to think that those working a four day week should also get 'summer office hours'?

[SteelMagnolia]

For June/July/August, that's 13 weeks, employees at my company (800 employees, public company) get to leave at 3pm. Normal leaving hours for Fridays are 5pm, so that is 2 hours off. So, over the three months, that is a total of 26 hours off.

I don't work on Fridays. I work Mon-Thurs. My salary, bonus, public holidays, etc are all 4/5ths of what it was when I was full time. I assumed I would be entitled to some kind of summer concession, to equal 4/5ths of 26 hours, which is 20.8 hours. I sent an email to my HR rep today asking if they'd decided what to do about summer hours for those not working Fridays (there are several mums in the office on a reduced schedule.)

My HR team's response, via an official "summer hours Q&A" she attached to an email:
'Q: What happens if I don?t work on a Friday?
A: Lucky you! That?s just one of those things unfortunately; you won?t be able to carry over to another day."

However the Q&A says they ARE going to make concessions for people who are unable to leave early on Fridays because of their duties. So, they are making some adjustments.

AIBU to think this is not right? (And to be annoyed at the language they used, ie "Lucky you!" Anyone not working Fridays probably have kids and ARE working their butts off that day, at home!)

So what's your point Hiding? You don't have a choice, I don't have a choice. If I went full time we wouldn't be able to keep a roof over our heads. If I gave up we wouldn't be able to keep a roof over our heads. That £3k is what stops us sinking under. What part of that don't you understand?

Oh, and piss off with your 'keeping your hand in'.

exactly Tyler - I really think the point that the OP doesn;t get PAID for the hours she doesn't work has passed some people by

(and BTW I work full time, used to work PT but stopped as it was too hard!)

I do the calculations for bank holidays for my company (but I am not in any way a HR professional). if you work part time you get that % of bank holidays. The bank holiday days that fall on your normal working days are then deducted, so say if you are working 4 days a week, 80% hours you are entitled to 80% of bank holiday days. If monday is a working day for you you will have taken more than 80% of the bh days so you lose the time from your leave. If you don't work mondays in general the %days should be added to your leave. If you see what I mean. It works if you think of your leave as x days holiday + x days bh and pro rata it.

So it should be the same for the friday hours - you should get 80% of those 2 hours a week.

For those that say it is just because op chooses to work part time, what if she took thursdays off instead? Would it still be fair that she got the extra?

OP are there people who work part time but do Fridays and get these hours off. If so you may be opening a can of worms and depriving them of some of that time if you persue this. I think you should but it's something to think about.

oh and when I went PT I said i could have any day as my "non work" day - suggested Wednesday I think for exactly that reason - that ohers would want time off on Mondays and Fridays. My boss prefeerred Fridays

Hardhat you seem to have a massive chip on your shoulder against part-time workers and want to discriminate against them. More women work part-time than men, so yes, that makes you "institutionally sexist".

OP legally the company has to provide you with the same benefits as full-timers, on a pro rata basis. Go back to HR and give them hell!

On paper it is unfair, so maybe no one should get it if part time non Friday workers don't? Suggest that to your workmates at the water cooler..

I think you have to accept that by working part time in a mainly full time environment that people make allowances for your absence and time manage around your schedule, this is one benefit that is for those around on a Friday and you happen not to be..

The company does value the OP, they have given hours that suit her schedule..perhaps they are rewarding full time workers for fitting in and around these arrangements, as well as recognising that that last two hours on a Friday can be dead time and this buys a goodwill and can do attitude for the week ahead from their full time work force..

Presumably the goodwill of part time workers is not worth paying for?

I don't understand why so many seem to think part time working is some sort of favour.

I must remember next time I'm at work stupidly late to get it all done how fortunate I am and that I should be forever grateful to management and my poor hard done by full time colleagues for allowing me the privellage of working part time

Icoulddoitbetter - so your full time colleagues never work over time? I think we all do extra when it is required..

tyler80 you already have the goodwill of the part timers, you have allowed them to work less hours as it suits them to do so ..

I dont think part time work is a favour, but many employers see it as a way of reducing the overall wage bill. Depending on the type of work you do, this can result in colleagues covering your day off on top their own work and sometimes holidays being denyed due to this..

If it's badly managed it can create dischord in an office..
One colleague is only in ONE day a week (works from home other days) and is of the attitude that we must all drop everything for her on that day... we are constantly juggling/changing schedules and meetings because part timers change their days at a moments notice.. meetings cannot take place because all the part timers are on different days..
Sometimes you are not aware of the problems you cause others...cause you are not there!

"tyler80 you already have the goodwill of the part timers, you have allowed them to work less hours as it suits them to do so .."

erm, why do you assume all part-timers have chosen to work part-time hours?? some posts are advertised as part-time hours. some employers reduce hours to cut costs. it isn't always 'doing a favour' for the employeee you know!!

"Sometimes you are not aware of the problems you cause others...cause you are not there!"

