Part-time work definition
Part-time work is when an employee usually works fewer hours in a company than comparable employees in full-time positions. The relevant criterion for comparison is the weekly working time. In exceptional cases, the annual working time may also be used. However, this is extremely rare. If there are no comparable employees in a company, the provisions of relevant collective agreements must be used. The legal requirements for part-time work and essential provisions for the protection of part-time employees can be found in the Part-Time and Fixed-Term Employment Act.
According to the basic legal concept, part-time employees are:
- Employees whose usual weekly working hours amount to less than 21 hours in their main job
Trainees are therefore not considered part-time employees. They form a separate occupational group.
Part-time work is attractive to employees for several reasons. They benefit from shorter working hours that fit in with their individual lifestyles (known as downshifting). In addition, family reasons such as childcare or housekeeping are key motives for part-time work. Some women also use the reduced working hours to return to work after pregnancy.
From 6th April 2024, any employee has the statutory right to make a flexible working request from day 1 of employment. you will be entitled to make two statutory flexible working requests per year (prior to 6 April only one statutory flexible working request could be made per year).
Part-time work in practice
In practice, there are various models for implementing part-time work. For example, it is possible to agree on fixed working hours that are less than the full working hours of comparable employees. The responsible department must take this into account when drawing up duty rosters. In addition, it is also possible to combine this with flexible working time models. Some companies also practice what is known as on-call work. In this case, only a certain minimum working time is specified, while the remaining working time is determined by the employer. The employment contract then only specifies the total amount of remuneration to be paid.
Part-time work is steadily growing in importance. There were around 8.6 million part-time workers in the United Kingdom in the second quarter of 2025, compared with a peak of 8.8 million part-time workers in the third quarter of 2019. 36% of women in employment worked part-time, compared with 14% of men. This can be attributed to motives that are predominantly related to family life. This figure is above the European average and is surpassed only by the Netherlands (75%).