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COMMISSION OFTHEEUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
COM(80)405 final
Brussels,17thJuly1980
U3|0
r.p!V°SVA
/*I
T7V,s'<S7
VOLUNTARY PART-TIME WORK
(Communication fromtheCommission )
C0M(80)405final

V/179-4/80-E»
CONTENTS N
Paure
hi
I,INTRODUCTION . 1
II.ECONOMIC ANDSOCIALASPECTSOF 2
PART-TIME WORK
1.Definition 2
2.Expansionofpart-timework 3
3«Présentmacro-economio context 4
4*Situationfromtheemployer'spointofview 5
III.THEPRINCIPLES LAIDDOWNBYTHECOUNCIL 6
1.FirstPrinciple 6
2.SeoondPrincipal 7-
3«ThirdPrincipal 9
4»FourthPrincipal 11
IV.MAINAREASFORACTION 12
1.Legalprovisionsand/orcollectiveagreements 13
2.Conditionsofemployment 13
3.Labourmarketpolicy 14
4*Vocationaltraining 14
5.Promotionofnewformsofpart-timework 14
V.PROPOSALS FORACTIONATCOMMUNITY LEVEL 15
1.MinimumCommunitystandards 16
2.Cooperationwithsenioremploymentofficialsand
directorsofemploymentservices
Eholosure :11

V/179 -4/80-EN
VOLUNTARY PART-TIME WORK
I. INTRODUCTION
ThiB Communication totheStanding Committee onEmployment ispart
ofthegeneral approach whioh the Community ismaking totheproblem
ofadapting working time ,andwhioh isset out inthe Council 's
Resolution ofDeoember 1979 (OJN°C2of4January I98O ).
Inthat Resolution the Counoil notes that "part-time work isnow
areality onthe labour market ,but ...that theconditions applying
toitshould beclarified ."
The Commission broadly shares theattitude ofcaution which
isapparent inthe Council 'sstatement .Itistrue that the demand
forpart-time work has increased sharply inrecent years -andwas
already doing sobefore 1973 –mainly owing tothe desire forgreater
flexibility inworking life and totherising activity rate of
women .Atpresent ,about 90%ofpart-time jobs areoccupied by
women |the importance ofthis type ofemployment varies conside­
rably ,however ,from oneMember State toanother .
However ,thesystematic expansion ofpart-time work would notappear
tobe theonly solution either toemployment problems -whose
remedy lies inrestoring higher growth and .gradually reducing working
time -ortothe social problems ofreconciling occupational with
family responsibilities .Themain problems result from thefact
that women carry theburden offamily responsibilities .Thereasons
forwanting towork part-time are ,indeed ,very often tobe
found inthedifficulties ofreconciling occupational with family
responsibilities .Inthese circumstances ,themajority ofpart-time
workers will alwayB beliable toform ofclass apart ,inaweaker
position inworking life and less well-informed oftheir rights .
The ideal solution would therefore be,without restricting eaoh
worker 'tfreedom ofohoice ,toseek agradual reduction and re­
distribution ofworking hours and atthe same time toencourage
greater sharing ofnon-paid family and occupational responsi­
bilities between marriage partners .

V/179-4/80-E»
Continuingtotakealong-termview,opportunities of
enteringthelabourmarketneedtobeimprovedforthosewho
wishtoworkparttimeandthespeoialtreatmentofpart-time
employmentmustbeabolished*Themovesinthisdirection,
whichareworthwhilebothfromtheemploymentpointofview
andthatofimprovingworkingoonditions,mustalsoattempt
tostrikeabalancebetweenthefrequentlyoonfliotingclaims
ofemploymentandsocialprotection*'
Thispurposeofthispaperistwofold:
–topresentananalysisofthepresentsituationwithrespect
topart-timework}(l)
-toestablishthemainlinesandareasofactionandput
forwardspeoificproposalsforactionatCommunitylevel*
Todoso,theCommissionhasbaseditsthinkingpartly
onconsultationsithadinthespringof,1980withthetwosides
ofindustryandatajointmeetingwiththeDirectors-General
ofemploymentandsooialsecurity*(2)
II.ECONOMIC ANDSOCIALASPECTSOPPART-TIME WORK
1*Definition
Thestatistical andlegaldefinitionofpart-timework
differsfromeneMemberStatetoanother*Part-timeworkdiffers
fromoasualworkinthatitiscontinuous,andfromtemporary
workinthatitisperformedforaperiodthatisnotnecessarily
limited*Unlikeshort-timeworking,whiohisimposedbythe
employer,part-timeworkisagreedbetweentheemployerandthe
worker,whochoosestoworkshorterhoursattheoutset*Noother
meaningishereascribedtotheword"voluntary"*Theeoonomio
orsocialsituationand,inparticular,theabsenceofother
attractivejoboptionsoould,ofoourse,considerably limitthe
worker'schoice*
./.
(1)Seeattaoheddocument
(2)SeealsotheEconomicandSooialCommittee'sOpinionof
1stJune1979on"Part-timeemployment :itseffectsinthe
currentstateofthelabourmarket"(Doc*CES684/78)*

V/179-4/80-M
-3-
Part-timeworkasdefinedbylabourandsocialsecurity
lawdiffersfromoneMemberStatetoanother#Oftenaminimumand
maximumnumberofhoursarefixed#Moreover,evenwithinthe
samenationalsocialsecurityscheme,theminimumnumberof
hourstobeworkedmaynotnecessarily bethesametoqualify
forallbenefits.
AccordingtotheOpinionoftheEconomicandSocialCommittee,
part-timeworkimpliesaregularandvoluntaryjobwithfewer
workinghoursthannormalandacorrespondingly lowerremuneration .
ThisdefinitioncorrespondstothatusedbytheI.L.O.r
Thereisthequestionwhether-dnordertogiveabetterdefintion
ofthetermofpart-timework-itwouldbeappropriate tointroduce
minimumperiodsofwork,asstipulatedbycertainsooialsecurity
systems*
2.Expansionofpart-timework
Allowingforsemanticandstatisticalinconsistencies ^the
followinggeneralfactscanbeestablished abouttheextentof
part-timeemploymentintheCommunity :
Inrecentdecadespart-timeworkhasexpandedinallthe
MemberStatesexceptItaly,bothinabsolutetermsandasaperoantage
oftotalemployment.Thistrendhas,broadlyspeaking,been
maintainedduringtherecession.Over9millionpeopleinthe
Communityatpresenthaveapart-timejobastheirmainoccupation
andafurther2millionworkpart-timeonacasualbasis.
Forsometimethevolumeofpart-timeworkintheCommunity
hasbeenthehighestinDenmarkandtheUnitedKingdom(l8^and
16.9%respectivelyin1977comparedwiththeCommunityaverageof
9.4%)mIncountrieswheretheemploymentrateforwomenislower,
part-timeworkislesswidespread ,thelowestfiguresbeingthose
forItaly(2,5%)andIreland(3,7%)•

v/l79-4/80-ai
-4-
Percentage ofpart-time employment
EEC FRG PR IT .NL £ LUX UK IR IX
1977 9.4 9.6 7.3 2.5 5.9 5.8 4.1 16.9 3.7 18.4
1979
(preliminary figures )9.6 7.4 2.6 7.5 5.8 5.6 15.4
Tables 1to4annexed show that inpractice part-time work has ,
uptonow ,been mainly performed bywomen ,particularly
married women .
About 90%ofallpart-time workers intheCommunity (70$in
Italy and95^inGermany )arewomen .Ofthemen ,most are
elderly orpartially disabled ,butthey also inolude some young
people (students ,forexample ).
Thepresent part-time work-force clearly represents only a
fraction oftheactual demand forthis type ofemployment .The
ratio between vacancies and job-seekers inthis section ofthe
labour market isparticularly unfavourable .IntheFederal
Republic ofGermany ,for -example ,there isonly onevacancy for
every tenpeople seeking part-time work ,whilst inFrance the
ratio is5*1.
Moreover ,recent surveys show that there isafairly wide­
spread latent demand forpart-time work .Insurveys conducted in
Germany andBelgium ,about 25$offull-time workers said they
would like towork part-time .Ingeneral ,.such people nowworking
full time would prefer aworking week ofaround 30hours rather
than one ontheconventional half–time pattern .The strong interest
insuch possibilities shown also bymenscarcely varies with skill
oategory .
3. Present macro-economic context
Inthepast twodecades ,part-time workers have chiefly
formed a"buffer stock "oflabour .Certain manufacturing
industries -andmore espeoially service industries -have come
torely extensively onsuch labour .(Seetables 5and6).
Since theservice industries areoonstantly expanding itis
likely that demand forpart-time employment trill grow inthis
sector intheyears tocome .
/.
<

V/179-4/80-EW
-5-
Inmanufacturing industries,thereisahighconcentration of
part-timeworkersindecliningseotors;,wherewagesandworking
oonditionsarebelowaverage#Someoftheseareindustrieshaving
tocopewithsubstantialproductivity increases.Theextremely
rapidgrowthofpart-timeworkintheservicesandcertainmanu­
facturingindustrieshasinmanyoasesledtocertainsocially
undesirabledisparities bycomparisonwithfull-timeemployment.
Sofarnostandardmodelfordeterminingthemacro-economio
reperoussions ofapolicytoexpandpart-timeworkhasbeen
workedout*Inthisrespectadistinction shouldbemadebetween
oountrieswhereitisstillawidescopefordevelopingpart-^ime
workandotheroountrieswherethesaturationpointforthistype
ofemploymentwillsoonbereached.Itishowever,importantto
oansiderthesecondaryeffeotsofsuchameasureonemployment.
Additionalpart-^timejobswillnotoallybetakenupbytheunemployed }
Theywill,atleast,intheshortterm,attractnewcomerstothe
labourmarket.Thereforethisnewdemandforjobscouldequallywell
havetheeffectofswellingthetotalnumberofjob-seekersparticu­
larlyinMemberStateswhereregistration procedurestendtoconoeal
underemployment (forexample,whereamarriedwoaanisautomatioally
crossedofftheregisterafteracertainperiodofunemployment).
4.Situationfromtheemployer'spointofview
Part-timeworkcanboostthehourlyproductivity ofemployees,
ashasbeenshownbystudiesoarriedoutintheNetherlands ,the
FederalRepublioofGermanyandBelgium.Itisusuallyalsofound
toreducelabourturnover,absenteeism andaooidentsatwork.Thisis
particularly trueofmonotonousjobsinthetertiarysectorand
industry.Theflexibilityofpart-timeworkalsomakesiteasierfor
theemployertodistributetheworkingtimeofhisstaffaccordingto
thefirm'speakoperatingperiods.Ontheotherhand,certainexpen-
dixuresuchasadditionalstaffoosts,thecostofadaptingjobsand
administrative expensesareolaimedasdrawbackstopart–timework.
CapitalcostBmayalsobehigherwhereshiftworkingisnotpractised.
Itshouldbeaddedthatotherdrawbaoksattaohingtopart-time
workforfirmsariseinconnectionwithsocialsecurityandlabourlawx
currentsocialseouritycostsoanbecomparatively higher,andfirms*
obligationsundersooiallegislation ,linkedtocertainstaffthresholds
(e.g.percentageofhandicappedpersons,trainees,numberofstaff
representatives )oanbeincreased.
•/•
7

V/179-4/80-EN
-6-
Itisparticularlydifficulttoquantifythepositiveand
negativerepercussions onunitwageoosts*Moststudiesmerely
oonoludethatfrommanagement'spointofviewpart-timework
involvesneitherobviousadvantagesnorobviousdisadvantages ,
andthatthesecantobedeterminedonlyonacase-by-oasebasis*
/
Thesupplyofjobscouldonlybeincreasedbyfirmscreating
newpart-timejobs*Thisshouldnotbedonebyarbitrarily changing
full-timejobsintopart-timeones,butthroughinnovationwhioh
madefulluseofotherpossibilities suchascuttingdownon
systematicovertimetomakewayforpart-timeworkorintroducing'
part-timeshifts*Thesimplesplittingofexistingfull-timejobs-
whiohsomestudieshaveshowntobetheoretically possiblefora
greatmanyjobs-wouldnotgenerateanyrealemploymentoapaoity*
III.THEPRINCIPLES LAIDDOWNBYTHECOUNCIL
/
InitsResolution,theCouncilnotesthat"theconditions
applyingtopart-timeworkshouldbeolarified(l)*Whenitincluded
part-timeworkinitsstrategyforthereorganization ofworking
time,theCouncillaiddownfourmainprinciples *Thesearestated
anddiscussedbelow*
1*Firstprinoiple
"Part-timeworkmustbevoluntaryandopentobothmenand
"women*Itmustnotbeimposedonpersonswhowishtowork
"fulltime*Furthermore ,particularcaremustbetakento
"ensurethatpart-timeworkisnotlimitedtowomenorto
-"relativelyunskilledwork*"
Thisprinoiplecontainsthreemainelements:
-thevoluntarynatureofpart-timeemployment
-equaltreatmentofmenandwomen
-theupgradingofpart-timework*
(l)CounoilResolutionof18December1979°ntheadaptationof
workingtime*•t
lt
tl
tl

V/179-4/80-FN
-7-
Disregard ,oftheprinoiplethatpart-timeworkshouldbe
voluntary-ashashappenedinanumberofnotoriouscaseswhere
part-timeworkwasvirtuallyforcedonfull-timeworkersorpeople
seekingwork-wouldlargelyjustifytheoriticismslevelledat
thisformofepploymentanditspromotion.Similarly,part-time
workshouldundernociroumstance *beregardedasanalternative
tothegeneralreduotioninhoursofworkdemandedbythetradeunions.
Withregardtoaccesstopart-timework,itmustberemembered
thatatpresentmostpart-timeworkersarewomen.Part-timeemployment
initstypicalcurrentformhaslittleattractionforothergroups
onthelabourmarket;thisisduetothefactthatpart-timejobs
tendtoberelativelylow-skilled andtothemanydisadvantages
relatingtoconditionsofemployment.Forthisreasonmostwomen's
organizationshaveadoptedacriticalstancetowardspart-timework.
Thenumberofwomenparticipating inworkinglifeinthe
Communityissteadilyincreasing.EveninMemberStateswhereoverall
aotivityratesarelow,thefiguresforyoungeragegroupshavegone
updramatically ,whichindicatesafundamental changeinattitudes
towardswomen'semployment.Onlyanaotivepolicyforafairer •
distribution ofexistingworkbetweenmenandwomenoanensure
thatthisnewdemandforemploymentbywomenwillnot,asinthe
past,bechannelledtowardslessskilledjobs,inparticular
unskilledpart-timework.
Aparadoxical situationhasbeennotedasregardspart-time
workanditsattractionforwomen:seemingly,womenfromhouseholds
inupperincomebraaketsarethemostinclinedtopreferpart-time
work,whereasthisformofemploymentismainlytakenupbythose
withmodestoraverageincomes(l).
Evenifthesupplyofpart-timejobsweretoincrease,male
full-timeworkerswouldberelectanttotakethemaslongasthis
forrofemploymentremainedmarginalanddiscrimination connected
withthespecialstatueofpart-timeworkerspersisted.
(l)M.LUCAS:"Letravailktempspartiel"(part-timework),reportmadeto
R.BOULIN,MinisterofLabourandindustrialdemocracy,andtoM.PASQUIER,
StateSecretary (women'semployment),May1979»
9

