Part time and being made redundant or full time

[Parttimerconfusion]

I was naive and thought part time workers were protected. However we are going through a restructure like lots of places right now.

I work part time (50% hours of full time) and a group of us who work a mix of full time and part time have been told the headcount is decreasing. I have been told there’s only full time roles available and no option to job share.

I’ve looked into it more and you aren’t protected being part time and so far from what I can see it’s all legal.

I’ve rang ACAS and while they should be helping me find a suitable alternative role if there isn’t one then there isn’t much I can do.

So now I can apply for a full time role which means so much more money in childcare costs and less time with my kids.

Anyone else been in a similar situation? Any advice?

I have a friend who is convinced I should try to take them to court but I don’t think I have a leg to stand on

Why did you think part-time workers were protected?

I’d apply for full time there whilst also applying for part time jobs elsewhere.

Part time workers are no more protected than full time not sure why you thought any different.
Full time work is hard but also you’ll have much more money to pay for the increased childcare.
Alternatively you could look for another job

@Parttimerconfusion, I’m so confused, why would you want to take them to court? For what exactly?does she mean tribunal? If so redundancy is perfectly legal! And why did you think part timers were protected? Wouldn’t everyone just be part time then?

Sorry I’ve not been clear not that part time is more protected than full time. That hours are protected. So you should be offered a suitable alternative role.

if 6 people work full time and only 1 work part time (myself) then they say there’s only 5 full time roles it seems I’m at a disadvantage compared to others.

If it was the other way round that people who worked full time only got offered part time roles I’m sure they would be annoyed.

Yes it’s annoying but I think it’s all above board legally

You are right, it’s a very first world problem and im lucky to work part time. I would have to cancel my kids clubs they do after school which they like and the increase in salary is about 7k and my childcare costs are going to be 3.5k ish from a quick calculation. I am goign to keep looking for a part time role.

Part time working regulations do protect part time workers from less favourable treatment so they couldn't use that as a reason to select for redundancy for example. They do need to find you suitable alternative work and if you feel you are being treated less favourably than full time workers (i.e they have made no attempt to make roles flexible and are therefore disadvantaging you as a redeployee) then you could legitimately put in a grievance and take them to a tribunal. It also could been seen as sex discrimination given more part time workers are female but this may be difficult to argue.

You could apply for a full time role and then request flexible working and they'd have to consider it?

Thank you, this might be what my friend was getting at. They have made no attempts to make any flexible roles and it has affected me from a redeployment pov.

I have asked a few hiring managers about flexibility and some said none at all while others said maybe 4 days but they need to review. So I don’t think i could put in for flexible working after taking a full time role…well I could but it would be declined

Why would part time workers be protected in a restructure?

If you don't want to apply for a full time role then yours is being made redundant by the sounds of it.

This is where you could argue then - if they are disadvantaging you by not making any attempt to find you suitable alternative work then this is less favourable treatment under the regulations. I would discuss with your line manager and find out their reasoning for not allowing any flexibility in the roles, you can then submit a grievance.

But what if one of those full time roles could be a job share? Just because my boss doesn’t like part time workers doesn’t mean I should be discriminated against?

There are equivalent roles and grades to mine but all full time. Why can’t they be two part time people?

That's rubbish OP

Not great
But apply for what you want to do and if you don’t get it start job hunting

Quick question @Parttimerconfusion

Are all the part-time workers facing redundancy female by any chance?

Interesting observation. Even the upper management levels that have gone are mostly female which was noted by a few people last month.

And yes the people most affected due to working hours are female. But there is a mix of male / female impacted however most males are full time.

I'm pretty sure this is indirect sex discrimination. If theres a full time job and two.of you are wolling to share it, its not a potential redundancy situation. Consult your union or a solicitor (check house insurance)

Well colour me surprised. I agree with @ByQuaintAzureWasp about this being potentially an indirect sex discrimination issue.

Maybe someone needs to point out this curious anomaly. It should certainly give them pause for thought.

Sorry, wrong thread

6 employees all doing same job. 4 full time, 2 (0.5 fte) part time. Company says they need 4.0 full time staff. They can't just choose tge part time staff as they could have 3 full timers and 2 part timers. If they said no part time, they'd be choosing those staff due to their part time status and treating them less favourably, which is not within the law.