Changing trends in part-time work

Citation

(1999), "Changing trends in part-time work", Journal of European Industrial Training, Vol. 23 No. 7. https://doi.org/10.1108/jeit.1999.00323gab.008

Changing trends in part-time work

Changing trends in part-time work

Keyword: Part-time work

In the UK, one-third of all jobs should be part-time by the year 2010, according to a new study by the consulting firm, Cambridge Econometrics, a dramatic increase since 1980, for example, when the proportion was less than one-fifth. Part-time jobs are expected to represent the majority of new employment in the decades to come because of flexible working patterns, especially in the service sector- expected to be the largest provider of employment in the future.

In France, the proportion of part-time work (less than 32 hours per week) reached 18.1 per cent of salaried employment in 1998, more than doubling in the past 15 years. However, its growth seems to be slowing down: in one year, the proportion of people working part-time among those who would prefer to work full-time has diminished slightly, going from 43 per cent to 42 per cent.

An agreement regulating part-time work was reached in Spain between the unions and the Government. Part-time work is permitted as long as the working hours are less than 77 per cent of normal working hours. Recourse to overtime work is limited, and social coverage of part-time workers is improved regarding retirement, vacations and sick leave. Part-time work represents 8 per cent of employment in the country. Management has refused to sign this agreement.