V/179-4/80-EN
-8-
Specificprogramme3topromotepart-timeworkinginthe
morehighlyBkilledandresponsible jobsareneededtodevelop
newattitudestowardspart-tinework*
2.Secondprinciple
"Consideration shouldbegiventotheextenttowhich
'"part-timeworkoouldbemademorereadilyavailableto
"certaingroupsofworkers,particularly parentsof
"youngchildren,andolderworkers,"
Implementation ofthisprincipleandthefourthareclosely
linked,espeoiallyasregardstheintroduction ofnewworking
patternsadaptedtotheneedsofdifferentgroupsofworkers.
AsemergedfromtheCommission'sconsultations withthe
governments andtwosidesofindustry,thisprinoipleoomesin
fortwoobjeotions :first,woulditnotbebetterifpart-time
worknevertheless remainedtheexoeption?Andsecondly,would
notapolicyofactivelypromotingpart-timeemploymentfor
oertaingroupsofworkersruncountertotheprinoipleofequal
treatmentwhiohisimplicitinthepointmadeinseotionIII.l?
Majorproblemsareraisedbythequestionofaccesstopart-
timeworkforparentsofyoungchildren*Theproblemsassume
differentproportionsforone-andtwo-parentfamilies,with
singleparentsexperiencing additionaldifficulties owingto
thelackofsocialfacilities. ••~
Inpresentcircumstanoes ,itismostlikelytobethe
womanasthemotherwhohastoworkpart-timebecauseofthe
presenceofayoungfamily.Ontheonehand,it-isclearthat
asaruleshewillearnconsiderably lessthanthehusband;
ontheother,thequestionofthesizeofthehousehold'stotal
incomecomesintoplay.Sinoe,atthepresenttime,mostpart-
timeworkisofferedinthelowerskillcategories,itcanbe
assumedthatthemainreasonforaoceptingthistypeofworkis
tosupplementthebreadwinner'searningswhiohareregardedas
insufficient.Evenifthefatherofthefamilygenuinelywishesto
sharehouseholdtasksandworkoutsidethehomeequallywith
hiswifebyworkingpart-time,thereremainsthelimiting
faotorofaninadequateoverallhouseholdinoorne.
./
*>
xyj

V/179 -4/80 -EN
-9-
V
Inthe case ofolder workers ,part-time work cantake two forms :
-first ,through aphased retirement system ,involving theusual draw­
backs ofpart-tiiw work (partial increase incosts ,reorganization ,
loss ofskills ,gradual occupational downgrading ,etc).Finally ,in
some cases older workers cannot take uppart-time jobs because their
pension iscalculated onthe most recent earnings and this would lead
toadisproportionate drop inbenefit ;
-second ,retired people may seek part-time jobs .Some insurance schemes
allow pensioners only asmall amount ofadditional earnings ontopof
thei rpension . .
3. Third principle
"Part-time workers should asarule have the same social rights
"andobligations asfull-time workers ,bearing inmind ,however ,
"the specific character ofthework performed ".
/
Toimplement this principle awhole gamut ofdiscriminatory
practices inpart-time work would have tobeeliminated .Asthe '
■Fconomic and Social Committee pointed out inthe above-mentioned
Opinion ,discrimination resulting from part-time work takes many
forms and isdifficult toidentify .Most ofthe time the special
arrangements are not openly stated ;they arise rather from the fact
that part-time workers are not covered bylegislation orcollective
agreements .Itwould also becontrary tothis third principle if,simply
because ofworking shorter hours ,part-time workers were .obliged towork
ataharder pace than full-timers incomparable jobs .
Several types ofdiscrimination arementioned inthe appended
document :theweak legal position ofpart-time workers ,lack ofjob
security ,disadvantages connected with taxtreatment ,and inadequate
representation .Two major problems deserve particular attention ,however .
Pay
Given the lack ofdata ,itisvery difficult tomake statistical
comparisons between full-time andpart-time workers .There isno
doubt ,however ,that asstated above ,part-time workers areconcen­
trated inlow-pay sectors and low-paid occupations .Further ,even
.♦ i
I1

V/179-80-EH
-10-
wherehoursworkedisapplied,part-timeworkersdonotbenefit
fromcertainrightsandallowancesenjoyedbyfull-timeworkers*
AoaaeisnowbeforetheComrtofJusticeoftheEuropeanCommunities
(MrsJ.P.JENKINSv.mOSOATELtd,Case96/80)involvingthe
questionofinequalityinthepayoffull-andpart-timeworkersand
thepossibleviolationoftheprinoipleofequaltreatmentthis
involves.
So£ial__Seourit2 _Bche»ei3jjsiclmes£,__pensi011£insurance)
SocialsecuritysystemsatpresentinforceintheMemberStatesare
notentirelyneutralasregardspart-timework.Problemsarisein
oonneotionwithbothstatutoryandoccupational schemes.Themost
seriousproblemsooncernrulesonthepaymentofcontributions ,the
relationship betweencontributions andbenefits.andthefixingofaminimum
numberofhoursorlevelofearningstoqualifyformembershipofthe
sohasies.Suohhoursorearningsthresholds (e.g.15hoursaweekinthe
FederalRepublicofQermanyand£23intheUnitedKingdom)may
haveadvantagesanddisadvantages.Ifthethresholdsarelow,oertain
groupsworkingonlyanotionalnumberofhourswillbe.ooveredby
socialsecurity,>puttingtheminaprivilegedposition.If,ontheother
hand,thethresholdsaretoohigh,peopleinneedofsocialprotection
willbedeniedaooesstothesohemesandtothesubsequentbenefits.
Aooordingtothe1977LabourForoeSampleSurvey,11$ofpart-timeworkers
inindustryand26intheservicesectorworkedlessthan15hours
aweek.
Part-timeworkersshouldbetreatedinthesamewayasotherworkers,
andnotasaspecialgroup,inrelationtoltheirrightsandobligations..
Theselattershouldbebasedontheprinoipleofproportionality tothe
rightsandobligations offull-'timeworkers.

V/179-80/en
-11-
However,equaltreatmentforpart-timeandfull-time
workersenoounterasevereobataolesinpractice:
-thedifficulties ofapplyingtheproportionality principlein
certainareaswhererightsandobligationsareofaqualitative ,
andnotaquantifiable ,nature{
-theinherentdifficulties of"feeindividualandcollectivebargaining
positionofpart-timeworkersjlimitedaccesstoinformation ,
trainingandmeansofparticipation attheworkplace ;
-theconstraint 8ofworkorganization inthefirm.
Abalancemustbefoundwhioh,whilstsatisfyingthelatent
demandforpart-timework,preservesworker'sfreedomofohoice
andavoidsisolatingpart-timeworkersinaghetto,eitherthrough
negativediscrimination orbygivingthemexcessiveadvantages
whichcoulddiscouragetheirrecruitment.
4*Fourthprinciple :
"Part-timeworkshouldnotbelimitedtohalf-timework;it
*couldbeonadaily,weeklyormonthlybasisaccordingtothe
"needsofdifferentgroupsofworkersandthoseofundertakings ".
Theapplication ofthisprinoipleimpliesagenerally
positiveattitudetopart-timework.Duringtheconsultations ,
reservations wereexpressedonseveraloccasionsaboutproposals
forintroducing newformsofworkingtimearrangement.Atall
events,prioritymustbegiventoremovingexistingdisparities
anddiscriminatory practicesappliedtopart-timeworkers.
Theintroduction ofworksohedulesotherthanhalf-time work
couldbeofinteresttocertaincategoriesofpeopleBuohas
parentswithyoungchildren,elderlyworkers,menwhowishto
workshorterhours,youngpeople,thelong-termunemployed,disabled
persons,oonvalesoents andworkerswithparticularly taxingjobs.
Part-timeworkmustatanyratenolongerberestrictedto
thetraditionalpatternofhalf-days,usuallymornings.Thereare
awholerangeofalternatives .Part-timejobscanvaryaooording
toduration,.timeofdayandhowtheyareorganized.Reduced
schedulescanbeappliedonadaily,weekly,monthly,oreven
yearlybasis;combinations arealsopossible.

ν/179-8θ-0Γ
_12-
Thesepossibilities ,aimed,atmakingworkingtimemore
flexibletcould,beevengreaterfollowingtheintroduction of.
thenew"telematio"technology;however,thereisadangerthat
thisflexibility oouldleadtoevengreatersegregationof
womenonthelabourmarket*
Onlybyintroducing newandmoreflexibleformsofpart-timme
workwillitbepossibletoprovidefortheneedsofallsocial
groupsandmakethistypeofworkattractivetocategoriesother
thanmarriedwomen*
Trialsandactualapplications ofnewworkingtimearrangements
infirmsarestillrareintheCommunity *Thequestionoftheextent
towhiohasuccessfulexperimentcanbeadoptedinanotherfirm
requiresfurtherstudy*
IV*MAINAREASFORACTION
Thesumoftheobservations madeinthispaperaboutthepresent
situationregardingvoluntarypart-timeworkandthedesireto
applytheprinciplesstatedabovepromptustomakeanumberofsugges­
tionstogovernments ,employmentservioesandthetwosidesofindustry
Theyhavethreebasicandpriorityaims:
-toremovediscrimination againstpart-timeworksothatitisno
longersubjecttoanyformofspeoialtreatment;
-tocreatepart-timejobopportunities forworkerswhodesirethem;
-topromotenewformsofpart-timeworkundercertainoonditions *
Thelistofareasforactiongivenbelowcontainsonlythe
objectives,nottheprecisemeansofachievingthem,whichwould
havetofollowtheusualproceduresappliedintheMemberStates*
WhilstinoneMemberStatethepublicauthorities couldtakethe
initiative,inanotheritmightbeup.tothetwosidesofindustry
toassumethisrole*
Communitymeasuresareproposedonlyintheformdescribed
inChapterV;nevertheless ,coordination ofthenationalmeasures
onthelinessetoutherewouldbedesirable *

7/179 -80-3*
-13-
1* Legal provisions and/orcollective agreements
-Compilation oflists oflegal provisions and/orcollective
agreements concerning the social and financial aspects of
part-time work .
-Bevision oflegal provisions and/orcollective agreements
whioh run oounter totheprinciple ofequal treatment for
full-time workers andpart-time workers ,bearing inmind
theshorter hours "butwithout conferring anyspecial status }
-Examination ofthe extent towhich social Becurity schemes
(siokneas ,pensions insurance ),including occupational
pensions andunemployment benefit sohemes ,areneutral with
regard topart-time employment ;
-Revision oftax -law where itdiscriminates against part-time
workers }
-Establishment ofsafeguards toprevent part-time work being
imposed onfull-time workers ;
-Revision ofthe rules inforce inthe civil and public servioe
with aview tooffering awider range ofskilled jobs to
people who wifeh towork part-'time *
2, Conditions ofemployment
-Right tooonolude anindividual contract ofemployment giving
particulars ofthenumber aziddistribution ofhours ofwork f
-Drawing uppreoise provisions (inlegislation orcollective
agreements »depen ding ontheBystem ofthecountry concerned )
governing overtime ,rest periods andpaid extra duties j
-Application oftheprinciple ofproportionality ofhours
worked toallprovisions concerning pay |
-Granting ofpriority toexisting part-time employees
when full-time vacancies occur inafirm :

v/i79-Qo-ar
14
-Recognition ofpart-timeworkersasfullstaffmembersemjoying
thesamerightsofactiveand.passiveparticipation inthefirm,
inoludingparticipation incollectivebargaining (without
introducingaquota)*
3*Labourmarketpolioy
-Strengthening theroleandresouroesoftheemploymentservices
inhelpingpart-timeworkerstoobtainequaltreatmentwithfull-
timeworkers,upgradingpart-timeworkandimprovingtheoareer
prospectsofsuchworkers,aswallasinseeking .outpart-time
jobopeningsinfirmsj
-Systematicregistration ofpersonswishingtoworkpart-time,
irrespective ofthesohedulerequested.,toenableapplications
forworkspecifying "unconventional "workinghourstobe
identified ;
-Collectionsndcompilationofdetailedstatistiosandinformation
onthepart-timelabourmarket*
4*Vooationaltraining
-Extensionofpubliosupportforvooationaltrainingtopart-time
jobseekersj
-Givingpart-timeworkersaooesstotrainingopportunities made
possiblebyfirms*
5*-Promotionofnewformsofpart-timework
Wheretheabove-mentieued oonditionsaremet(noconverting
offull-timejobsintopart-timeones,removalofexistingdiscri­
mination,allowanoefornationalparticularities andtheneeds
ofindustry,itwillbepossibletooreatenewpart-^timejobsby,,
inparticular s
10

v/i79-8o-ar
-15-
-extendingtherang*ofoccupationsofferedand.introducing
formsofpart-timeemploymentinJobsinvolvinghigherquali­
ficationsandgreaterresponsibility ;•
-oreatingawholeaeriesofahorterworksohedules,onadaily,
weeklyormonthlybaaia,tosuittheneedaofvariousgroups
ofworkersf
-enoouragingphasedretirementschemeswherebythereisaplanned
transitionfromworktofullretireaentinvolvingpart-41Mwork}(l)
-ifneoeaaary,implementation ofnewformsofworkorganisation ,
suohastheintroduction ofpartimeshiftworkand"job-sharing"f
-theencouragement ,bygovernments ,employmentservicesand
managementandlabour,ofaprogressivepersonnelpolioyin
industrywithregardtotheplanning,introduction andmanagement
ofmoreflexibleworkingtimearrangements (2)*
However,caremustbetakentoensurethattheoreationof
part-timejobsdeesnotsupplantthatofnewfull-timejoba*
V.PROPOSALS FORACTIONATCOMOHITY LEVEL
ItisdesirablethatcertainstepsalsobetakenatCommunity
leveltobaokuptheguidelinesforactionjustsuggested*
Forreasonsalreadystated,thisdoesnotspecifically mean;direct
aotiontopromotepart-timework*Thestepsrequiredwouldbeaimed
atremovingexistingdiscrimination betweenfull-andpart-timeworkers,\
andatreduoingthedifferencessinstandardsunderMemberStates'
labourandaocialsecuritylaws.Thesemeasuresoouldalsopromote
thehannonization ofworkingconditionsandtermsofemploymentin
theCommunity *
(1)Seepaperentitled"Coramunityguidelinesonflexibleretirementff,
July1980.
(2)Seepaperentitled"GuidelinesforaCommunitylabourmarket
polioy",StandingCommitteeonEmployment,29May1980*
17

