Part Time Working
The law protects part-time workers from discrimination on the basis of their part-time status. As well as the Part-time Workers Regulations 2000 (PTW Regulations), police officers are also protected by the Police Regulations 2003, which set out the entitlements of part-time officers to pay, allowances, annual
leave and other benefits.
A right to work part-time?
The PTW Regulations do not give you a right to work part-time and the statutory right to request flexible working does not apply to the police service. However, Home Office Guidance says there should be a parallel right for officers to request flexible working, and European law on part-time working (which does apply to
police officers) provides that, as far as possible, a request to transfer from full, to part-time should be considered.
If your request to work part time or flexibly is refused, it may be unlawful as indirect sex discrimination. The force would have to prove clear operational reasons to justify any such refusal. There is more information about this in the sex discrimination section.
You should note that normally you have to bring a sex discrimination claim to an employment tribunal within
three months less one day of the date the refusal was made.
These provisions are complicated and you should get advice to make sure you do not run out of time.
Your rights under the PTW Regulations
The PTW Regulations protect part-time officers from being less favourably treated than full-time officers, unless the treatment can be justified. Less favourable treatment might include, for example, inferior terms and conditions or working environments, or putting a part-time officer at a disadvantage.
You are also protected from victimisation. This means it is unlawful for a force to treat you less favourably because you have made a complaint or pursued a claim under the PTW Regulations, asked for information about them or helped someone else to do so.
The PTW Regulations include guidance notes which may be helpful. In particular, there is a section on access to training for part-time workers.
Proving less favourable treatment
In order to show you have been less favourably treated because you work part-time, you have to compare your treatment with an equivalent full-time worker (called a "comparator"). This must be someone who does the same or broadly similar work as you and has equivalent qualifications, skills and experience. The comparator should also work in the same place as you, unless there are no full-time workers, in which case you can use a
comparator in another location.
The PTW Regulations also protect your terms and conditions if you change from full to part-time work or return to part-time work after an absence of less than a year (for example, after a period of maternity leave). If you change from full to part-time work, the comparator does not have to be a real person.
In this instance you can compare your new part-time terms and conditions with those you had in your previous full-time role. In most cases the pro-rata principle applies to part-time officers.
This means your pay and benefits, such as allowances, are paid in proportion to a full-time officer. This won't always apply though. For example, it may be appropriate to pay some allowances in full rather than to pro-rata them.
If you have been treated less favourably because you work part-time, this is unlawful if the treatment cannot be justified on objective grounds. There is guidance in the PTW Regulations about what counts as objective justification, but generally it must be a necessary and proportionate means of achieving a legitimate operational objective. In other words, a force must put forward a genuine operational reason why you have been treated
in that way.
It does not count as less favourable treatment if you get paid at an unenhanced rate for overtime, providing the hours you worked are within the normal full-time week. You should be paid an enhanced overtime rate in the same way as full-timers, for hours you work over the normal full-time week.
Making a claim under the PTW Regulations
If you think your rights under the PTW Regulations are being or have been infringed, you can ask the force for a written statement of the reasons for your less favourable treatment. The force must respond within 21 days of the request.
This statement is admissible as evidence and an employment tribunal can draw its own conclusions if the force doesn't respond fully, or at all.
Normally you have three months less one day of the less favourable treatment to bring your claim to the employment tribunal.
If your complaint is about less favourable terms and conditions, this may be treated as taking place on each day they are effective. If your complaint is about less favourable treatment on changing from full- to part-time work, this is treated as taking place only on the first day of working under the part-time contract or your return from absence.
If your complaint of less favourable treatment is due to an omission by your employer, it can be complicated to work out the date on which this happened and you may need to get legal advice.
Sometimes, the tribunal may allow a claim to be brought after this deadline. However, there is no automatic time extension for pursuing your complaint first through an internal grievance procedure. You should seek advice from your Federation representative as soon as possible to avoid missing any time limits.
Remedies
If your complaint is successful, the tribunal can:
• Make a declaration on your rights and the rights of the force
in relation to your complaint
• Order the force to pay you compensation for financial losses
(this does not include injury to feelings)
• Recommend the force takes action to remove or reduce the
detriment within a specified period