Firstly it's not a day off. You are not employed by them on that day. Secondly, read the threads on here and you'll find that most part timers are squeezing the extra work into their week, not leaving colleagues to do it. When I get in on a Monday, no one has done my work for me. They've just added to the pile.

Yanbu OP.

GML in my workplace some jobs have to be done immediately and cannot simply be left til worker is in, so in this case other people do have to cover those tasks...oh and then get back their own work too..

BooyHoo ..it is a valid point, you are not there you dont see the chaos that ensues and yet often there is barely an acknolwedgement of the cover provided and the fact that you couldn't leave on time as your own work also needs to be done ..

If you are part time and cannot fulfill the role in those hours you surely have a case to ask for the hours to be increased?

OP it sounds as if you get 100% of bank holidays off rather than 80%, is that right?

If so then you are getting "more" bank holiday time than you're strictly entitled to iyswim. The extra bank holiday time you're getting will offset the 20.8 hours you should be getting for summer working hours. I'm not sure whether it's equal (it depends on how many hours a normal working day is for you, and what days the bank holidays fall on) but it's probably fairly similar.

So, YANBU to think you should get pro rata time off. But that would apply to bank hols as well as summer hours.

hey aura, guess what, i have worked full time hours!! i know what happens when part -time staff are on their off days. . you seem to be projecting the problems you encounter in your specific office onto ALL part-time workers. plenty of businesses are actually able to manage their staff so that part-time work is beneficial to the company. just because your isn't good at this doesn't mean otehr part-time workers stroll into work and expect everyone else to work round them.

and when someone is a part-time employee, there is no 'cover' for the days they aren't employed. it isn't a sick day or annual leave. it is a day where the employer has deemed it not necessary to have a full compliment of staff. 'cover' is what happens when someone rings in sick, not when someone was never meant to be tehre in teh first place.

I am a new user (have been lurking for a little while) but this is the first post that has angered me into joining - angry about the sheer ignorance of some of the posters on here.
As previously stated OP, it is illegal to treat part time workers less favourably than those full time therefore your employer is breaking the law. Furthermore, as stated, they would be guilty of indirect sex discrimination (part time workforce in the UK is made up of approx 80% of females) and would also be on dodgy ground around age and disability.
I say this as a full time worker, there seems to be some very misguided and hostile views to part time workers - your own employers' mismangement of part time work patterns does not mean that the whole part time workforce is like that. People should not be rewarded for being full time, it is not only illegal but would also lead to severe issues around employee morale and segregation of the workforce.

Those of you saying that part time workers are lucky, you could equally say that being part time has reduced costs and if everyone was full time there would be a need for a headcount reduction. Both arguments are ridiculous in isolation and it is up to management to agree working patterns that suit their business, it is no fault of OP's.

OP i would suggest you go back to your HR dept (who sound incompetent both in their attitude and knowledge of the law). For use of official guidance I would recommend ACAS, perhaps give them a call on their helpline and they can support you with your approach.

www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=1410

Good Luck!

minipie, the OP says that her public holidays are 4/5 of 'normal' so I think they are already pro-rataed (quite rightly)

NGA:

"Those of you saying that part time workers are lucky, you could equally say that being part time has reduced costs and if everyone was full time there would be a need for a headcount reduction. Both arguments are ridiculous in isolation and it is up to management to agree working patterns that suit their business"

Thank you for cumming up coherently what I have been trying to say :o
And as BooyHoo points out there is no "cover" for the days when PT workers arent in - if there is extra work this needs to be dealt with in whatever way they would usually deal with unexpected extra work - renegotiating deadlines, agency staff, paid overtime, the occassional unpaid overtime

summing not cumming
gah

Good lord, can't believe the part-timer bashing going on here!

I get the odd crack from colleagues when I leave at 3pm, but I always counter it by saying that I'll swap pay-cheques if they like. I work shorter hours and am paid accordingly.

Like you, OP, I only work Mon-Thurs, and I do 5 hours a day. We also finish early on a Friday, year-round, but luckily my pro-rata pay is based on hours - I get 20/36 of full pay, so the fact that everyone leaves early on the day I'm not there is irrelevant. Maybe that would be a more fair method for you, OP, so in effect you would get a small pay increase in the summer months, because your pro-rata is slightly higher.

They don't seem to pro-rata the Bank Hols - I get all the Monday ones, but if it falls on a Friday (e.g. Royal Wedding) - tough titty. But they are very flexible and let me move around my free day if one of the DCs are ill, for example.

And no, I'm not just "keeping my hand in" - my income is vital for this household. As I have three DCs I have chosen a job which doesn't require any childcare, to keep costs down. No-one else covers my work if I'm away, it is there waiting for my return on Monday.

oops, missed that Stealth. Apologies OP.

I actualy thought if you worked part time you are entitled legally to the same perks as a full time employee.

Cointreau - I know legally that they have to pro rata bank holidays for part timers. Didn't used to be the case though, so they may not know.