V/179-8G-;
-16-
Twomainareasforthisactionshouldbeestablished t
(a)theadoptionofminimumComnranitystandards,leavingsoepe
formorefar-reaching provisianatobelaiddownlaoolleotive
agreementsorlegislation ;
(b)steppingupoooperatiantoimprovetheexchangeofinformation
aandezperianoebetweenMemberStates*
Theobjeotivessoughtbyactioninthesetwoareasarepartand
paroeloftheCmmunity'aeffortstoreduoethequalitative adsmatoh
betweenthesupplyofanddemandforlabour(l)andtoapplythe
CounoilDireoti/eof9Pebruary0I976onapplioationoftheprinciple
ofequaltreatmentofmanandwomaninaooesstoemployment,training,
promotionandworkingoonditions(2)ftheyalsoaooordwiththe
Communitystrategytoraisethelevelofemployment *
1*MinimumCommunitystandard
ThemeasuriwhiohitisrecoimaendadshouldbetaktanatCommunity
levelwouldinvolveestabliahing minimumstandardsapplicablete-
part-timeworke-sthroughouttheCommunity *However,thepreoise
natureofsuch1measurewouldneedtobedecidedhavingregardto
freedomofoolleotivebargaining *
Observanceofthesestandardswouldenableequaltreatment
basedontheruleofproportionality tobeestablished morerapidly
bothinlawandinpraotioe.Itisproposedthatthestandardsshould
representtheminimumstandardstobemetinproviaionslaiddownby
law,regulationandadministrativeactionandcollectiveagreements,
withthedetailsofsuohprovisionsbeingdecidedatnationalor
industrylevelorinindividua]oontraotsofemployment *
Provisionswhioh,ifonljfromapurelylegalpointofview,
makepart-timeworkmoreattractiveforwomenthanformenshouldbe
avoidedor,wheretheyexist,€Liminated*
(1)"Reducingtiequalitative mismatchbetweenthesupplyofand
demandforlabourtguide!Lneaforalabourmarketpolioy
andapolicyonworkingconditions"(Doc*SEC.(79)634final,
11April1979).
(2)OJN°L39of14Pebruary1976,P*40*

ν/179-80-3ί
-Il-
Communityaotionshould,havetheaimof:
1)-establishingtheprincipleofminimalthresholdsfor
membershipofsocialsecuritysohemes,e.g.aminimum
numberofhoursorlevelofearningsonthebasisofwhich
sooialsecuritycontributions would,becalculatedsadwhioh
wouldentitlethemembertosooialsecuritybenefit#.
Contributions andbenefitsshould,however,besetinsuoha
waythatfull-timeworkerswerenotplaoedatadisadvantage ;
2)-puttingforwardtheprinoipleofequaltreatmentunderlabourlaw
betweenfull-andpart-timeworkers-havingregardtotheshorter
hoursworked-atleastinthefollowingrespeotst
-oonoluaionofamindividualoontractofemployment(giving
particularsofthehourstobaworked,andpaid.,andtheirdistribution )f
-therighttotheminimumwage,aooordingtothearrangements
analogoustothoseapplioabletofull-timeworkineaoh
MemberStatef
-equaltreatmentinpromotionj
-protectionagainstdismissal!
-righttoemployeebenefitsgranted ,bythefirm;
3)-recognitionoftherightofpart-tineworkerstobegivenpre-
oedenoeforfull-timevacanoiesmatohingtheirqualifications
whiohoocurinthefirm;
4)–recognitionoftherightofpart-timeworkerstopartioipate
activelyandpassivelyintherepresentation machineryofthe
firm;theserightsshouldbetakenintoconsideration in
determining thenumberofstaff*
2*Cooperation withsenioremploymentofficialsanddirectorsof
theemploymentservices
TheCommissionintendstodevelopmoreprecisearrangements
forimprovinginformation ontheyart-time marketandthemanagement
ofthatmarket*
Followingthislineofthought,thefollowingstepsare
suggested 1
-statistiosshouldbeimprovedf
-exchangesofinformation andexperienceonexperimental sohemes
andpilotprojectsshouldbepromoted;
-researchonthedevelopmentofthelabourmarketundertheCommission *
ResearchandAotionProgrammeshouldbesteppedup*Thesestudies
oould,forexample,analysemorepreoiselytheactualdemandfor
part-timeworkandtherelationship betweenpart–timework,hidden
unemployment andmultiplejob-holding *
1

COMMISSION
OFTHE
EUROPEANCOMMUNITIES
Dlr«ctorat«-O«n«r»l
Employment andSocialAffair*
V/B/3
\
ANNEXTODOCUMENTV/179-4/80-EN
VOLUNTARY PART-TIME WORKV/1048/79-EN
Orig.:DE
15.6.1980
21
^rovlilomliddrra:Ruldi!•Loi200,B-1049BrutMlt–Tiliphoni7350040/7356040–TilMrcphicaddrnt:"COM6UR –
T«l«x:"21877COMEUB"

V/1048/79-EN
CONTENTS
1.INTRODUCTION 1
2.THEPROBLEMS 2
2.1.Definition 2
2.2.Thecurrentsituation 3
2.3.Pointsofview 7
3.POSSIBLETRENDS 11
3.1.Potentialdemandandpossiblesupply 11
3.2.Eoonomioimplication 14
3.3.Repercussion onlabourmarketandworkingtimestrategiesl6
4.SOCIALRIGHTSANDOBLIGATIONS OPPART-TIME WORKERS 18
4.1.Status 19
4.2.Contractsofemployment 19
4.3.Remuneration 20
4.4*Retirement 21
4.5*Unemployment 21
4.6.Participation indecision-making 22
4.7*Possiblewaysofimprovingthesituation 22
5.CHANGESINSOCIALSECURITYANDTAXLEGISLATION 24
5.1.Changesbenefitingpart-timeworkers 25
5.2.Changesinthecontribution system 26
5.3.Changesintaxlaw 27
6.ADVANTAGES ANDDISADVANTAGES OFSELECTIVE MEASURESTO 28
PROMOTEPART-TIME WORK
6.1.Guidingprinciples 28
6.2.Initiativesinthepublicservicesector 28
6.3.Gradualretirement 31
6.4.Part-timeemploymentforyoungpeople 32
6.5.Ehcouragement ofpart-timeshifts 33
6.6.Thecreationoftandemjobs 35
6.7.Part-timeemploymentforproblemgroups 36
onthelabourmarket
Eholosurea :Tables1-723

v/1048/79-ar
VCL'JÏÏTJLHT F1HT -Tiy -EWOHS
rsT^ircncef
Three recent developoesita have led .theCooussion services toexamine aore
closely theproblems ofpart–tiae work :
–theopinion oftheEcononic andSocial Coooittee of1Jane 1579 "an
part -tine esploynent sitseffects anthe current state ofthe labour -
Market "(CSS684/78);
•theinvitation ofthe Comission ,contained intheconclusions ofthe
President attheTripartite Conference of9lovesiber 1978 ,tostudy the
prospects andpossibilities fortheextension ofpart-tiae work ;
–theMandate given tothe CoaocLssian "bytheCouncil ofSaployaent and
Social Affairs Ministers of15Hay1979 under whose terns theCosussion
isinvited tocontinue itsstudies ana .analyses inthefield ofadaptation
ofworking tiae ,with special reference tovoluntary part–tiae work ,aid
toBake proposals atanappropriate stage *Asaconsequence theCouncil
adopted aResolution ontheadaptation ofworking tiae atitsaeeting
of18Ceceaber 1979 »which laid down four aain principles forthedevelop –
Mnt ofpart-time work ,(l)
TheCoaaission hasonseveral occasions taken aposition onpart–tiae work (2)*
This docuaant ispart ofthework prograaae onadaptation ofworking tiae
proposed bythe Coaii ssion inooaforaity with theCounoil'B Resolution *
This docuaent serves asatechnical annex toacoeplete Ooarami cation of
theCoaaission £doc.?/l79/80_7which willbepresented toacoaing aeeting
oftheStanding Ssployaent Coaoittee *
Thepresent docuaent isinfive parts :
–général aspects oftheproblea ;
–forecast able developments andtheir econaaic consequences ;
–social ,legal andfiscal barriers which would have tobeovercoae to
extend part-tiae work *
(1)Officiai Journal C2of4.1.1980
(2)Inthewritten replies toPari ■Beatary (fejastians 609/77»668/77 1125/77
asveil aswithin itsniiini nnti«ns onworkwharlng s00®(79 )final .
S3C740/2/3/4.

V/1048/79-ÎN
-2-
-theadvantagesanddisadvantages ofspeoificmeasures,predominantly -
gearedtoemploymentpolicy,topromotepart-timework;
-thestatistical annexes.
2.THEPROBLEMS
2.1.Definition
Fromastatisticalandlegalpointofviewpart-timework(oremployment)
isnotdefinedinanyuniformwayintheMemberStatesjinfactthe
conceptsdivergeconsiderably# Thesedefinitions havebecomeevenvaguer
inthelightofeffortstointroduceshorterandmoreflexibleworking
hours.
InitsOpiniononpart-timeworkingtheEconomicandSocialCommittee
didnotuseadefinitionthatoanbegeneralized.Itquotedseveral
characteristics ofpart-timeworkthatservetodistinguishitfrom
otherformsofwork.IntheCommittee'sopinion,part-timeworkimplies
aregularandvoluntaryjobwithfewerworkinghoursthannormalanda
correspondingly lowerremuneration.Thisdefinitioncorrespondstothat
usedbytheInternational LabourOrganisation.TheEconomicandSooial
Committeeexplicitlyexcludedtheself-«mploy«dfromitsdefinition.
Unlikecasualwork,part-timeemploymentisgearedtoconuityand
unliketemporaryworkitdoesnotnecessarily involveafixedterm.
Whereasshort-timeworkingisimposedforeconomicreasons,part-
timeworkistakenonavoluntarybasis.Thecontractofemployment
isnegotiatedfreelybetweenemployerandemployee.Thelatteropts
inadvanceforshorterworkinghourB.Theword"voluntary"isused
inthisdocumentinthissenseonly.Sooialoreoonoraioconditions,
andinparticularthelaokofattractive employmentalternatives ,
canofcourse,signifioantly restricttheindividualworker's
freedomofohoice.
26

/V/1048/79-®
-3-
Inlabourandsociallawtheoonoeptofpart-timeworkvariesfromone
MemberStatetothenext*Maximumandminimumhoursarefrequentlylaid
down*InFrance,forexample,part-timeworkentails20-30hours;in
Irelandatleast20or21hours,intheNetherlandsgenerallylessthan
25hours*Inaddition,theminimumnumberofhoursofworkconstituting
part-timeemploymentcanevenvarywithinthesamesocialsecuritysystem
dependingonthebenefitinvolved*
Theexistenoeofvarietyofdefinitionsisreflectedinnationalstatistics *
Itisdifficulttodrawcomparisons betweenthem,andlikemoststatistics
relatingtoworkingtimetheyhavenotasyetbeensufficiently developed*
Inthe"EEClabourforoesamplesurvey",whichisfrequentlyquoted,employees
arecategorized asfull-timeorpart-timeaccordingtothesubjectiveasses­
smentofthepersonsinterviewed (sometimesaooordingtotheoontractof
employment)withoutanyspecification astothenumberofhours*
ThedefinitionsusedintheUnitedStates-forstatisticalsurveys(e*g*current
populationsurvey)differsignifioantly fromthoseusedintheCommunity*
Part-timeemployeesintheUnitedStatesare"allthosewhoworkedfrom
1-24hoursaweekduringthesurveyweek"*Thisdefinitioninoludesemployees
workingareducednumberofhoursintheperiodcoveredbythesurvey,e.g.on
accountofshort-timeworking,breakdownofmachinery,illness,leave,strikes,
ohangeofBhiftorchangeofjob*(l)
2.2.Thecurrentsituation
Inthelightofthesestatistical andoonoeptualdifficulties thefollowing
generalconclusions canbedrawnwithregardtotheextensionofpart-time
workintheCommunity s
a)Inrecentdecadesthenumberofpeopleworkingpart-timehasincreasedboth
inabsoluteandrelativetermsasaproportionoftotalemploymentinall
MemberStates.Thisoverallupwardtrendislikelytocontinue,inparti­
cularincountrieswherethelevelofpart-timeworkiscurrentlyhigh
(Denmark, theFederalRepublicofGermany)«*Inthese
countriespart-timeworkexperienced arapidincreaseinthesixtieswhen
excessdemandforlabourcreatednewreservesofmanpower*IntheUnited
Kingdom,itseemsthatthepeakhasalreadybeenpassed,oratleast
thattheupwardtrendhasweakened.
»
./*
(l)UsingEuropeanoriteriatheUSstatisticsappearexaggerated ;insteadof
22themostrecentfigure,onlyabout15%oftheworkingpopulation
intheUnitedStateswouldbeworkingonapart-timebasis*
27

