Include Part-Timers in Your People Strategy

CUNA’S e-Scan Website
August 17, 2010 | COMMENTS

Part-time employees often get a bum rap. Part-timers are disproportionately female and low-wage workers, and since the start of the 2007 recession, the number of people taking part-time work for “economic reasons”—because they can't find full-time employment—has risen.

There's a growing desire, however, among professional employees to choose part-time opportunities in their fields, reports HR Magazine, published by the Society for Human Resource Management. Three separate studies conducted recently within the medical industry, for instance, found that the numbers of doctors and pharmacists working part time have increased markedly in the last few years—a large majority cite the need for better work/life balance.

Corporate professionals also seek such balance—but not all find it, according to recent research:

• Among selected firms surveyed in 2008, 41% allowed some employees and 13% allowed most or all employees to move between full- and part-time status at the same position or level.
• Fifty-three percent of employers allowed some employees to reduce hours before full retirement and 25% allowed most or all to phase in retirement, according to the Families and Work Institute.

Professional employees interested in part-time positions include mothers wishing to spend more time with their children, and older workers who don't want to—or can't afford to—retire but don't want fulltime positions. “Companies should leverage these workers and add them to their overall staffing strategy,” Alison Doyle, an About.com job search and employment subject-matter expert, tells HR Magazine.

When used appropriately, a part-time workforce can help address key staffing issues, such as covering hard-to-fill positions. Creating part-time positions helps recruit, retain, and engage valuable employees. But before expanding part-time opportunities, human resource professionals need to consider:

Defining part time

The distinctions between part time and full time have blurred. Full-time work once meant working 40 hours a week with full benefits, while part time meant fewer than 40 hours with no benefits. Now, part time could be 32 or 35 or 20 hours a week with benefits prorated.

The Fair Labor Standards Act does not define part- or full-time employment. Employers need to set their own hour thresholds, usually with the guidance of their benefits providers or through negotiated union contracts.

Benefits eligibility

Wherever the line is drawn, however, part-timers going beyond it on a consistent basis can trigger greater benefits eligibility. It's up to the employer to monitor the employee's weekly hours to make sure any uptick in hours worked isn't a pattern.

Other benefits-related considerations include:

• Overtime. Overtime protections generally kick in at 40 hours per week but may vary based on state and local laws.
• Health insurance. Insurance is often prorated based on the number of hours worked.
• Pensions. Under the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act, employees who work an average of 1,000 hours in a pension plan year must be included in the same company pension plans offered to full-time workers.
• Unemployment insurance. Workers hired part-time or converted from full- to part-time status need to be informed of your state's laws.
• FMLA. The Family and Medical Leave Act requires unpaid job-protected leave for a serious medical condition for employees who have worked 1,250 hours in the previous 12 months—roughly 25 hours per week.

Developing part-time strategies

At CCLC, a national group of employer-sponsored child care providers based in Portland , Oregon , flexible working options have helped keep turnover at an annual rate of 18% vs. the industry rate of 40%. Of 2,700 employees, mostly teachers, about 300 are part time.

“Part-time employees are critical to our organization even though they represent a small percentage of our total workforce,” says Melinda Rogers, vice president of human resources. “Where you have part-time workers is usually [because] you really need them for scheduling flexibility.”

More companies should take a similar strategic approach to employing part-timers, says About.com's Doyle. “Look at your positions and ask where you can accommodate part-time workers and where you can leverage them,” she says. “The more part-time employees you have, the greater the pool of people you have to draw from to work the larger number of shifts.”

Taking requests

If an employee requests to shift his or her status from full time to part time, Doyle urges HR professionals to be clear on the criteria so that they aren't signaling to the entire workforce that anyone can be approved for part-time status.

Keep the criteria out of the employee manual, but ensure that managers understand the parameters for approval so that they aren't basing their decisions on favoritism, Doyle recommends. “Have a formal approval process that includes the supervisor, HR and a vice president, if necessary,” she says.

Changing status

Part-time work doesn't need to be solely for low-wage, repetitive positions, especially if more professionals request that status. Human resource personnel can start enhancing the part-time profiles at their organizations by creating more professional part-time positions and recognizing their special value.

“Reduce the ‘classification mind-set' so that you have employees instead of full-time vs. part-time workers,” Doyle urges. “If you treat them all as critical to your business, then you won't have part-time employees feeling like ‘less-than' full-time employees.”

This article originally appeared on CUNA's E-Scan Online Research & Advice Portal. Reprinted with permission.