Protection of Employees (Part-Time)
Protection of Employees (part-time work) Act 2001
In general this Act applies to any Part-Time Employee who is:
- Working under a Contract of Employment.
- Employed through an Employment Agency
- In the Service of the State.
This Act provides that
A Part-Time Employee (as defined) cannot be treated in a less favourable manner than a comparable full-time employee in relation to conditions of employment.
All employee protection legislation applies to part-time employees in the same manner as it already applies to full-time employees. Any qualifying conditions (with the exception of hours) applying to full-time employees in any of that legislation, also applies to part-time employees.
The Act does allow that a part-time employee can be treated in a less favourable manner where such a treatment can be justified on objective grounds. A ground may be considered objective if it is based on considerations other than the status of the employee as a part-time worker and the less favourable treatment is for the purpose of achieving a legitimate objective of the employer and such treatment is necessary for that purpose.
A part-time Employee can be treated less favourably than a comparable full time employee in relation to any pension scheme or arrangement when his/her normal hours of work constitutes less than 20% of the normal hours of work of a comparable full-time employee. This provision does not prevent an Employer and a part-time employee from entering into an agreement whereby that Employee may receive the same pension benefits as a comparable full-time Employee.
The Holiday Entitlement of a part-time employee is related to the Holiday Entitlement of a comparable full-time employee. Under the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997 a part-time employee's Minimum Annual Leave Entitlement is:
- 4 Working Weeks in a Leave Year in which a part-time employee works at least 1365 hours.
- One Third of a Working Week Per Calendar Month that the part-time employee works at least 117 hours.
- 8% of Hours Worked in a Leave Year subject to a maximum of 4 Working Weeks.