ν/1048/79-Ε2ϊ
-4-
InGermany ,forexample ,only 7>ofall employed women were working
part-time inI960 ;within 10years this proportion hadshot upto20
However ,this trend hasnotbeen uniform .Insome countries part-time
employment hastrebled since the1960s ,whereas inothers thetrend has
been more hesitant .IntheCommunity asawhole over nine million people
currently have apart-time main occupation and afurther two million
occasionally work part-time .(SeeTable l).
b)The number ofpart-time employees asaproportion ofthetotal working popu­
lation also rose during therecent period ofrecession inmost Member
States .Italy isthe most important exception .Theincrease isaccounted
forprincipally bywomen .Asalargely marginal labour force ,itwould
beexpected that people inpart-time employment would bethe first to
bemade redundant inaneconomic downturn andperhaps the first tobe
re-emplyed intheupswing .There isinfact much evidenoe toBhow that
this isthe case inthemanufacturing industry .However ,asthebulk
ofpart-time employment istobefound intheservice industries ,and
services aremuch less affected byswings inthebusiness cycles ,there
isahigher degree ofstability inpart-time employment through successive
cyclical downturns than foremployment asawhole ,(l)
c)Denmark andtheUnited Kingdom have hadthehighest proportion ofpart-
time workers intheCommunity forsome time (1977 :18.4%and16.9$
respectively asagainst anEECaverage of9*4 -$•Theincidence
ofpart-time work ismuch lower incountries with alowparticipation
rate forwomen ,essentially agricultural andconservative structures
ortraditionally high proportion ofCatholics .(2)Italy (2»5$ )andIreland
(3.7%)have thelowest percentages ofpart-time' employees intheCommunity .
(SeeTable 2).
(1)OECD -theimpact ofthe1974-1975 recession ontheemployment of
women ,Paris ,1976
(2)Chapter 3and4deal inmore detail with the "regulating "obstacles in
thesocial security system and inlabour law .
28

V/1048/79-2»
5
d)ln most Member States part-time work hasbeen themost important
"vehicle forintegrating women into working life *Theavailability of
part-time employment effectively made this important sooial development
possible *Howevern ithasnever quite shaken offthis role :about 90%
ofallpart-time employees intheCommunity arewomen (only 70%in
Italy ,but95$inGermany ).Moreover ,many married women work ona
part-time basis *More detailed analyses show that atpresent women of
tLlagesandahigh .proportion ofolder menenter part-time employment * Se«Tables 3ana4).
e)Mainly anincreasing number ofwage earners areworking onapart-time
basis *Inagriculture thenumber ofself^-employed persons andfamily
helpers working part-time isrelatively high *Inindustry only asmall
proportion ofthe labour foroe works part-time *Themanufacturing
industries inwhich there isanhigh concentration ofpart-time employment
generally belong tothedeclining seotors oftheeoonomy -textiles ,leather
goods ,olothing andfootwear *Other concentrations ofpart-time employment
occur inthefood ,drink andtobacoo andtheelectrical engineering
industries *There isaconsiderable amount ofwork forunqualified staff -
rjsembly lines ,preparation offoodstuffs -which isrelatively lowpaid SeeTable 5).
Thehighest proportion ofpart -time employment istobefound inthetertiaryMotor (seeT.6),eapeoially intrade ,education ,thehealth servioes
andentertainment ,and itisinthese areas that growth hasbeen most
rapid *There areindications that part-time work ismuoh more widespread
intheprivate sector than inthepublic sector *Part-time work inlarge
firms would appear tobeless common than insmall andmedium-Bized firms *
f)Part-time employees areparticularly severely affected byunemployment in
some Member States andtheratio ofvacancies tojob-seekers isparti­
cularly unfavourable intheir case *Onthebasis oflabour foroe sample
surveys conducted in1975 and1977 ithasbeen estimated that between
420*000 and450*000 unemployed persons intheCommunity were looking only
forpart -^timejobs (this figure includes about 400*000 women )*
■/.
29

V/1048/79-3 *
-6-
g)lt isdifficult tocalculate theaverage number ofhours worked bypart-
time employees .According tothe1977 EEClabour force sample survey
part-time employees worked anaverage of22.6 hours ranging from 18.7
intheUnited Kingdom to24.9 inItaly .Average working time ohanged
little during theperiod ofrecession .There was little difference
between sectors ,although theaverage number ofhours worked bypart-
time employees inthetertiary sector was alittle lower than inthe
industrial sector .In1977 »119°ofallpart-time workers inindustry
and26$ofallpart-time employees intheservices sector worked fewer
than 14hours ;48$ofpart-time workers inindustry andtheservices
seotor worked between 15and24hours .Theremaining percentages worked
25hours oraor*perweek *(SeeTable 7)«
These trends areduetoanumber ofBocial andeconomic factors .They can
only beenumerated briefly here and itisnotpossible toassess their
relative importance .Inthepast the following factors contributed tothe
inorease inpart-time work :
-bottlenecks onthe labour market and efforts torecruit additional
manpower ;
-achange intherole ofwomen andtheir desire toenter gainful employment
(family commitments andacareer were nolonger mutually exclusive );
-thedesire tochange working oonditions andthesearch formore flexible
work andorganizational patterns forfirms andemployees ;
-theexpansion ofthetertiary sector andtheincreased demand for
services inallareas oftheeconomy ;
-thedevelopment ofnew forms ofproduction andservices which made it
possible tobreak this link between production hours inthe firm and
individual working time ;
-thepartial shift ofpriorities from inoome toleisure activities and
the desire for "klacarte "working hours .
••
oO

T/1043/79-ai
-7-
2.3 »Points 3fview
InitsOpinion of1Jure 1975 ,theEconomic andSocial CosoiVtee expressed ,
itself very cautiously *Totheextent that itispossible tosumaarize this
balanced attitude theCoaittes accepts part-tiae working asafact oflife
and .saimportant feature ofthe labaar Barret .Forthis reason protectioo
ofpart-time workers should berecognised aaafundamental principle *
Severer ,theCcmaittee stressed that "that apolicy ofencouraging pari­
ties eaployaent Host notbeseen asasubstitute forapolicy ofexpan­
ding eaployaent *Itsprimary function istosatisfy ademand forpart-
time aaploTasnt *Assuch itaay serve tosupplement the general employment
policy "(1;.
Thegrowing importance ofpart-time work hasproapted .varying reactions froa
enployers andtrade unions with significant differences ofemphasis
between Members States .Mhen part-tiae work first began toexpand enployers
took arelatively cautious attitude tothis for*ofwork ,whereas nowadays
employers' organizations areincreasingly recoasssiing wider provision
ofpart-time employment *The aain disadvantages froa th«firas *point of
view arethefollowing :
–lot all jobs are suitable forpart-tiae work ascertain requireaents
with regard toresponsibility ,cosaunication andcontinuity militate
against it ;
–thefixed costs peremployee andcurrent payaents tothe social security
systaas arecomparatively higher (2);
–Zsployers'social obligations ,which arebased onfixed thresholds
concerning numbers employed areliable torise ;
–Deasnds asregards equipping thework plaoe aregreater ,theway in
which work isorganized soaetiaes hastobechanged andthere aay
besoae under-utilixation ofthe capital invested *
Workers andtheir representatives have raised objections inparticular
against discrimination inthetreatment ofpart–tiae workers *Several
trade -onions inthe Xear-er States take asceptical attitude tothe idea
ofextending voluntary part-tiae work *Their aain objections areas
follows :
./•
(i;wpmioa oftheSconoaic andSocial Coxmiittee •••of1June 1978 ,p*9*
(2)According tocalculations cade bytheCossiBssioa ,thewage costs ofa
C–grade official working half-time areonaverage about 60^ofthewage
coats ofanofficial working full-tiae .Cntheother hand ,theauthors of
aDutch stdy (Dejoes ,Intven ,Yasser ,"Beter tenhalve gewerkt ",Leydea
1974 )conclude that inthevarious sectors ofindustry theoverall cost
perhour ofapart–time employee (including where appropriate costs due
toabsent eisz )differ only marginally from thecost ofafull-tine employee
doing similar work .
31

-8-V/1048/79-£N
-part-timeworkalonedoesnotinmostcasesguaranteetheeoonomio
independence ofworkers)
-theprotectionprovidedforpart-timeworkerunderlabourandsociallawis
comparatively inadequate ;
-part–timeworkersarerarelyconsideredtobepartofthepermanentstaff;
theyarefrequentlyexploitedasameansofover-coming labourmarket
bottlenecks ;
-part-timeemploymentisavocationaldead-endintowhichwomen,playing
thedoubleroleofhousewifeandwageearner,arechannelled ;theyvegetate
inauxiliarypostsandtheircareerprospectBarelimited;
-thepromotionofpart-timeworkleadjstohigherefficiencyinsteadofmore
jobs;asaresultofadaptationofjobsfull-timepostsarepareddownto
beoomepart-timeposts;part-timeemploymentisauthorizedunderemployment j
-part-timeemployeesarelessstrictlyorganized ;thiscanleadtodivisions
withintheworkforceandtothetolerationofinadequateworkingconditions ;
-increasedpart-timeworkblockseffortstoreduceworkingtimegoingonas
partofcollectivebargaining.
Women'sorganizations areforthemostpartcriticalorevenhostiletopart-
timework.Theytoleratepart-timeemploymentasasocialreality,butdemand
far-reaching changesaimedatprotectingpart-timeworkers'legalrights.
TheopinionoftheFrench"Comit£duTravailFeminin"(26Mpteabre1979)is
typicaloftheirattitude:
"TheCommitteefeelsthatthegrowthofpart-timeworkcannothelpto
alleviatetheeffectsofunemployment ,actasanalternativetoapolicy
forintegrating womenintolifenorcompensatefortheinadequacyofsocial
servicesandfacilities...TheCommitteefeelsthatthedevelopment ofthis
formofworkisnotapriorityandthatinanyeventitshouldnotbetreated
separatelyfromthedebateonworkingtime"•
./
32

V/1048/79-EN
-9-
Atthe same time broad ,sections ofthepopulation arenowexpressing
their preference foranewapproach toworking hours# They would like
toseeless rigid ,working hours andbelieve that voluntary part-time
work iBonemeans ofachieving this goal .Surveys conducted invarious
Member States (l)testify totheindividual 'sdesire forgreater freedom
asregards working hours .This clearly suggests that part-time employment
isnot aproblem initself butonly becomes one incertain circumstances .
Theobjections listed above ,and inparticular their causes ,must be
overcome ifthis latent desire formore part-time work istobesatisfied .
Part-time employment hasalready been used asaneffective instrument
ofemployment policy inperiods ofrapid growth .People whowere not
previously inemployment were encouraged totake jobs asaresult of
flexible orreduced working hours .These part-time employees met ,at
least part ofthe excess demand forlabour .Most oftheresearch and
theproposals date from this period .
The current state ofaffairs isquite different .Wearenow experienced
continuing high underemployment asaresult ofinsufficient growth rates
andunusually powerful demographic pressures inthemedium-term .
For several years unemployment inthe Community has remained stable at
between 5and6million .This situation isalso characterized byanot
inconsiderable number ofconcealed orunregistered unemployment .Wehave
toaskourselves whether thepromotion ofvoluntary part-time work in
thesecircumBtances constitutes asensible instrument ofemployment
policy .Theopponents ofsuch apolicy donot dispute the social justi­
fication forpart-time work .The controvers centres onthe extent towhich
increased part-time work canalleviate theunemployment oriBisin the
near future .Even atbest its role can benomore than modest .The crucial
boopt needed toimprove the employment situation will not come from sin
increase inpart-time work .Theeconomy asawhole must receive the
necessary stimulation .Part-time work ismerely anancillary measure .
(l)Seealso D.Mertens :Neue Arbeitszeitpolitik undArbeitsmarkt
Mitteilungen ausderArbeitsmarkt -undBerufsforschung ,n°3,1979 *

V/1048/79-FR
-10-
Apolicyofencouragingvoluntarypart-timeworkcannot "bejudged
solelyonemploymentpolicycriteria.Itmustreconcileseveralaims
andseveralpartlyconflicting approaches :
1.Part-timeworkcanserveasaninstrumentofmanpowerpolicytoreduce
registeredandhiddenunemployment.
2.Part-timeworkcancontributetogreaterflexibilityinworking
life.
3.Thepositionofpart-4;imeworkerscanbestrengthened byimprovingtheir
workingconditionsandextendingtheirsocialrights.
4.Part-timeworkcanopenupimprovedemploymentprospeotsforcertain
groupsandfacilitatearedistribution ofrolesbetweenthesexes.
Pastexperienceandsolutionshavebeoomeworthlessinthewakeofthe
changeinthegeneraleconomicclimate.Anyanalysismuststartfrom
soratchandfoousonfivekeyquestions :
1)Whatisthelikelypatternoffuturedemandforandgrowthofpart-
timeworking,includingthelikelyeffectonemployment,unemployment
andproductivity ?
2)Whatarethelikelyeffectsonotherpatternsofworkingtimeandwhat
aretheundesirable side-effects ?
3)Whatcanandshouldbedonetoensurethatpart-timeworkershave
thesamebasicsocialrightsandobligations asfull-timeworkers?
4)Whatshouldbedonetoensurethattaxationandsocialsystemsdo
notfalselyencourageordiscouragepart-^timework?
5)Shouldspecificemploymentmeasuresbetakeninordertohelpmeet
•mpj.oyers'andworksrs*demandforpart-^imework?

