Departmental Staff (Hansard, 23 July 1984)

§ Mr. Gummer

This Department uses different definitions of full-time and part-time work for different purposes.

Many of the individual rights under the Employment Protection (Consolidation) Act 1978 and related legislation depend on an employee having worked a specific qualifying period of continuous employment (varying according to the right) generally with the same employer. For most of the rights an employee must have worked at least 16 hours a week or have a contract normally involving at least 16 hours a week. A person working less than 16 hours a week may qualify for these rights after being employed for at least five years for at least eight hours a week by the same employer. Definitions of full-time and part-time work are also to be found in a number of wages orders made under the Wages Councils Act 1979.

This Department also uses non-statutory definitions of full-time and part-time work where necessary in relation to special employment measures and to training and other schemes run by the Manpower Services Commission. These definitions vary according to the particular nature of individual schemes but generally distinguish between full-time and part-time work at a threshold of either 30 or 35 hours per week.

The Manpower Services Commission's employment division defines vacancies notified of less than 30 hours as part-time. This is broadly similar to the standard definition which this Department uses for the purposes of surveys relating to earnings and to numbers of employees which generally classes work of 30 hours per week or less as part-time work.

For the purpose of counting the Department's manpower, all staff who work less than normal conditioned hours but in excess of 10 hours per week are counted as half units. Staff who work less than 10 hours per week are excluded from manpower counts.

491W

I shall be happy to write to the hon. Member if he requires further information.