The organisation and employee must formally agree the working pattern: specifically, how much time the employee will be working. Consider the following, taking into account the employee's job role and the operational needs of the organisation: 

• How many days or hours a week does the employee need to work? 

• Whilst working part-time, should the employee work a reduced number of days or a reduced number of hours? 

• What other commitments or personal circumstances are relevant to the hours the employee can work – for example, are they also undertaking childcare or are they providing care for other people? 

Wherever possible, the working pattern should be mutually agreed.  

More information on terms and conditions of employment is available on the terms and conditions of employment topic page. 

Depending on the organisation and its policies and procedures, it may or may not be necessary to formally record and monitor employee working hours. Where existing systems exist (for example, time recording software), they may continue to be used. 

Employees can be asked to formally record their own working hours or arrangements in any way that is suitable and practical for the organisation and the role they undertake. 

However, hours are recorded, managers must ensure that part-time employees are not working in excess of their contractual working hours and should take steps to address it with any employee where they believe this is the case. 

It is important that employees only work the hours that have been agreed with them.  

Managers should: 

• Agree expectations with employees as soon as the part-time working begins. 

• Ensure that the job is designed to fit with the adjusted working hours. Review existing workloads and tasks to take into account the new hours. Depending on the nature of the job, it may be necessary to reduce workloads, provide more time to complete activities or remove some tasks from the job description. 

• Review existing formal objectives and amend them where necessary. 

• When assessing performance ensure you are assessing realistically against the objectives of the role and the hours worked. 

• Clearly communicate the new expectations and keep these under regular review. 

Part-time employees sometimes report that their work activity spills over into their non-working time, or that they find themselves working more hours than they are contracted to undertake. These issues can arise as a result of a range of factors including a lack of boundaries between home and work, the challenges of balancing work and childcare, isolation and lack of contact with friends and family. These challenges apply equally to all employees including part-time workers. 

Together, this complex mix of issues mean that employee wellbeing should be high on the organisational agenda for all employers. 

Where the organisation has wellbeing support or available activities these should be highlighted regularly to all employees. Part-time workers should specifically be encouraged to make use of them in the same way as their full-time colleagues. 

Managers can support the wellbeing of part-time employees by closely monitoring workloads, adjusting objectives and targets, ensuring regular communication and regularly checking in with them. They should also be aware of the potential for part-time employees to work longer than necessary and take steps to address this should they see any signs of this occurring. 

You can find more information and resources on wellbeing on the wellbeing topic page. 

Ensuring effective communication with part-time employees is essential. Managers must ensure that all employees, whatever hours they are working, receive relevant and timely information, and have the opportunity to be involved with team discussions. Consider the following: 

• Holding team meetings on days when everyone is working. Where possible, schedule work so that there is a time in the week where this is possible. 

• Where people cannot attend team meetings, ensure that they receive a separate update through an appropriate mechanism, whether this is face to face, via email or through a one-to-one meeting. 

• Set up an online space for sharing and discussion where employees can engage asynchronously if they are unable to communicate at a time when they are all working. 

• Ensure regular dialogue between managers and employees – ideally weekly wherever possible. Talk to the team about the best ways to communicate. 

• Where a whole team is working part-time or flexibly, consider setting up an informal place to communicate in order to keep in touch and foster a sense of team working. A WhatsApp group or Yammer group can work well but participation should be voluntary. 

Finally, where a team has multiple part-time workers, it may be helpful to agree some team protocols around team communication, meetings, providing updates to each other, technologies and availability and contact times. The whole team can work together to create and agree these.

Requests for flexible working must be considered in a reasonable manner and in a reasonable timeframe. New legislation (coming into force in 2024) will make the right to request flexible working a day one right rather than after 26 weeks of employment. We recommend that organisations change their policies now to meet this and tag roles as “open to discussing flexible working”, wherever possible. This will help to support greater equality, diversity and Inclusion and and support stronger attraction and retention.

We have agreed with you that you will work part time. [We will write / have already written to you to set out the exact working arrangements, including changes to your pay].   

This advice sheet will provide you with some information and guidance on successful part-time working.   