V/1048/79-ES
-11-
3.POSSIBLETRENDS
3«1«Potentialdemand,andpossiblesupply
/ .
Thefuturetrendofpart-timeworkcanbepredictedtoacertain
extent*Itisgenerallyacceptedthatthecurrentfavourabletrend
willcontinue*VariousMemberStatesarelikelytointroduoemea­
suresinanattempttofosterthisseoulartrend*Thefavourable
trendwillcontinueforthemostpartinthesamesectorsasbefore*
Itislikelythatthenumberofpart-timejobswillcontinueto
inoreasemorerapidlyintheprivateseotorthaninthepublicseo-
torwherenwpart-timejobsarelikelytobeoreatedinthescientific
fieldinparticular *
Itisdifficulttopredictwhatthiswillmeanintermsofavailability
ofjobs*Thecurrentsituationonlypartlyreflectsaotualdemand*
'AvailablestudiesfromtheMemberStatessuggestthatthereis
considerable untappedpotential*Estimatesshouldbebasedonthe
followingfactors:
a)thelikelyparticipation rate:inmostmembercountries,surveys
suggestthatfemaleparticipation .rateshavebeenrisingfairly
rapidlyevendatingtherecession*Althoughsurveyresultstendto
exaggeratetheserates,theevidencesuggeststhatthereisacon­
tinuingtrendtowardshigherfemaleparticipation *Eveninthose
MemberStateswhereratesarelowoverall,theratefortheyounger
agegroupshavebeengrowingrapidly,indicatingperhapsafundamental
ohangeinattitudestowardstheemploymentofwomen*
Aconsiderable partofthisnewdemandforworkwillalmostcertainly
beforpart-'timeemployment.
./•
35

v/1048/79-ïH
-12-
b)Thenumberofregisteredunemployedseekingonlypart-time .jobs.
Therearenoseparatefiguresforunemployedpersonsinthis
categoryinmostMemberStates.Accordingtoavailablestatistics
theratioofvacanciestojob-seekers whishingtorforkpart-time
iBparticularly unfavourable# InGermany,forexample,whereover
athirdofallunemployed womenapplyexclusivelyforpart-timework,
theratioofvacanciestothenumberofregisteredunemployedis
IJIO,whereasthecorresponding ratioforfull-timeworkersis1:3.
c)Theresultsofsurveys.Thewordingofthequestion,thenatureof
thesampleandthepurposeofthesurveyobviouslyhaveabearing
onthequalityoftheresults.AsurveyconductedbytheCommission
in1978revealedthataboutthree-quartersofallunemployedpersons
orjob-aeekerswerepreparedtoaoceptpart-'timeemployment (2).
Severalstudiesshowthatwomen,youngpeople(students),olderpeople
andthehandicapped inparticularareinterestedinpart-time
employment (3).Peopletakeonpart-'timeemploymentforavarietyof
reasonsthatreflectindividualpreferences astolevelofearnings
andhoursofwork.Thesetwoconsiderations arelikelytoplaya
oruoialroleinthefuturet
-peoplealreadyinemploymentwishtoreducetheircommitments
outsidethehomesothattheyhavemoretimeforactivitiesnot
connectedwiththeirjobs;
-ontheotherhand,peoplewhohavenotbeeningainfulemployment
beforewishtoimprovetheirfinancialsituationoraohieveadegree
ofpersonalfulfilmentbytakingajob.
(2)Chômageetreoherched'unemploi-attitudesetopinionBdes
publicseuropéens^"studyn°V/78O/79_/•
(3)SeeILOStudy:D.Mario:"L'aménagement dutempsdetravail",
Qeneva1977»P«48.
fj

V/1048/79-5»
-13-
Althoughalatentdemandforpart-timejobsexists,itwillnot
beoomeapparentaalongastheindividualhasnorealprospectof
realizinghisdesiretoworkonapart-timebasis.Inotherwords,
therearenotenoughpart-timejobsavailable * '
d)Thewillingnessoffirmstoprovidepart-time .jobs
InGermany,inparticular,theoreticalcalculations havebeenmadewith
aviewtodeterminingthepotentialnumberoffull-timejobsthat
oouldbeshared*A(non-representative )studyoonductedbythe
MinistryofSocialAffairs,HealthandSportintheRhine1and-Palatinate(1)
showedthatnearlytwo-thirdsofallfull-timejobsoouldeasilybe
sharedandthatnearly90%oouldbc»sharedaftercertainadjustment
problemshadbeenovercome*However,arepresentative studyamongfirms
conductedbytheIFOandIABinstitutesproducedsubstantially lower
figures*Accordingtothesestudiestherewereaaaanyasabout380.000
full-timejobsinthemanufacturing industryandafurther20000inthe
constructionindustry(1).thatoouldbeshared*Twoquestionsremain
unanswered :towhatextentcanthefunctionalandtemporalaspectsof
jobsharingbereoonoiled?andtowhatextentcantheimplications of
theBeforecastsbeputintopracticeandfinanced?
However,additionalpart-timejobswouldonlyconstituteatruereserve
of.jobsiftheywerenotcreatedtothedetrimentofexistingfull-
timejobs*Itwouldbeaoreappropriatetomakemailmumuseofavailable
timemarginsratherthancarryoutapolicyofsubstitution thatwas
undesirableintermsofeaploynentpolicy*Onepossibility wouldbeto
reduceovertimeinfavourofpart-timework*Anotherwouldbetocreate
shiftsofpart-timeworkerswithaviewtoabetterutilizationof
capitalinvestments orincreasingthenumberofhoursthefirmremains
open*Atpresentonlymarginalexperiencesareknown*Tworeoent
politicalmovesshouldbeinterpreted fromthispointofview:the
lettersfromtheGermanLabourMinistertomanagementandworksoounoils
of100*000firmsurgingthem"***tocreatenew}i*E*additionaljobs",
andtheFrenchGovernment'sinitiative(programmedeBlois)settinga
targetforthecreationofpart-timejobsinthepublicandprivate
sectors*
Theactualincreaseinthenumberofpart-timejobsavailabledepends
onspeolfioconditionswhichmostbefulfilledbothfortheemployeeand
tfcsemployers*Themostimportantoriteriafromtheemployee'spointof
ofvieware3
(1)MinisteriumfürSoziales,GesundheitundSport(Rheinlaad-^fals )t
Möglichkeiten derTeilzeitbesohäftigung inderWirtschaft,Main*1978.
(2)W*Friedrich***t"zudenBeschfiftigungserwartungen ,denArbeits-
platzreserven undzumPotentialanzusätzlichenTeilzeitarbeits -
pl&tsoninderVerarbeiteaden IndustrieundimBauhauptgeirerbe.IntMitt.AB2/1978,page246/247.

v/1048/79-ai
-14-
-thestructureofthelooallabourmarket}
-thepatternofdailyworkinghoursandtherelationship betweenhours
workedandtimetakentogettotheplaceofworkj
-thesocialinfrastructure ,andaboveallguaranteedcarefacilities
forchildren.
Experienceshowsthattheeoonomioadvantagesanddisadvantages of
part-timeworkfromtheemployer'spointofviewoanonlybedetermined
ineachindividual ca3e«ThemainfactorBtobetakenintoconsideration
are:
-theextenttowhichjobscanbesplitintoseperateoperations ;
thisdeterminesthemaximumdegreeofflexibilityobtainableinthe
allocationoftasks;
-theorganization ofthefirm18operations ,forexample,thepatternof
shiftarrangements ,withaviewtoaligningthelevelofemployment
onthefirm'srequirements (productionpeaks,utilizationofoapacity,
productionhours,etc.)
-weightingpossibleincreaseinproduction (resultingfromreduced
-absenteeismandincreasedmotivationandeffort)againstthepossi­
bilityofhigherpersonnel,jobfamiliarization andincidentalcoBts;
-frictionallosses,i.e.timelostwhenshiftsarebeingchangedor
started,andpossibleinternaltensionsbetweenfull-timeandpart-
timestaff.
3.2.Economicimplications
Itisdifficulttoassesstherepercussions ofpart-timeworkonbusiness
managementsince,generallyspeaking,thecostshavenotbeencalculated.
Thecostandproductivity factorsmentionedaboveareforthemostpart
roughindicaUonBandhavenotbeencomparedsystematically .Theintro­
ductionofpart-timework,likevariousotherwaysofreorganizing working
hours,isonlyrarelybasedonadeliberatebusinessdecision.
Anydecisionfororagainstpart-timeworkismerelikelytodependon
thewaythefirmisoperatedinternallyand/ortherelativepowerwithin
thefirmofmanagementandunions."Mostdecisionstendtobenomore
thanreactions :measuresaretakeninresponsetoexternalconditions
(relatingtothemarket,unions,thesituationontheregionallabour
market,etc)ratherthantoexploitorevenmaximizestaffpolicyift
anysystematiclong-termway"(l).
(l)Priedrich/Schonberg–studycarriedoutonbehalfoftheCommissiononthe
repercussions ofpracticalexperienceinthereorganization ofworkingtime
ontheemploymentsituation(Conelnaiona,page4)»

V/1048/79-ÏH
15
Inadditionitisparticularlydifficulttoquantifythepositive
andnegativerepercussions onunitwagecosts.Moststudiesplump
forthecomfortable answerthattherearenoclearoostadvantages
ordisadvantages inpart-timeemployment
ThefollowingconclusioncanbedrawnfromtheIAB-IPOstudyreferred
toabove:
–part-timeworkisseeninapredominantly (althoughnot^completely)
negativelightfromthepointofviewofactualcosts,suchasaddi­
tionalpersonnelcosts,theoostofequippingtheworkplaceand
administrative cost*
-itisseeninapredominantly positivelightfromthepointof
viewofthereturn(outputperhourworked),flexibilityinassigning
stafftoparticularjobs,numberofindustrialaccidentsand
absences,labourturnoverrate*
Onthewhole,theresultsofthesurveyindicatethatGermanfirms
arefavourablydisposedtowardspart-timeemployment *Siirilarresults
wereproducedbymicro–eoonomicstudiesinseveralEuropeancountries
thatwereundertakenwithintheEuropeanCommission'sProgrammeof
researchandaotionsonthedevelopmentofthelabourmarket,(l)
(l)I.E.C.I.»Leseffetsdeoertainësformesdelarepartitiondu
TrSvmXTanniveaudel'entreprise(enFranoe)Studjr»lo.79/27«
Deeember1979.P«123ff.
InstituteofManpowerStudiesiWork-sharingpotential,anexaaination
ofeeleotedfirma,StudyIo.78/37.Decomber1979.P*
R.8.0.tMutamentinell'organizzazione dell'-orariodiLavoro–produttività edoooupazione,StudySo.79/29.May1980,Il/4.
39

7/1048/79-ÎN
-16-
If,however ,wethink interms ofmaximizing turnover rather than minimizing
costs ,itisclear that theflexibility ofpart-time employment isofvery
considerable value tofirms ,especially inthemanufacturing industry and
inthedistributive trades .With nopart-time employment firms would not
beable torespond topeaks ofdemand ortodemands beyond thescope of
thenormal working day.
There arenomodels available atpresent forcalculating themacro-economic
repercussions ofanaccelerated expansion ofpart-time work .Such apolicy
islikely tostimulate growth 111as«ao'h asitincreases thenumber of
employment opportunities .However ,simply sharing available full-time jobs
would ,allthings being equal ,lead tofinancial losses forthesocial
security systems and public budgets .Butparticular account must betaken
oftheside-effects ofsuch action onemployment policy .
Additional part-time jobs arenotonly filled bypeople already registered as
unemployed .They also attract new labour tothe labour market .Incertain
circumstances the presence ofthese new job-eeekers can make iteven more
difficult tojobseekers forwhom employment cannot easily befound .
However ,inthe final analysis ,the result isareduction inthe level of
underemployment which ,even ifnot atpresent registered isatanundesi­
rable high level .
3.3 .Repercussions onlabour market andworking time strategies
Aswehave already pointed out ,thesocial consequences andrepercussions
ofanincrease inpart-time work onemployment policy arenotuniform .
From thesocial point ofview ,part-time work makes itpossible tointro­
duce more flexible working hours .Thestandard 5-dS'ys or40-hour week
limited the jobopportunities ofcertain categories ofthepopulation and
lead toundesirable physical strain .Certain categories were even denied
access toemployment .Various forms ofpart-time work canserve toreconcile
individual preferences with requirements ofthe job.
However ,such increased flexibility entails theloss ofcertain protective
factors .Individualized working hours nullify theguarantees contained
incollective agreements .Progress made inthesocial sphere maybeunder­
mined ,working conditions maysuffer andstatutory orcolleotively agreed
obligations maynot beobserved .
./
40

V/1048/79-Ï»
-17-
Theundesirable side-effects ofincreased part-time work should bestressed ,
particularly inview ofthe current difficulties ontheemployment front .
However ,very little research hasbeen done into these side-effects ,
except intheUnited States where such studies were pioneered .Ithas been
established that theexpansion ofpart-time work hasgone inhand with legal
andillegal forms ofdouble job-holding or"moonlighting ".Workers who do
not find employment onthe full-'time jobmarket seek toimprove their
standard ofliving byaccumulating employment relationships .Bytaking on
several jobs ,individuals meet the short-term andpartial requirements of
several firms atonce .Ithas also been noted that more and more full-time
employees arerebelling against unsocial and inconvenient working hours .
Jobs involving night-time ,early morning orweekend work are frequently
offered topart-time workers ,who accept such jobs either because there are
noalternatives orbecause their financial situation obliges them todoso.
The quantitative importance ofsuch marginal labour markets isdiffioult to
ascertain because theboundaries between this form ofwork andillicit work ,
casual work ,work done athome ,andactivities that donot entail insurance
payments arevery fluid .Several Amerioan andBritish Btudiea reveal that
atleast 5i°ofallpeople ingainful employment aremultiple job-holders ,
afigure which hasbeen relatively unaffected bychanges inthe economic
climate (l).Thephenomenon isrelatively common among high income groups .
People belonging tothis category sometimes take onapart-time job in
addition totheir main occupation .This also explains whyoertain part-time
employees areamong thetopwage-earners .
Thediversity ofworking conditions gives rise toadditional problems .
Inthe case ofreduced working hours thetolerance threshold maybehigher ,
i.e. part-time workers might stand intheway ofefforts toachieve improved
working conditions .Where part-time and full-time employees areworking inthe
same firm undesirable friction mayarise andthis maybedetrimental tothe
smooth running ofthe firm .There isalso arisk that full-time poBts maybe
systematically devalued andeventually beoome part-time posts .Employers might
therefore meet demands forageneral reduction inworking time byemploying
only part-time workers .Firms could ,forexample ,take advantage ,ofdemand for
areduction inworking hours toreduce shifts from 8to6hours while atthe
came time convert jobs bygiving workers notice .There have recently been
examples ofsuch artificial conversion ofjobs carried outtothedetriment
ofworking women inparticular .
(l)SeeJeremy Alden ,"Theextent andnature ofdouble job-holding in
Great Britain ",Industrial relations ,autujrm 1977 »
41

V/1048/79-EIÍ
-18-
There arelikely tobeother interferences with policy onworking time .
Measures taken with aview tofurther limiting overtime could accelerate
thegrowth ofpart-time work .Case studies (l)show that forced reductions
inovertime lead toincreased recruitment oftemporary andpart-time staff .
Ontheother hand ,laythecreation ofadditional part-time shifts Bome
entreprises could cope better with demand peaks .Inthese entreprises
overtime isseldom worked .Shifts ofpart-time workers areless costly
substitute for overtime .
These side-effects should beborne inmind inanyattempt toadapt working
time .The problem ofpart-time work will have tobeconsidered afresh in
the context ofany future reduction intheworking week since thenumber
ofhours worked bypart-time andfull-time employees istending toconverge .
Asaresult ,social and legal distinction have toacertain extent become
arbitrary ,
SOCIAL RI0HT3 AND OBLIGATIONS OFPART-TIME WORKERS
Notunnaturally inview ofthehistorical andeconomic background ,part-time
workers arefrequently treated differently from full-time workers .This applies
asregards both social rights andobligations .Asalready pointed outby
theEconomic andSocial Committee initsabovementioned Opinion ,discrimi­
nation against part-time workers takes many forms and isnot always easy
toidentify .The discriminatory arrangements are forthemost part notlaid
down explicitely .They tend rather tobethe consequenoe offailure tomake
allowance forpart-time workers instatutory provisions orcollective
agreements *
InitsOpinion (Pages 10andll),theEconomic andSocial Committee stressed
that "people working inthis oapacity (e.i.part-time ),forwhatever reasons ,
must nolonger beanunderprivileged class forced toputupwith substandard
conditions ofemployment .This means that part-timers must betreated equally
and inprinciple have proportionately thesame rights asfull-time workers
inregards tosuch things assooial seourity ,working conditions ,recruitment ,
pay ,holidays ,eto.".Commission staff arecurrently working onacomprehensive
review ofthesooial rights ,conditions ofemployment andobligations of
part-time workers intheMember StateB (2),Asthis review isnotyet
complet ,however ,weshall confine ourselves here tohighlighting afew
problem areas .
(1)SeePriedberg /SchSnberg ,study carried outonbehalf oftheCommission
ontheeffects onemployment ofmeasures toredistribute jobs ,August 1979 «
(2)Recent national studies arealready available forBelgium ,theFederal
Republic ofGermany andFrance .
!*3

