Part-Time Work

Part-time work is governed by Article 13 of the Labour Law. A contract is part-time if the employee’s normal weekly working time is set significantly lower than that of a comparable full-time employee. Under the Regulation on Part-Time Employment Contracts, this means working time of up to two-thirds of full-time work.

The Comparable Employee and Non-Discrimination

The comparable employee is a full-time employee doing the same or similar work at the workplace. A part-time employee may not be treated differently from a comparable full-time employee solely because the contract is part-time; see Equal Treatment Principle. Wages and divisible monetary benefits are paid in proportion to working time.

Rights

• Severance pay and annual leave rights arise as for full-time employees, calculated pro rata.
• Part-time employees enjoy job security if the conditions are met.
• The employer must inform part-time employees of vacancies and consider requests to move to full-time.
• Employees’ requests for part-time work after childbirth and for childcare are specially regulated by law.

Risk of Conversion to Full-Time

If actual working time regularly exceeds the contractual hours, the relationship may become full-time and overtime claims may arise. Contracts, time sheets and payroll records should be consistent.

On-Call Work

A model where the employee is called to work when needed is also a type of part-time work subject to special rules; see On-Call Work.