Part-time workers' rights

If you work part-time, the law says you must not be treated less favourably than a comparable full-time colleague just because you work fewer hours. That covers your hourly pay, holiday, pension, sick pay, training and chances of promotion. The rule comes from the Part-time Workers (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2000 and applies to workers as well as employees.

Who you compare yourself with

The protection works by comparison. You compare your treatment with a full-time worker who:

• works for the same employer
• is on the same type of contract (for example, both permanent)
• does broadly similar work, taking account of qualifications and skills

Usually that person works at the same site, but if there is nobody suitable there, you can use someone at another site. In the public sector this is often straightforward: a part-time band 5 staff nurse can compare with a full-time band 5 staff nurse on the same ward.

If your employer treats you worse than that person and the only reason is that you are part-time, the treatment is unlawful unless the employer can objectively justify it. Justification is hard to show for basic terms such as hourly pay.

Pay and the pro rata principle

The basic rule is pro rata. If you work half the hours, you get half the full-time salary, at the same hourly rate. National pay structures make this easy to check. Your band, spine point or pay range is set at the full-time equivalent, and your actual pay is that figure multiplied by your hours over the full-time hours.

Say you are on an NHS band 4 entry point in England, £28,392 full-time from 1 April 2026, and you work 22.5 of the standard 37.5 hours. Your annual pay is £28,392 × 22.5 ÷ 37.5, which is £17,035. The pro rata salary guide shows how to do the sum for other contracts, and the take-home pay calculator shows what that leaves after tax.

Allowances and enhancements should also be pro rata or paid in the same way. A part-time teacher with a TLR, for example, normally gets the allowance in proportion to their contract. Unsocial hours payments in the NHS are paid for the hours actually worked in the unsocial period.

Pay progression should not be slower because you are part-time. Increments based on length of service count years in post, not hours worked.

Holiday

Part-time workers get the same statutory 5.6 weeks of holiday, pro rata to the days they work. If you work three days a week, that is 5.6 × 3 = 16.8 days. Contractual leave in the NHS, councils and the Civil Service is also pro rata, and bank holidays are usually handled as a pro rata allowance so that part-timers whose days off fall on a Monday are not left short. The part-time holiday guide works through the examples.

Pensions

Part-time staff must be allowed into the same pension scheme on the same terms. In the main public sector schemes, contribution rates are set by your actual pensionable pay, not the full-time equivalent. In the NHS Pension Scheme from 1 April 2026, for example, pay up to £28,854 attracts the 6.5% rate, so a part-time worker on a lower actual salary may pay a lower percentage than a full-timer on the same band. The part-time pensions guide covers each scheme.

Training, promotion and redundancy

You should have the same access to training as full-time colleagues. If training takes place on a day you do not work, your employer should consider how you can attend, and some policies pay part-timers for the extra hours.

Promotion criteria must not exclude part-time staff, and a part-time worker selected for redundancy because of their hours has a strong claim. Selection criteria that score people on availability or hours worked can be indirectly discriminatory as well, particularly against women, who make up most of the part-time workforce in schools and the NHS.

If you think you are being treated less favourably

You have the right to ask your employer for a written statement of the reasons for any treatment you think is less favourable. Your employer must reply in writing within the deadline set in the regulations. The statement can be used as evidence later.

Start by raising it informally with your manager or HR. If that does not work, raise a formal grievance, and involve your union rep early. If the issue is not resolved, you can bring a tribunal claim; you must contact ACAS for early conciliation first, and since 1 October 2026 the tribunal time limit is six months. See the grievance guide.

Asking to go part-time

The right not to be treated less favourably applies once you are part-time. It does not give you a right to switch. To change your hours, you make a flexible working request, which you can do from day one. The flexible working guide explains the process.