PART-TIME WORKER

A worker hired on a temporary or permanent basis and whose normal hours of work are less than the normal hours of work of a comparable full-time worker.

"For part-time workers, a part-time job may offer the chance of a better balance between working life and family responsibilities, training, leisure or civic activities. It can also make it easier for workers progressively to enter the labour market or retire from employment. On the other hand, for employers, part-time work can permit not only greater flexibility in responding to market requirements, e.g. by increasing capacity utilisation or extending opening hours, but also productivity gains. Part-time workers are very often at a disadvantage in comparison with colleagues who do equivalent work full time. Typically, their hourly wages are lower; they are ineligible for certain social benefits; and their career prospects are more limited."
(Eurofound, Part-Time Work, 2007, visited 2011-08-27)

"Part-time workers can be an excellent staffing option for small or young businesses, due to the potential for flexibility and the relatively low cost. [...] Such workers necessarily work fewer hours, so will cost less in wages. In addition, part-time workers typically do not qualify for company-sponsored benefits. [...] They often hold more than one job, meaning possible competition for time and loyalty. In addition, such employees often leave if offered full-time employment by one of their other part-time employers, possibly creating a turnover problem."
(INC Magazine, Staffing: Full- and Part-Time Employees, 2000, visited 2011-08-27)

"The voluntary part-time employed include workers who do not want or are not available for full-time work, including workers who accept part-time employment while their young children are in school but are not generally able or willing to accept full-time employment. Involuntary part-time workers are persons who work less than 35 hours a week, not by choice but for economic reasons. While many employers create part-time positions in order to reduce costs, unions advocate part-time work for those that want it as well as benefits for those part-timers. Part-time work is considered by these unionists as an important means of flexibility for many working families."
(Anglim, C.T., Labour, Employment and the Law, A Dictionary, Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 1997)

"In the 1980s and 1990s there was a change in employment relations. In most countries, the full-time job with a permanent contract became less important. On the other hand, there was an increase in part-time jobs, in non-permanent jobs and in self-employment. Work organisation has been changing very rapidly and employment relations have become more flexible."
(European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions, Employment Status and Working Conditions, 2002, visited 2009-08-12)