Managing workload 

Your manager will discuss your workload and objectives with you, and make necessary adjustments to take into account your current working hours.  Depending on the work that you do, this may mean that some work is reduced or deadlines could be extended. If you are in any way unsure about what is expected of you, please ask your manager.   

Please remember that you will not be able to undertake the same amount of work that you normally would whilst working full time and there are no expectations that you will do so.   

If you have any concerns about your workload or if you are unsure what work you should be prioritising, please contact your manager in the first instance.   

Communication  

Make sure to let your colleagues know about your new working pattern. Consider including your hours of work in your email signature or using an out of office message when you are not working so that you can manage expectations on response times. You may also find it helpful to share your calendar with your team.  

You can minimise potential communication problems by agreeing with your colleagues how you can best update each other, as well as how any work should be handed over to others to ensure continuity. If you are sharing a job with another colleague work with them to agree the best way to communicate to each other.  

Wellbeing 

Even when working part time, and especially if you are working from home, make sure that you continue to take regular breaks including screen breaks. You should also continue to book and take your annual leave.   

Some part-time employees find it difficult not to overwork to compensate for their reduced hours. Others find that they carry on working almost as many hours as they did when they were working full time. You should ensure that you do not take on any additional work and aim to switch off fully from work during your free time. You may find it helpful to track your own hours of work to ensure you are not overworking.   

If you are working from home you may find it helpful to establish some clear boundaries between work and home, such as designating a place for work or putting away work tools at the end of your working hours.   

If you have any concerns or issues regarding your wellbeing, please raise them with your manager in the first instance. [Please also familiarise yourself with the wellbeing activities and opportunities available to you.] 

This practical advice will provide you with information and guidance on the effective management of part time employees.   

Set clear goals and expectations  

It is important to be clear about priorities and deadlines. These should be adjusted to take into account the number of hours that the employee is working. Make sure that the individual is clear about what you expect from them.  

Review existing objectives 

If your employees have formal targets or objectives (such as within an annual performance review), make sure you review these when the employee begins their new working pattern. Employee performance should be assessed based on their adjusted objectives or goals. If performance is rated at the end of the year or through a performance review, be sure to take into account these adjustments.   

Communicate to the team 

It is essential to set up effective team communication. This could include having a regular meeting at times when everyone is working. Where this is not possible, find a way to communicate with the whole team, whether that is by email or another way that works for you. Ask the team for their input. Make sure that everyone receives the same information, and no one is kept out of the loop – this is especially important if you only have a few team members working part time.    

Communicate to individuals 

As well as your broader team communication, be sure to communicate on an individual level too. Your communications can include some of the points set out below such as workload or wellbeing, but you should also ensure that the individual is getting the information they need to do their jobs effectively.  

Promote and support effective team working  

Even though some of your team may be working reduced hours and some may be working from home, it is still important to help everyone to feel part of the team, build relationships and maintain social bonds. Try to create opportunities for the team to connect, including socially. These should always be optional. You can have an online get together or create an online channel for chat and connection.  

Check in on wellbeing  

The current climate is creating a range of challenges for people that may have a negative impact on their wellbeing. Make sure that employees are taking breaks, continue to book their annual leave, and regularly ask your team “how are you?”  [Encourage all of your employees to engage with the wellbeing activities available to them and signpost support services to people who need them].   

Monitor workloads 

Make sure that any employee who has transferred to part-time working has not maintained their full-time workload – or feels like they need to do so. Your regular individual conversations can help you to assess workloads even when someone is working remotely. Check in regularly on what people are working on – and the hours that they are working. Where you identify possible issues (for example look out for emails on days when people should not be working), address them promptly.   

Manage performance 

There’s no evidence to suggest that part-time workers perform less effectively than full-time employees. If a performance issue should arise address it promptly in the way that you normally would and in accordance with the appropriate policies and procedures. Always talk to someone about any performance concerns before starting formal procedures.   

Support learning and development 

Employees working part-time should  have the same opportunities to learn and develop as their full-time colleagues. Continue to support part-time employees in their learning, development and progression objectives, and provide the necessary time for any training that they need to undertake.   

If you have any questions on managing employees who are working part time, please contact [STATE CONTACT NAME].