Maybe over thinking this but a client mentioned in passing that their full time workers leave early every Friday. Would this be considered discrimination for the part time workers?
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No, not if everyone works the time they're obliged to by their employment contracts. You would need to have some universally agreed definition of "full time" and "part time" to argue otherwise and there isn't one.
We have an 'early finish' on Friday, but that is compensated by shorter lunch breaks the rest of the week.
You just need consistency in how everyone's entitlements are calculated.
I used to work somewhere that finished at 1pm on a Friday, but where it counted as a full day off if taken as holiday.
A lot of staff used to never take Friday's off for that reason.
You can't please all of the people all of the time.
If it's paid/free time off then it's illegal. There's a ronseal act called the "part time workers (less favourable terms) regs" - something like that.
Broadly speaking: if the full timers are not being paid for POETS day, or if the part timers are paid out in some other way, then it's fine.
I cannot see how this can be fair or legal.
Two people doing the same job, at the same equivalent pay ... the full time worker is actually being paid more per hour worked.
You need to see an employment specialist though. You're going to get opinion here, rather than a legally informed answer that can be relied upon.
There's nowhere near enough information in this query.
What's the hourly rate ? What do the contracts say ? Do the full time employees complain about the part time workers coming in part time ?
So far as I know, there's nothing to stop employees being paid on different terms (unless it falls foul of one of the discrimination categories). People are frequently paid less for doing the same job. Women, for instance. It's something they've been moaning about for years.
If it was included in the contract I would have no problem but as it isn't then it becomes an issue.
Even if it were in the contract, if you pay someone less because they are part time, or deny them a perk offered to full time workers, then you could be in trouble.
I would have thought it could also be considered indirect discrimination, if a particular group e.g. women are more likely to be represented among the part-timers.
i would've though its irrelevant when the "full timers" leave on a friday (or any other day for that matter?)
if they are contracted to do so many hours per week, does it really matter how they are arranged - by agreement they can do longer hours on certain days or even them over the whole week. Surely the part timers can do the same, either do longer hours on some days or spread out over a week. really comes down to what days are agreed - i don't see the issue?
Well, the implication was that the full timers don't do their contracted hours.
But there's insufficient information to draw a conclusion and the OP seems to have lost interest.
Just to add if the full timers are paid for a months work whether or not they work on friday is irrelevant.
Irrelevant, surely, Paul.
Somewhere in the contract will be the hours the workers are expected to put in. The issue is whether they've chipped in those hours. Which we don't know.
The answer to your question will all come down to what it stated in their Contract of Employment.
If the employees are contracted to work a fixed work pattern, for example, they must work to 5.00 p.m. on Friday and paid to work until 5.00 p.m. then they should stay until 5.00 p.m. OR if they leave early they should not be paid for the hours that they do not work and this should apply to ALL workers.
However if they are contracted to work, for example, 40 hours per week and are on a flexi contract whereby they only have to work 40 hours per week and have already worked up their 40 hours by 2.00 p.m. on a Friday then yes they can go home early. The same would apply if a part time worker has to work, for example, 20 hours per week, if they have worked up all their hours then they could also potentially leave at 2.00 p.m.
Do they leave early every Friday because they make up their hours during the rest of the week?
Are the part-timers allowed to leave early on a Friday if they've made up their hours?
If everyone who has worked their hours is allowed to leave early then I don't see a problem.
If the part-timers aren't allowed to leave early or aren't allowed to make up their hours then there's an issue.