Part-Time Working Policy

Transcription

1 Human Resources Department Part-Time Working Policy Lead Director: Director of Human Resources and Student Services Date ratified by Council: 18 December 2003 Policy issue date: May 2002 Policy review date: January 2004 & March 2014 Policy to be reviewed every 2 years. Date of next review: Page 1 of 5

2 KEELE UNIVERSITY PART-TIME WORKING POLICY 1. BACKGROUND 1.1 Keele University confirms its commitment to a comprehensive policy of equality and diversity in employment in which individuals are selected, trained, appraised, promoted and otherwise treated on the basis of their relative merits and abilities and are given equal opportunities within the University. No job applicant, employee or student will receive less favourable treatment because of race, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origins, sex, marital or civil partnership, sexual orientation, disability, gender reassignment, religion or belief, political belief, socio-economic background, parental status, age or trades union membership. The University is committed to a programme of action to ensure that this policy is fully effective. 1.2 It is entirely consistent with the philosophy and practice of mainstreaming equality, that part-time working should be facilitated and that those engaged in a part-time capacity should be enabled to develop their career in parallel with their full- time colleagues. The University is committed to equality for its entire staff regardless of the number of hours worked. In order to facilitate this the University may create working arrangements, in accordance with managerial interests, whereby it can widen its recruitment pool, retain the valuable skills of existing employees who want to work part-time, and enable staff to retain career development opportunities whilst working fewer hours. 1.3 Whilst it is important to acknowledge the significance of an organisation s commitment to equality and diversity, it should be noted that part-time working is not exclusively an equality issue. Employees in all sectors are placing more value on 'quality of working life' and seeking greater flexibility so that they can manage work commitments alongside personal and family life (often referred to as work/life balance). In addition, the offer of part-time working can ensure that the University recruits and retains the best and widest talent. All University employees are therefore eligible to apply for part- time working, and subject to the managerial interests of the Department/School, the Head of Department/School will seek to accommodate the wishes of a member of staff wishing to work on a part-time basis. Page 2 of 5

3 2. AIMS 2.1 The aims of this policy are as follows: i) to afford and extend opportunities for part-time working. ii) to help all employees who want part-time work to try and find part-time work at an appropriate level. iii) to help retain staff and skills and help prevent lost of investment in experience. iv) to demonstrate a commitment to long-term career development. 3. OPTIONS 3.1 Subject to the managerial needs of the department/school, the Head of Department/School, in consultation with the Human Resources Department, will seek to accommodate the wishes of a member of staff who requests to work on a part-time basis in one of the following ways: 3.2 Standard Part-time work The University makes a great deal of use of part-time working, and part-time staff are employed on terms and conditions pro rata to full time staff. Part-time working arises in a situation where a member of staff works less than the normal full time number of hours per week for his or her staff group. This can be either on a reduced number of days basis or on a 5-day week, reduced hours basis (e.g. to fit in with school hours.) When recruiting to a post it is essential that managers consider the number of hours of work required, and when they could most effectively be worked. Parttime hours can accommodate peaks of workload, whether they occur on a daily basis (i.e. heavier workload requirements in the afternoons, mornings, or over midday), or over the week (i.e. heavier workload requirements towards the start, middle or end of the week). 3.3 Job-Sharing Job-sharing arises in a situation in which two members of staff are employed to share the duties and responsibilities of one full-time post on an hourly, daily or weekly basis, and the salary and leave entitlement is allocated on a pro-rata basis. The contract is held jointly and is conditional upon the offer of appointment being accepted by both the job-share partners. The job share partners work under a normal contract of employment and are subject to the provisions of current employment legislation. The success of job-sharing depends upon the willingness of the job-sharers to co-ordinate their work and to collaborate to ensure that the whole job is done. They work closely together to share the whole range of duties. In theory job-sharing could involve more than two members of staff sharing one full- time post; the Page 3 of 5

4 University intends to apply a scheme which usually limits sharing to two people sharing one full-time post, normally on a 50:50 basis (although alternative arrangements for apportioning the split may be considered) Circumstances where Job Share arrangements may be particularly suitable include: Where job share presents an opportunity to retain the services of trained staff who due to personal circumstances might otherwise find continuation in employment difficult Where there is a need for flexible working to suit changing operational needs and the needs of the individual Where there is a need to broaden the potential pool of applicants Experience elsewhere has shown that job share arrangements can provide many advantages for managers and employees, including: For Managers proven improvement in retention and attendance increased efficiency through greater flexibility, peak period coverage and continuity of attendance access to a wider range of skills and knowledge tapping into a wider employment pool enhanced levels of responsibility For Employees more opportunities for part-time work at levels commensurate with previous or current experience and salary eases return to work after maternity leave creates the opportunity for a more flexible and enjoyable life style and the ability to follow other interests provides work opportunities for certain categories of people who otherwise may not be able to work at all, e.g. single parents and those with health limitations or disabilities. 3.4 Job-Splitting Job-splitting arises in a situation in which one full-time post is split into two distinct part-time posts requiring minimal overlap and functioning totally independently of one another. Here the post-holders do different parts of the same job. This option may be more suitable for relatively routine work. 3.5 Term-time work Term-time working arises in a situation in which a post-holder is employed on an open-ended contract or a fixed-term/temporary contract for more than one year, on a full-time or part-time basis, for specified periods during the University year. Salary and other terms and conditions of employment are pro rata to fullyear/full-time work, however calculation of holiday entitlements can sometimes Page 4 of 5

5 be complicated, so advice can be sought from the Human Resources Department It is important that members of staff engaged on a term-time basis are clear about their work pattern (i.e. whether half-terms are included etc). 4. APPLICATIONS 4.1 Requests to take one of the above options should be made in writing to the Head of Department/School and copied to the Deputy Director of Human Resources. 4.2 The Head of Department/ School/ manager will consult with Human Resources regarding the mode and pattern of part-time working and contractual implication. 4.3 Where an application is not to be granted, the reason(s) for refusal will be conveyed in writing to the applicant. Staff whose applications are not granted may request an interview with their Human Resources Link Manager. This Policy was agreed by the Council of Keele University on 18 December 2003 and is effective immediately. Page 5 of 5