NEW! Amendments to Part-Time Legislation

The recently published Legal Notice 117 of 2010 – Part-Time Employees (Amendment) Regulations, 2010 which came into force on the 12th March 2010 have changed significantly the contents of this leaflet. The definition of ‘Part-Time Employee' was also revised on 16^th March 2010 by amendments made to the various Wage Regulation Orders. The important changes as listed below have affected part-time employment and the relevant regulations now apply to all part-time employees, irrespective if the part time employment is their principal or their secondary employment.

Who is to be considered a Part-Time Employee?

A part-time employee is one whose normal hours of work, calculated on a weekly basis or on an average over a period of employment of up to one year, are less than the normal hours of work of a comparable whole-time employee and who is not a whole-time employee with reduced hours.

In this regard, an employer should ensure that the total number of hours worked by a part time employee over a period of one year, do not reach or exceed the total number of normal hours (excluding overtime) worked by a comparable whole-time employee over the same one year period. If the total number of hours worked by the part-time employee equal or exceed those of a comparable whole-time employee, then that employee shall thenceforth be considered as a whole-time employee.

Eligibility for Pro-rata entitlements

The pro-rata entitlements apply to part-time employees as follows:

1. as from 12th March 2010, to all part-time employees who are engaged as such.

2. as from 12th September 2010, in the case of part-time employees whose part-time employment is one in respect of which social security contributions are not payable in terms of the Social Security Act, who were already in part-time employment prior to 12th March 2010 and were still in their part-time employment on the latter date.

Those part-time employees who were already eligible to pro rata entitlements prior to 12^th March 2010 and were still in their part-time employment on 12th March 2010 will continue to enjoy such pro-rata entitlements after 12th March 2010.

Equal Treatment

With respect to the entitlement of a part time employee for the same rate of pay as applicable to the comparable whole-time employee, the recent amendments have further clarified that:

1. where the weekly hours of work exceed the normal weekly hours of a comparable whole time employee, any such hours are to be paid at the same rate as that applicable to the comparable whole-time employee.

2. any hours worked on Sundays and Public Holidays, including hours worked within the normal schedule or hours worked in excess of the normal schedule of a comparable whole-time employee, any such hours are to be paid at the same rate as that applicable to the comparable whole-time employee.