022 11:23

    In reply to Teresa:

    Thanks Teresa
    We’ve introduced hybrid working with up to 3 days per week at home. We’ve positioned this as asking that employees should be in the office for at least 2 days, including part timers. This we believe is in the interest of team working, collaborative working, productivity, etc. Would you consider this to be objective justification?
  • Nikki Baines

    | 0 Posts

    9 May, 2022 11:45

    In reply to Teresa:

    Thanks again Teresa!
    Just doing some more research on this and clearly less favourable treatment in the terms of the contract includes pay, pension and benefits, holidays, training and career opportunities, selection for promotion or redundancy and opportunities for career breaks. Would hybrid working come under benefits?
  • Keith

    | 0 Posts

    9 May, 2022 12:19

    In reply to Nikki Baines:

    Nikki Baines said:
    Would you consider this to be objective justification?

    At this stage no - it's just a series of statements. Can you back any of them up? Can you show why anyone needs to work in the office X number of days a week to achieve those things? Can you show why a part timer may need to work 100% of their time in the office to be productive, collaborative etc but a full timer only 60%?

  • Teresa

    | 0 Posts

    9 May, 2022 12:33

    In reply to Nikki Baines:

    I would say that hybrid working where there is a requirement to be in the office a minimum number of days would be considered to be a 'term of the contract' which is all the legislation itself really refers to.

    In terms of whether it is objective justification, I agree with Keith really. If I have to think about things like this, i tend to think about how confident I would be if I had to prove my position at an Employment Tribunal
  • Nina Waters

    | 0 Posts

    9 May, 2022 12:41

    It just doesn't feel like this is something that is scalable on a pro rata basis - and instead needs a pragmatic approach. If the rule is that all staff have to spend one day a week in the office (for team/project collaboration or whatever the overall justification is) and you have someone who only works one day a week, then it's fair that they should do that day in the office. It's 100% of their contract time, but it's essential (presumably) to do the job right.

    The bit that needs clarity is the reason for why anyone needs to be in the office for three days a week - if you can start from those reasons, you will probably find it easier to justify the decision you reach.
  • Robey

    | 0 Posts

    9 May, 2022 13:42

    Keith really puts his finger on a major issue with the "hybrid working" model that I see a lot, right now.

    Businesses are saying they have a hybrid model with, say, three days per week in the office, but doing no work to justify *why* three days a week is required. This will lead, as Nikki has discovered, to questions about how part-time workers are treated and, from there, to claims of illegal indirect discrimination.

    Directors and business owners need to get it into their heads that, if a job can be done remotely, then *no* days per week need to be mandatory. Employees need to be given the flexibility to attend the office only as much as is required to meet their objectives, and managers need to get used to the idea that they can no longer judge someone's value to the business by the number of hours they spend within the manager's field of vision.
  • Nikki Baines

    | 0 Posts

    10 May, 2022 06:28

    In reply to Nina Waters:

    Thank you Nina, very helpful
  • Nikki Baines

    | 0 Posts

    10 May, 2022 06:28

    In reply to Robey:

    Thanks Robey, always insightful
  • Nikki Baines

    | 0 Posts

    10 May, 2022 06:29

    In reply to Teresa:

    Thanks again Teresa
  • Nikki Baines

    | 0 Posts

    10 May, 2022 06:29

    In reply to Keith:

    Thanks Keith, lots to think about!
  • Jacqueline

    | 0 Posts

    10 May, 2022 08:24

    In reply to Nikki Baines:

    In my last organisation, I put a policy in place that was a flexible as possible. We didn't dictate the number of days per week people were in the office, but we said they had to be available to attend site where their job required it or where their manager asked them to. For most staff it was pretty obvious when they were required to be on site (e.g. to meet external stakeholders or supervise the installation of an exhibition) so they managed that aspect themselves. We also put in the policy that teams must be able to meet in person at least once a month, to make sure they were building strong relationships. We had a lot of part time staff and this meant that working patterns had to overlap to the extent that all members of a team shared at least one working day (or were prepared to swap a working day) once a month.
  • Corinne

    | 0 Posts

    11 May, 2022 08:25

    In reply to Nikki Baines:

    We are saying staff have to be in the office for 40% of their working hours, to make it fair for part-timers. We also say it can be averaged over a fortnight, so if working 4 days a week then 1 week will be 2 days the next week will be 1 day.
  • Robey

    | 0 Posts

    11 May, 2022 09:19

    In reply to Corinne:

    ...and what led to the 40% figure, Corinne?

    Was there a careful study of work types performed over a relevant sample period that identified that about 40% of all work couldn't be performed anywhere but in the office?

    Or did someone stick their finger in the air and go "yup, seems about right"?

    If it's the latter, then you're still likely to face challenges and garner few of the benefits that remote working actually offers businesses.