V/1048/79-E»
-19-
4.1 .Statue
Oneuniversal problem iathemore orless conscious stigmatization of
part-time work .Itislooked down onasamarginal form ofemployment ,
fitonly forpeople who either have little commitment towork orsuffer
from personal handicaps .The part-'timer iscategorized asamere stop­
gap ,thus prejudicing from theoutset hisstanding onthelabour market .
Consequently when reorganization takes place within firms ,part-timers
arefrequently shifted toinferior jobs .Ontopofthis ,their working
conditions /career proGpects arefrequently poor byoompfcriBon with
full-time workers .Lower levels ofinvestment ininitial and advanced
training further accentuate theinferior position ofpart-^timers ,which
bynomeans always reflects their ownwishes .With certain honourable
exceptions ,theoccupational status ofpart-time workers iBingeneral
need ofimprovement .Failing this ,themajority will remain trapped inan
unenviable position :poorly trained /educated ,passed over forpromotion
andtrapped indead endjobs .
4.2 .jQorrtraote ofEbploraent
With theexoeption ofafewregulations iaTranoe which areoflimited
Importance ,there arenoolear rtatutory provisions dealing with
contracts ofemploynent forpert-tine workers .Elsewhere ,thepioture
isoneofabewildering tangle ofcontractual arrangements .Inthe
nature ofthings ,provisions regarding standard working times donot
apply topart-timers ;this inturn means that they areunable tobenefit
from thelinked statutory orcollectively agreed guarantees .Apart-
timer isconsequently liable toencounter problems ifhisworking hours
arenotspecified clearly inthecontract ofemployment :this leaves the
arrangements regarding overtime ,rest periods andbonuses inanill-
defined grey area .Taking overtime bonuses asanexample ,except under a
smaller nubmer ofagreenentB ,these areonly granted fortime worked in
excess ofeight hours adayorforty hours aweek .Intheabsenoe of
speoific provisions inthe contract ofemployment ,this places the
part-timer atadisadvantage vis-& –vishisfull-time colleagues .
Amore serious problem ,however ,isthe "one-way-ticket" aspect of
part-time work .The decision towork part-time isgenerally voluntary ,
but itisthen inmost cases difficult ifnot impossible toreturn to
full-time work .Barriers mayexist from theoutset intheprovisions of
the initial contract ofemployment andobstacles canalso arise asa
result ofchanges inoccupational status (down grading )andadministrative
constraints .Additionally ,several part-time workers employed onfixed-term
oontracts find their jobs slowly butseverely phased out.
Consideration therefore needs tobegiven toways ofensuring that part-
timers canreturn tofull-time work .Action along these lines iBboth
demanded bytheETUC andrecognized asdesirable byemployers .TheBelgian
employers' federation ,forinstance ,hassuggested that :"... Qualifica­
tions being equal ,part-time workers whowish towork full-time should
beaccorded priority forvaoancies inthesame establishment .Such a
system iscurrently inoperation inthemajor firms inthedistributive
trades "(l).

V/1048/79-EN
-20-
4.3*Remuneration
Statistical comparisons betweenfull-timeandpart-timeworkersare
hinderedbytheshortageofinformation.Thereisadmittedlynodoubtthat
part-timersareconcentratedinsectorswithrelativelylowwagelevels
andinlow-paidoccupations.Thisstructuralfeatureisreflectedinthe
levelanddistribution ofincomeamongpart-timeworkers.Itgivesno
indicationastoanomaliesinthelegalsituation,however.
Survey,and.tadi.scarriedouttheCommunityandtheILOpointtothe•xLrtmo#ofpj»<mliaritie»whichcannotbeaoocnmtedforbyimbalancesinthedistributionofpart-timeworkers.Statutoryandcollectivelyagree!
provisionsonremuneration (minimumwages,equalpay,eto.)generally
assumethatpart-timeworkerswillbepaidpro-rataaccordingtothe
numberofhoursworked.Sometimes,however,entitlementsareconditional
"theemployeehavingworkedaspecifiedminimumnumberofhoursorcertain
bonuselementsarenottakenintoaocountforthepurposesofcalculatingpart-timers *wages.Therealincomeofpart-timeworkerswillbereduced
incomparativetermsifovertime,serviceandprofit-sharing bonusesarenotpaid.Thisisdiscriminatory inthesensethatpart-timeworkerswill
beputtinginthesameeffortastheirfull–timeconterparts (thoughfor
ashortertime)butforlessrewardpro-rata.Thesituationisworsein
thisrespectforwomenthanformen.Aocordingtoinvestigations inthe
UnitedKingdom,womenworkingfull-timeearned11.0$moreproratathan
thoseworkingpart-^timein1972andthegapwasstill10.4%in1978(2).
Asidefromthis,part-timers maylabourunderanumberofdisadvantages -
e.i.proportional reimbursement onlyoftravelooststhoughtheexpenses
incurredareequaltothoseofafull-timer jnopaymentforpublio
holidays;nocontinuedpaymentofwagesintheeventofillnessjno
compensation forshort-timeworking.
4.4»Hetirement
Problemsariseasregardsbothstatutoryandcompanyschemesretirement.
Inthecaseofcompanyschemes,thepart-timer maynotbecoveredatall
ortherelationship betweenpresentcontributions andfuturebenefitsmay
differbetweenfull-timeandpart-timeworkers(3).
•/•
(1)Cf.Bull.P.E.B.N°2of10January1978fP*40
(2)Cf.Part-timeworkinginGreatBritain,DepartmentofQnploymentGazette,
July1979
(3)Thereverseproblemcanoccurinthecaseofoompanysicknessfunds,where
part-timers sometimespayreducedcontributions butreceivebenefitsatthe
fullrate.
ii

V/1048/79-EN
-21-
Thewhole question ofpart-<time work inrelation tostatutory retirement
Bohemes ishighly complex andwill therefore b8considered again ingreater
detail inSection 5»Some schemes permit pensioners toearn alimited amount
without affecting the size oftheir pension# This tends toincrease the
number ofpeople interested injobs which areeither poorly paid oronly
offer afewhours aweek .Ontheother hand ,wages arefrequently not liable
todeduction ofpension contributions below acertain threshold (minimum
earnings ornumber ofhours worked ),with theresult that part-timers may
not beentitled toaretirement pension even though they have worked for
many years#
Finally ,older workers maybeunable toacoept part-time employment
because their pension will beoalculated onthebasis offinal earnings
(asinthecase ofsome company sohemes intheUK)andtheeffect of
working part-time during theyears immediately preoeding retirement would
consequently betoreduce thepension disproportionately .This isan
obstacle totheintroduction ofsystems such asgradual retirement#
Unemployment
Deoisions regarding redundancies aretaken inthe light notonly ofseniority
butalso ofsooial considerations# Aside from other factors ,thefrequently
lower status ofpart-timers isinitself enough toplace them atparticular
risk#
Itisimpossible toestablish exactly howmany unemployed people there are
seeking part-time work# Workers holding several part-time jobs concurrently
who then lose oneofthese jobs represent aparticular problem inthis
respect# Inseveral Member States ,theonly people tobeofficially
registered asunemployed (andhenoe toappear intheunemployment statistics )
arethose whopreviously worked aspecified minimum ofhours perweek
(Germany 20hours ,Netherlands 30hours ,etc#)# Occasional work andwork
forshort periods thus does not count as"employment "andunemployed workers
aresupposed intheory only tobeseeking full-time jobs# This hastwo direct
oonsequenoes :
-thewage oosts forpart-timers working less than thethreshold number of
hourB axerelatively low ,butthese workers arenotentitled tounemployment
benefit ifthey lose their jobs ;
-unemployed workers who take jobs below thethreshold number ofhours donot
lose their entitlement tounemployment benefit# They thus reoeive two
incomes ,generally only offset inpart against each other#
Insome Member States (most notably Germany ,butalso Prance )unemployment
benefit iscalculated onthebasis offinal earnings# This acts asadisin­
centive toacoepting part-time work where there is3.danger ofunemployment
beoause this would reduce the potential level ofbenefit#
40

V/1048/79-SN
-22-
Participation indecision-making
ThefirBtpointtobestressedhereisthewaypart-timers areexoludei.
inpractioefromthedecision-making process.Workerrepresentatives are
hardlyevereitherpart-timeworkersthemselvesorspeciallyconcernedto
defendtheinterestsofthisgroup#Part-timersarealmostalwaysrepre­
sentedinnegotiations "byfull–timeworkers,apatternwhichextendsto
thenegotiationofcollectiveagreements(l).Therighttovote/standfor
eleotionandotherrightsinoonneotionwithrepresentation inthefirmare
oftentied(e.g.inthelawsonworkerparticipation intheFederalRepublic)
to"thresholds "intermsofsizeofworkforce.Thesecanactasabrakeon
thegrowthofpart-timeemployment.
Possiblewaysofimprovingthesituation
Theaboverepresentnomorethanasampleofthedifferences intreatment
betweenfullandpart-timeworkers.Theyshould,however,sufficetoshow
thatthesedifferences aretherealoauseformisgivingsaboutpart-time
work.Suchmisgivings canthusbeovercomebyensuringthatpart-timers in
principleenjoythesamerightsandaresubjecttothesameobligations as
full-timeworkers-inproportion ,ofoourse,tothetimeworked.Itis
particularly importantthattheprincipleofproportional entitlement
shouldapplytoallelementsofremuneration.Thisprincipleshouldnot,
ontheotherhand,beappliedeithertoprotectiveprovisions (regarding
terminationofemployment,safety,etc.)ortocertainaspectsofterms/
conditionsofemployment (holidaysentitlements andthelike).
Irrespective bothofitsparticularaimsandofthecurrentemployment
situation,anypolicyaimedatpromotingvoluntarypart-timeworkisbound
tocomeupagainstthesedifferencesintreatment.Shoulditfailtoovercome
theproblemstheyraise,theeffectofsuchapolicywouldsimplybeto
acoentuatethefragmentation ofthelabourmarketandfartherdistort
conditionsofemploymentattheexpenseofoertaingroups.Inconcreteterms,
thismeansthatstepswouldneedtobetakentoabolishprovisions
likelytoactasanobstaoletoequaltreatment ;filltheexistinggapsin
legislation and,moreparticularly ,collectiveagreements ;makegreater
allowtnoeforpart-timeworkinthelawoncollectiveagreements.
Thereareseveralpossiblewaysoftaoklingthistask:
–byintroducingstandardtermsandconditionsofemploymentforpart–time
workers.Thelatterwouldthusbecomeaspeoiallyprotectedgroup–like
traineesandseverelyhandioappedworkers.Theintroduction ofsuch
standardtermsandconditions,whichwouldaotineffectasaprotective
umbrella,doesnot,however,commenditselfasasolution.
(1)Cf.LucasReportonpart-timeworkpresentedtotheFrenchMinisterof
LabourinMay1979(Pages56-57),whichstatesthatonlyonepart-
timeworkerwasfoundtobeoccupyingsuohaposition.
46

V/1048/79-HÏ
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Theeffect ofthis would simply betosubstitute deliberate preferential
treatment fortheprevious relatively under –privileged situation ofpart-
timers .This inturn would almost probably accentuate labour market problema
andtensions within firms ,thereby ensuring that part-time work would merely
retain itsmarginal character under another guise .
-byintroducing minimum acceptable terms andconditions forpart-time workers
tobeapplied throughout theCommunity .This would help tospeed progress ,
both "de .jure "and "defacto ",towards equal treatment forfull-time and
part-time workers inproportion totime worked .Efforts oould beconfined
tolaying down certain prinoiples ,leaving detailed arrangements fortheir
implementation tobeworked outatnational ,sectoral orcompany level .
Thefollowing would bethemain points onwhich statutory rules would need to
bemodified t
.theminimum threshold (interms ofhours worked orminimum earnings )above
whioh sooial Maturity contributions arepayable ;
•«qual troatmarrt (prorata ,asappropriate ),inparticular entitlement
tominimum wages ,equal opportunities forpromotion ,protection fromdismissal ,fringe benefits )f
•thestipulation ofworking hours intheindividual contract j
.the right totransfer tofull-^ime work ifwork organization allows ;
.the right forpart-timers toparticipate indecision-making through the
works council .
Anyprovision which might tend tomake part-time work more attractive ,from
thestrictly legal viewpoint ,forwomen than formen ,should beeither
avoided orabolished .Instead ,theaimshould betoadapt provisions more
closely totheneeds ofparticular groups (e.g. young people orolder
workers )seeking part-time work ,irrespective ofsex.
Two points should ,however ,beborne inmind
Success inachieving this goal ofequal treatment inlegal terms would not
inpractice besufficient toeliminate all forms ofdiscrimination .Noamount
oflegislative changes will prevent part-timers from losing outasregards
promotion and jobcontent when they are incompetition with full-^time
workers .Moreover ,such ohanges would notdirectly stimulate thecreation
ofjobs .Their impact inthis respect would beofmore long-term character .
The immediate effect might indeed bealmost thereverse -todestabilize the
employment situation toanextent bystimulating thesubstitution ofjobs
onfixed-term contracts forpermanent part-time jobs .The legal requirement
totreat part-timers andfull-timers equally inproportion totime worked
might also encourage firms tocarry outradical restructuring andbecome
inoreaaingly capital intensive .Admittedly ,theneed toremain competitive
should besufficient incentive forthem tobemoving inthese directions
anyway .
A!

