Taking on a part-timer is no longer a casual affair as they are now well protected by regulations which provide them with a range of new rights. Part-time workers – who include agency staff and those working from home – must now be treated in the same manner and afforded the same rights as comparable full-time workers.

In practice part-timers must be offered the same basic rate of pay (including rates for overtime, sick and maternity pay), and the same entitlement to join occupational pension schemes or receive other contractual benefits such as private medical insurance or staff discounts.

The regulations are based on pro-rata principles and part-timers are entitled to the proportion of a comparable full-timer’s pay and benefits according to the proportion of the full-time hours they work. Part-timers can only be treated less favourably where an employer can show appropriate justification for doing so.

Part-timers can enforce their rights at an employment tribunal, which can make a declaration of their rights and order an employer to pay compensation. They cannot be dismissed or subjected to detrimental treatment for exercising their rights.

Where a part-timer considers that they are being treated less favourably than a comparable full-time worker they can request a statement from the employer giving a full explanation of this, which should include the employer’s reasoning. The employer must respond in writing within 21 days. Failure to do so, or an evasive response, will allow a tribunal to draw adverse inferences.

Most part-timers are female and it is considered that unfavourable treatment would hit them disproportionately hard. The regulations were introduced to redress these balances in the working population. It’s worth remembering that compensation which can be awarded by a tribunal has no upper limit in certain cases.