V/1048/79-EN
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5.CHANGES INSOCIAL SECURITY ANDTAX LEGISLATION
The changes insooial security andtaxlegislation tohelooked athere
tieinclosely with thepoints discussed above .Aseparate section is,
however ,neoessary inorder topresent them intheir proper context .
Furthermore ,theemphasis intheprevious seotion wa«onthedisadvantages of
part-time work fortheemployee ,whereas this section will beprimarily
concerned with theimplications ofpart-time work (anditsextension )
fortheemployer#
Asindioated earlier ,thesocial security schemes currently inforce in
theMember States arenotaltogether "neutral "vis-&-vispart-time work .
Some oftheassociated obstaoles totheextension ofpart–time work have
already been mentioned# TheEconomio andSocial Committe didnottackle
this oomplex question ,stating instead that itwould have tobelooked at
later bytheCommission# There arethree main problem areas t
-social security contributions :theprocedure forlevying contributions is
generally the same orvery similar intheMember States forallthemajor
sectors ofsooial security (pensions ,sickness ,unemployment );
-therelationship between contributions andbenefits j
-theminimum working time orminimum wage required formembership ofsooial
••otirity schemes (l).
All three ofthese points are ofsubstantial importance when theindividual
worker isdeciding whether ornot totake uppart-time employment#
Prom theemployer 'spoint ofview ,thecontribution system andtheminimum
working time required formembership arethemain factors likely tocondition
thenumber ofpart-time jobs hecan offer#
Which oftheproblems inherent inexisting social security arrangements
shoula .betaokled inthe course ofefforts topromote part-time employment
will thus depend onthepreoise aims ofthepolicy adopted .Ifthepriority
istoeliminate discrimination against part-timers ,then efforts should be
focused onthe second andthird ofthe problem areas mentioned above .
(l)Thesecond andthird ofthese areas aredealt with indepth inthe
above mentioned review ofthecurrent situation#
48

V/1048/79-ÎN
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If,ontheother hand ,theoreation ofadditional part-time jobs isthe
priority ,then attention should "becentred onmodifying thecontribution
system *
*1*Changes benefitting part-time workers
Insome cases ,membership ofsocial security schemes isconditional on
working aspecified minimum number ofhours (E.g*2hours perdayforthe
majority ofworkers inBelgium )*Even where there isnosuch condition
ortheoondition ismet ,part-^time workers will notnecessarily receive equdsratefc
(pr9portioaal).lMnefits ,even though they paythesame contributions asfull-
time workers *Some workers whowould like totake part-time jobs may
therefore hesitate todosoifthey find that theburdens imposed onthem
would notgive rise tocorresponding rights *Itislikely ,forinstance ,
that aworker will refuse totake apart-time jobonalong-term basis if
itisnot going toprovide himwith anadequate pension *
The situation isnot the same either inall countries orinall sectors *
Incertain instances ,either allorsome benefits (**g*health care ,
pensions endfamily allowances )arenotrestricted topeople whohave been
gainfully employed *Where this istheoase ,theproblem described above does
notapply *Even inthis type ofsystem ,however ,there maybesupplement ary
benefits forpersons whohave been gainfully employed over andabove those
available toallcitizens orallresidents *This raises onoe again the
problem ofequivalence between benefits andcontributions *
Iftheintention istoeliminate this type ofproblem ,then existing
legislation should beamended soastoensure that part–time workers are
entitled tosooial 3eourity benefits® Theconditions governing eligibility
forbenefits will ,forexample ,have toberevised insuch awayasto
allow forthevarious possible patterns ofpart-time work (somany hours
perday ,days perweek ,etc,)* , '

V/1048/79-îîf
-26-
5»2.Changesinthecontribution system
Therearetwobasictypesofsystems:
a)earnings-related contributions s
b)flat-ratacontributions.
Asregards:
a)InthemajorityofMemberStates,socialsecuritycontributions are
calculatedasapercentageoftheemployee *sgrossremuneration# The
costisgenerallybornejointly,invaryingproportions ,byemployer
andemployee.Asarule,however,theremuneration asabasisforthe
calculationofcontributions issubjecttoupperandlowerlimits:
-belowaspecifiedminimumearninglevelthereisnoliabilityto
contribute ;
-earningsbeyondacertainamountaredisregardedforthepurposes
ofcalculatingcontributions (contribution assessmentceiling).
Theserulesapplyequallytoallemployedpersons,bothfull-and
part-^time.Theireffectscan,however,bediscriminatory :
theexistanoeofaminimumthresholdcanencouragetheemploymentof
part-^tiraeworkersatwagesbelowthislevel.Bothemployerandemployee
canthussaveasubstantial amountincontributions .Theseshort-term
savingsare,however,onlyachievedattheoostofseriousdisadvantages
insocialpolicyterms,sincetheworkersconcernedaoquirenoentitle­
menttosocialsecuritybenefitsandareforcedtorelyeitheron
rightsacquiredbyothermembersoftheirfamilyoronotherformsof
statesupport.ItisforthisreasonthattheFederalRepublicandthe
UnitedKingdomhavejustreoentlyplaoedfurtherrestrictions onthese
"minor"formsofgainfulemploymentwhichfalloutsidethescopeof
socialseourity.
Itisdifficulttoestablishhowmanyworkersfallintothiscategory.
Aooordingtoreoentestimates,therearebetween500000and800000
femalepart-timeworkersnotliableforpaymentofsooialsecuritycontributions intheFederalRepublic.Thisrepresentsbetween5and10$
ofallwomeninpaidemploymentintheFederalRepublic(l).
(l)Cf#Forschungsgruppe ArbeitundGesundheit :Barrierstoflexibility
inworkingtime,studycarriedoutonbehalfoftheEECCommission/>77/39J,page36.ft^0

v/1048/79-ar
/27
Theexistenoe ofacontribution assessment oeiling acts asa
deterrent totheconversion offull-time jobs into part-time jobs *
Thehigher theoeiling ,however ,theless impact ithas inthis respect *
IntheUnited Kingdom ,forexample ,itisofhardly anyimportance .
I
Theoeiling isthesame forallworkers *Thus ,thecontributions tobe
paid bytheemployer will insome oases bemore when ajobisshared
between twopart-timers than would have been dueforasingle full-time
worker *This will happen when theceiling islower than theremuneration
ofafull-time worker *
InFraaoe andBelgium ,this obstacle hasbeen overoome bymaking it
standard praotice toallow employers tooombine forcontribution pur­
poses thewages ofpart-time workers sharing asingle full-time job*
Over-payments resulting from theemployment oftwopart-timers canbe
claimed back *InBelgium ,however ,this arrangement only applies inthe
case ofworkers earning less than fcalf )theaverage wage *
Asregards :
b)Where contributions areflat-rate (asinIreland prior toApril 1979 )»
theemployer will have topaythe same amount forapart-time worker
asforafull-timer :theformer will therefore berelatively more
expensive and ,should asingle full-timer bereplaoed bytwopart-timers ,
theamount duewill bedoubled *Itistherefore notintheemployer 's
interest toreoruit workers onapart-time baslt *
There arevarious possible ways ofovercoming these problems :
-bysubstituting earnings-related contributions forflat-rate oontributions ;
-byabolishing contribution assessment ceilings orraising them toalevel
where they will nolonger constitute aproblem )
-alternatively ,aspecial oeiling could besetforpart-time employment or
arrangements oould bemade torefund theadditional contributions paid
byemployers asaresult ofsubstituting part-time workers forfull-timers *
Aspecial study needs tobemade oftheproblems involved inintegrating
workers whocombine several part-time jobs into social security schemes *
Workers performing jobs whioh ,individually ,donotreaoh theminimum
threshold forliability topaycontributions generally remain exempt
(andhence noteligible forsocial security benefits )even where they
oombine several jobs *Thereverse problem -overlapping -canoocur where
itispossible foraworker todraw social security benefits atthe same
time asheisearning (several )income (s)from part-time employment *
Inthis situation ,there isadear danger ofsocial seourity provisions
being abused *
51
#

V/1048/79-HÏ
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5.3.Changes intax law
ABinthecase ofsocial security ,thetaxposition forpart-^time
workers varies from country tooountry and itisconsequently
difficult togeneralize .Inaddition ,thepicture differs accor­
ding towhether theviewpoint adopted isthat oftheworker ,
theemployer orthepublic authorities .Themain factors ofrele-
vanoe are :
-theexemption of"minor "employment from income tax $
-thetax-free basic allowance ;
-the pattern ofthetaxrate progression .
Whilst apolicy ofconverting full-time 30^8into part-time jobs will
generally speaking reduoe theamount oftaxpaid ,taxrevenue canbe
inoreased bythecreation ofadditional part-time jobs .Inpn 1studies ars
neoessary inrelation totheproblem ofdouble taxation
ofmarried oouples whoareinpart-time employment ,
especially ifnewforms ofpart-time work aretobe
developed .
6.ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OFSELECTIVE MEASURES TOENCOURAGE
PART-TIME EMPLOIMEHF
6.1.Guiding principles
Apolicy ofstimulating part-time employment first hastodecide
whether social ,legal andfinancial ohanges areenough tocreate
abeneficial climate forpart-time work orwhether theexpansion
ofpart-time jobopportunities needB tobehelped along by
selective measuresa Ifso,suoh specific measures canclearly play
only asecondary role andmust notinterfere with other ,broadly -
acting eoonomic andmanpower polioiesa Any strategy toexpand part-
time work should increase overall employment andshould notbepro­
moted atthe expense offull-time employment opportunitiesa
Past experience andresearch carried outtodate allow ustodeduce
certain principles onwhich tobase suoh seleotive measures .
52

V/1048/79-EK
-29-
Themost important guiding principles areasfollows t(l)
–New part-time jobs should bedeveloped onnon-discriminatory terms
andacross abroad occupational spectrum .Inthepast ,women have only
■uooeeded inestablishing themselves inarelatively small number of
occupations *The current common forms ofpart-time work restrict this
choioe even further *New types ofoccupation should therefore be
opened up*Atthe sane time care should betaken toensure that women 's
employment isnotrestricted tothepart-time pattern oroonverted into
this *Newforms ofpart -'time work must therefore asfaraspossible also
take inthemore highly^-qualified andresponsible positions *
–Part-time work must break outoftheconventional pattern ofhalf-day
working ,mostly inthemorning (2)*There isanabundance ofpossible
variants asregards both the functional aspeots andthetime sohedules
involved inpart-time work ,and "variations inthelength ofthework
perioda ,their position inrelation tothefull working dayandthe
manner oforganization *Relatively shorter working time perday ,week ,
month oryear -orcombinations ofthese -oanbeenvisaged *
f
Bydeveloping newwork schedulet itispossible tocater forcertain
workers' outside commitments *Part–timework canthereby beopened up
tonew sections ofthepopulation andcease tobeattractive only to
married women *The criterion forengaging workers part-time should be
that forpersonal reasons theworker isunable orunwilling towork
full time *Alltheevidence points tothe fact that part-*time work ,
under themost diverse arrangements ,isattractive toparents with young
children ,andcouples generally where both husband andwife areworking
andalso toyoung people undergoing training ,Older people ,thedisabled
orhandicapped ,convalescents ,andpeople doing work that isparticularly
heavy orinvolves great strain *
6*2*Initiatives inthepublic service seotor
The public service oould help topioneer this development *Atthe present
time ,although part-time work ismainly offered intheservice sector ,the
; public service still hasalotofground tomake up*Forexample ,in1976l£% ofpublic service employees inBritain (excluding theArmed Forces )
were working part-time ,whereas intheeconomy asawhole theproportion
wasover 197<*Themain reason forthis below-average rate istherestricted
access topart-time work forpublio servioe employees inmost Member States *
f
(1)Cf*Resolution oftheCouncil 18December 1979 *
(2)AFrench survey found that only 55i°ofnon-working women ,42$ofworking
women and41%ofelderly workers interested inpart-time jobs wanted to
work half days (Liaison Sooiale N#70/78|19July 1978)*

V/1048/79-£N
-30-
Theserestrictions inthepublicservioeconsistinthefactthata
publicservantoan"bepermittedtoworkonapart-^tiraebasisonly
forsocialorfamilyreasonsandprovideditiscompatiblewiththe
effioientoperationofthedepartment.Moreover,apublicservant
receivingsuchauthorization isobligedtoworkhalfthehours
normallyrequired#
Ontopofthethreerestrictions alreadymentioned-avalidsocial
reason,intheinterestoftheservioe,andhalf-timebasis-permission
isoftengrantedonlyforalimitedperiodandforthelessskilledjobs.
Thisvirtualdiscouragement ofpart-^imeemploymentiscompoundedbythe
faotthatpart-timers mayblockfull-timeposts(l).
InsevoralMemberStatestherehavethereforebeenmovestoextend
part-timeemploymentinthepublicsector,someofthemtakingthe
formofworkingparties(Franoe,theNetherlands),othersthatof
legislativeproposals(Germanay,Italy),Particularmentionshouldbe
madeoftheGermanGovernmentproposalsdatingfrom1978underwhich
part-timeemploymentforFederalcivilservantswouldbeextended,but
withaprohibition onholdingaseoondjobaswell.Additionaloppor­
tunitieswouldbeprovided,particularly intheeducational ,judicial
andpublioadministrationsectors.However,thereisalegalcontroversy
astowhetheraoivilservantisobligedtoplaoeallhisworkingcapa-
oityattheserviceoftheState,
Publioserviceswhichintroducenewpart-timejobswillprovethefeasi­
bilityoftheconceptoverawiderangeofoccupations anddemonstrate
thepossiblescopetoprivateentreprisesthusencouraging themto
follow.Experienceofpart-timeworkinginthemorehighly^-ekilled jobs
anditsintroduction infurtheroccupations andforfurthersocialgroups
oanbetestedinthisway.
Thelong-termfinancialimplications ofanyexpansionofemploymentinthe
publicserrie*limitthescopeforpublicsectorpilotschemes.
Simultaneous experiments intheprivatesectorarethereforeessential.
Theycanbenegotiatedbythetwosidesofindustryaspartofgeneral
conditionsofemploymentandwhereconductedaspilotschemesoould
possiblybeStatesupported(2),
(1)Theserestrictionsincidentally alsoapplytotheEECCommission
staff,
(2)Forexample,theEuropeanSocialFundiscurrentlysupportingapilot
studyoftheextensionofpart-^timeemploymentintheFederalRepublic
ofGermany,

V/1048/79-Î»
-31-
Wewillnowoutlineandassesssomeofthepossibleschemes#
Gradualretirement
Gradualretirement meansaphased,plannedtransitionfromworking
lifetocompleteretirementinvolvingpart-timeworking#Atacertain
agetheworkerceasestoworkonafull-timebasisandoptsinstead
forapart-timejob,inwhichworkingtimeisreducedfurtherashe
orshegetsolder.Workinghourscanbereducedonadaily,weekly,
monthlyorevenannualbasis.Asimilargradualtransitiontoretirement
canbeachievedbylarge,phasedincreasesinholidayentitlement.
Acountry-wide systemofthistypealreadyexistsinSweden,whereworkers
agedbetween60and65whosatisfycertainconditionsareeligiblefor
aso-calledpartialpension.Toqualify,theymust
-acoeptanaveragereductionintheirworkingweekofatleastfivehours;
-afterthereductioninhoursnormllybeemployedpart-timeforbetween
17and35hours.
Thepartialpensionamountsasaruleto65%ofthereductioninearnings
occasionedbythechangeovertopart-timework.Itisfinanciedbya
sooialsecuritylevyonemployers.Roughly1%ofemployeesareinreceipt
ofsuchpensions.Similarschemeshavealsobeenintroducedinsome
membercountriesoftheEEC(e.g#GermanyandDenmark)undercollective
agreementsorindividual companyarrangements.
Theadvantagesanddisadvantages ofsuchasystemnaturallydependon
theprecisearrangements conoluded.Thefollowinggeneralstatements
canbemade:
Advantages :Gerontological researchhascriticizedabruptretirement
asinvolvingcertaindangers(shock-likereactions).Gradualretirement
allowsforthepossibledeclineinworkingcapacityandenablestheworker
togrowaccustomedtoextraleisure.Theeffectsonhealthandhenceontime
absentfromworkarepositive.Thelossofearningsdoesnotinvolve
hardship;socialrelationslargelyremainintact.Thereisnodropin
socialstatusasoccursforexamplewithearlyretirement.
Pisadvanta,?os:gradualretirementbringswithitthedisadvantages
attachingtopart-timeemploymentgenerally(someincreaseincosts,
reorganization ,dropininoome,lossofskillB,compulsioninsteadoffree
ohoice).Inaddition,theremaybeadeterioration inworkingconditions
consequentuponaswitchtoadifferentjobwithinthefirm,leadingto
aprogressive declineinstatus.Anincreaseintheworkrateduring
theremainingtimeatworkisalsopossible.Moreover,theeconomyas
awholelosessomeofitsreserveofskillsandexpertise.
/.

v/1048/79-af
-32-
ABwithanyformofreductioninhours,thereactionsofemployers,
aredecisiveasregardstheeffectonemployment.Judgingbyexperienoe
sofar,thenumberofyoungerworkerstakenonfull-time jobs
vacatedbypart-timeelderlyemployeesisquitehigh#
InSweden,forexample,abouthalfthefirmsmadeuppartorallthe
reductioninworkingtimebyhiringnewstaff.InGermanoigarettefirms,approximatively 60-70$ofthejobsvacatedwererefilled-although
theselargelyrelatedtoavertedredundancies whichwouldotherwisehave
beenneoessarybecauseofintroduction ofanewgenerationofmaohinery.
Part-timeemploymentforyoungpeople
Theabruptnessofthechangeovercanalsobemitigatedattheotherend
ofworkinglife.Youngpeople'sentryintojobscanbeeasedbyformsof
part-timework.IntheUSAtheproportionofyoungpeopleamongtotal
part-timeemployeesisrelativelyhigh.Morethanhalfoftheemployed
teenagers,bothmaleandfemale,areonvoluntarypart-timeschedules.
Theyaooountforalmosthalfofmaleandone-fifthoffemalevoluntary
part-timeworkers.Evenamongolder(20-24years)arelativelyhigh
proportionareonpart-timeschedules-about14(2).
IntheEuropeanCommunitypart-timeemployment amongyoungpeopleis
muchlesswidespread.Accordingtothelabourforcesamplesurveyfor
1975only6%ofallthoseworkingpart-timeareagedunder25,repre**
senting11/6ofmaleand5%offemalepart-timers.Theproportionof
youngpart-timeworkersismarkedlyabovetheCommunityaverageinthe
Netherlands ,at16%.
Meanwhile,inmostMemberStatestheyouthunemployment problemhas
worsenedinrecentyears.Atthepresenttimearound2.2millionyoung
peopleareregisteredasunemployed ,withtheemploymentoutlookforthe
nextfewyearsremaininggloomyinseveralcountries.Thepriorityin
employmentpolicyshouldofcoursebetosecurefull-timeworkforyoung
people,also,butthegrowingscaleofyouthunemployment makesiturgent
toseekalternatives forayounggenerationwithoutexperienceofwork.
(!)Cf«Friedberg-^Schönberg ,op»Cito,Annexlfpage15*
(2)Cf.Deutermann/Brown,Voluntarypart-timeworkers:agrowingpartof
thelabourforce,MonthlyLabourReview,June1978*
56

V/1048/79-EN
-33-
CertainMemberStateshaveintroducedjob-creation schemesespeciallyfor
youngpeople.WhereasinNorthAmericaseveralprogrammestocreate
temporarypart-timejobs-forstudents-areinoperation,inEurope
suohsohemesaimingatpart-timepostsarealmostunknown*Therehave
beenafewisolatedexperiments ,forexample,intheNetherlands ,with
halfdayjobsinconjunctionwithacorrespondingly reduced,rateof
unemployment benefit*Suchpractioalexperiments needtobesteppedup*
Pilotstudiesshouldbeoarriedouttoascertainwhatextracostsarise
andwhethertheycanbecoveredbytheMemberStatesoraproportionof
themassumed,bytheCommunity *AnexampleisprovidedbytheCommunity's
supportfortrainingschemescombiningpracticalworkwithfurther
education('1•altemance"schemes)*Linkedtraininginschoolandonthe
jobisaspecialformofpart-timework,althoughprimarilyontobe
judgedaccordingtopedagogicaloriteria*.TheCommissionhaspresented
specialproposalsonthesubjecttotheCouncil*(l)
Asurveymightbeconductedintohowpart-timeworkoouldbemadeaore
attraotiv«toyotmgpeople*Theattitudesanddemandsofyoungpeople
vis-i-vispart-timework,especiallyinrelationtofurthereducation
andleisure,couldbecovered*Thesurveycouldbebasedonexisting
researchoronanewstudyfinancedundertheCommission'sresearch
programmeonlabourmarketdevelopment *
\ ■
6*5.Ehcouragement ofpart-timeshifts
/Highercapitalinvestment,newtechnologies andmoreflexibleworking
hourshaveledinrecentyearstoanincreaseinshiftworking,espe­
ciallyintheservicesector*Thequestionofwhethertoencouragethis
processfurtherposesapolitioaldilemma*Onthe,onehand,extrashifts
wouldinoreaseemployment ;ontheother,shiftworkiBnot,inallits
aspects,compatiblewithanimprovementinworkingoonditions *The
Commissionhasthereforetakentheviewthat"itisonlybyreducing
thehoursworkedpershift,therebyincreasingthenumberofshifts,
thatitispossibletoreconcileemploymentrequirements andtheimpro­
vementoflivingandworkingoonditions",(2)
(1)SeeCounoilResolutionofl8December1979onlinked,workandtraining
foryoungpersons*
(2)COM(79)188final,AnnexI,page4*
jj7

ν/1048/79-Ε3ί
-34-
Introduction ofpart-timeshiftswouldchallengethetraditionalprinciple
ofshiftsofequallength.Intheoryitispossibletointroducethem
bothincontinuousandnon-continuous working.Theapproachwouldnotmean
replacingfull-timeteamsbypart–timeteamsoperatingashiftsystem.
Instead,part-timeshiftscouldreplacesystematicovertime:instead
of12hourstandbyshifts,asarecommoninthechemioalindustry,a
systemofpartandfull-timeshiftscouldbeintroduced.Incontinuously-
workplantspartof24-houroperationoouldbecoveredbyfixedpart-time
shifts.
Aswithshiftsystems,inumerablevariantsofthisnewworkingpractice
areconceivable.Theeffectswhichextrapart-timeshiftscouldhaveon
employmentarecorrespondingly diverse.Theydependonthetypeoforga­
nization(a.g.assemblylineoperationwithmulti-roleoperatives),the
lengthofBhifts,numberoffreeshifts,eto.Acontinuousshiftsystem
withapart-timeshiftoouldlooksomethinglikethis:
Apart-'timeshiftoffourorfivehoursinlengthwouldbeintroduced
onfivedaysoftheweek.Thiswouldimmediatelycreateadditionaljobs.
Apart-timeshiftwouldworkbetween20a/id25ofthetotal168hours
forwhichtheplantisworkingeachweek.Assumingfourotherteamsworking
shiftsinrotation,thelatterwouldhavetoworktheremaining148or
143hoursperweek,representing anaverageworkingweekperfull-time
workerof37or353/4hours.
Aseventhesefewexamplesshow,part-timeshiftswithinacontinuousshift
systemwouldhaveatwofoldeffect:theywouldimmediatelycreateextra
jobs,andatthesametimeopenupconsiderable scopeforreductionsin
workinghours.Undermostexistingshiftsystemsshiftsofundereight
hoursforfull-timeemployeeswouldbecomefeasible.Themedioallyrecom­
mendedshorteningofparticularly theeveningandnightshiftstosixor
sevenhoursoouldbespeededup.
Howuvernthesetheoretioal advantagesimplyaooeptanoeofconsiderable
disadvantages inpractioe,ifthesystemcanbeappliedatall.
-Therewouldbesubstantial differences betweenfullandpart-time
employeesnotonlyasregardsthelengthbut,moreimportant,the
positionofworkingperiods:theformerwouldworkrotatingshifts
withvaryingchangeovertimes,theprincipleoffive-dayweekcould
notbemaintained ,etc.Tensionscoulddevelopwithinthefirm.
[j8

V/1048/79-EN
-35-
-Incorporating part-timejobsincontinuousshift-working wouldonly
rarelybefeasible,e.g.inhighlystandardized produotionprocesses,
amongemployeeswithspecialqualifications ,etc.Part-timeworkers
areeithernotinterestedinmostjobswherecontinuousshiftworking
ispractisedortheylackthenecessarytraining.
Inintroducingextrapart-timeshiftsandincorporating themintoactual
shiftschedules,accountmustbetakenofparticularoperatingrequirements .
Thisisthereforeamatterforthetwosidesofindustry.Theyareinthe
bestpositiontojudgespecificrequirements .Furtherstudiesand
experiments arenecessarytoassessthesocialandemploymenteffectsof
suchsystems.
Thecréationof"Tandemjobs"
"Tandem"jobshavegainedcurrency,especiallyintheUSA,underthe
term"Job-sharing".Inmostcasestheyhavebeenintroducedatthe
initiativeofemployees.Sucharrangements involveusuallytwoemployees
(the"tandem")optingtoshare,ontheirownresponsibility ,the
workofafull-timejobandtheproceedsintermsofpayandfringe
benefits.Theallocationoftherightsandobligationsarisingfromtheir
oommoncontractwithemployermustbedeoidedbetweenthem.Thispattern
ofworkingdiffersfromtraditionalpart-timeworkintwoways:itspur­
poseistorestructurecareer-oriented ,professional positionswhich
cannotbereducedinterrasofhoursorsplitbetweentwopart-timeemployees;
anditoftenrequiresasignificant degreeofcooperation andcommunication
betweenthesharers,(l)Tandem"jobsareoftenofahighly-skilled
nature.Theoccupations inwhichthissystemismostcommonintheUSAare:
faoilitiesengineer,personneladministrator ,mentalhealthcounsellor,
teaoher,laboratorytechnician ,programmedirectorandcontroller.
Anumberofpilotprojectsarenowunderwayinthepublicservicesin
someAmericanstates.
Inviewoftheindividualized approachtherearenostandardprocedures
forcreating"tandem"jobs.Itisimportantthathoursofwork,dutiesand
payshouldbesettled.Onthelimitedexperiencesofaravailable,this
newformofpart-timeworkisencountering acertainamountofreluctance
onthepartofemployers.Theirobjeotionsaremainlylevelledat:
-theinflationoftheworkforoeinvolved;
-thelackofclearallocationofresponsibility anddifficultyas
regardscontrol;
(1)Cf.B.Olmsted,Job-sharingtAnemergingworkstyle,International
LabourReview,May-June1979»andB.Teriet,Job-sharing-
eineneuederArbeitsvertragsgestaltung ,Personal,N°6/1977*

V/1048/79-EN
-36-
-the increase infixed costs ;
-theunclarified issues ofsocial security andlabour law.
Positive factors foremployers include :
-greater flexibility inassigning work ;
-less absenteeism ;
-more continuity intheexecution ofwork ;
-greater incentives for qualified staff toremain with thefirm inspite
ofcompeting career and private commitments ,
"Tandem "working isstill initsinfancy .InEurope ithasonly oaught on
intheindepandant professions (group praotiow oflawyers ordootors ).The
experience gained sofardoes notpermit afinal judgment .Detailed oosinbenefil
analyses andinvestigations ofanyundesirable side-effects still have to
bemade .Sofar ,service sector jobs appear tolend themselves more to
"tandem "working .Future trials ofthis system should ofoourse notstop
atthepublic sector buttake inprivate sectors aswell (banks ,commercial
Part-time employment for problem groups onthe labour market
Schemes topromote part-time work canalso beenvisaged forspecial
problem groups onthelabour market .They could beprincipally aimed at
thelong-term unemployed ,whoBe chances ofre-employment fall thelonger
they are outofwork ,quite apart from thepsychological and financial
strain involved .Long-term unemployment isrelatively less frequent among
young people than among older workers andespecially thedisabled or
handicapped .For some years this hard core ofunemployed hasbeen growing
inmost Member States .InPrance ,forexample ,theaverage time unemployed
persons hadbeen outofwork increased from 199days inSeptember 1977
to213and236days inthecorresponding monHiof 1978 and1979 respectively .
Several Member States have launched special assistance programmes forthe
long-term unemployed .Thepossibility ofproviding more part-time jobs for
this group should beinvestigated .Thenational employment services could
adapt their guidance andplacement facilities accordingly andpossibly
t;ive financial support .Long-term unemployed persons would then atleast
remain inp^lrtial contact with working life andnotbedriven offthe
labour market completely .However ,under thepresent miles acceptance of
part–time jobcanoften involve aloss ofincome :entitlement tobenefit
inusually reduced inthecase ofrepeated unemployment when theworker
hat ;meantime been inpart-time employment .Thus unemployment benefits
need tobeadapted .services ).
(.0