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THE UNITED KINGDOM has caught up with the rest of the European Union on rights for part time workers. Regulations were layed before Parliament on 3 May and are due to take effect on 1 July 2000. They are intended to implement the EU directive on part time workers which was originally agreed in 1997. This subject was first dealt with by the European employers, public sector employers and union federations, (the social partners) UNICE, CEEP and ETUC. Anxious to follow up their agreement on parental leave (see European Review issue 9) the organisations aimed to eliminate discrimination against part-time workers in the area of employment protection, and make this form of employment more attractive to employers and employees alike.
The stated purpose of the agreement is 'the removal of discrimination against part-time workers' and the improvement of the quality of part-time work. It also seeks to facilitate the development of part-time work on a voluntary basis and 'contribute to the flexible organisation of working time in a manner which takes account of the needs of employers and workers'. The other EU Member States had a maximum of three years from the end of 1997 to implement the directive but because of the previous government's Maastricht opt-out the U.K. followed a different timetable. The Employment Relations Act 1999 gave the trade and industry secretary powers to make regulations to prevent discrimination against part-time workers and to issue a supporting code of practice. In January, the UK government initiated consultation on draft regulations designed to prevent part-time employees being treated less favourably than full-time employees in respect of pay, pensions, training, holidays and redundancy.
The draft 'Part-time Employees (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2000' was introduced by the minister Stephen Byers who commented 'We want to establish minimum standards of fairness for part-timers ... without imposing unnecessary new bureaucratic burdens on business'. The unions however were less impressed, John Monks, general secretary of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) criticised the government's 'minimalist approach' and its failure to issue a code of practice. He said that the regulations needed 'toughening up'. In particular, the TUC was 'unhappy that the Regulations will not include casual workers who are not legally employees'. In the event, when the consultation period was over and the regulations published, changes had been made which appeared to take into account some of the TUC's objections. In a significant alteration, their coverage was extended from 'employees' to 'workers'. A number of trade unions had received legal advice that it was 'strongly arguable' that the narrower definition of 'employee' (i.e. those working under a contract of employment) contained in the draft Regulations would not properly implement the original Directive and was vulnerable to legal challenge. The broader definition means, for example, that casual workers are now covered by the regulations.
However, some union concerns were not addressed. The statutory rights for part-time workers rely on the existence of a comparable full-time worker. For most part-timers it is thought that such 'comparators' will not be found so the T.U.C. wanted the regulations to allow for hypothetical comparators as in the 1975 Sex Discrimination Act. The government has not allowed this and estimates that only 1 million part-timers have a comparable full-time employee, of which 400,000 should benefit through increases in pay and non-wage benefits. There are approximately 6 million part-time workers in the UK - 80% of whom are women. However it believes that all will benefit from added security as a result of the regulations. The biggest impact is likely to be in wholesale and retail. Whilst no code of practice has been issued there is a best practice provision which covers the intention of the EU directive to widen access to part-time work and make it more accessible.
New statutory rights for part timers under the Regulations
The Regulations are available from The Stationery Office, on 0870-600-5522, price £4
AS REPORTED IN our last issue, Dutch unions have done away with their previous pay restraint. According to the main federation, FNV, settlements are now running at 4% whilst inflation is forecast at 2.2%. Unions have also negotiated 'made to measure' agreements where workers can choose from a list of benefits even including, at recruitment consultants Dynamicon, shopping, dog-walking, washing, cleaning and gardening !
IN PORTUGAL THERE has been a series of strikes recently particularly in the rail industry where the government has invoked emergency powers to force unions to guarantee a minimum level of service. Meanwhile in the Civil Service the government has implemented a 2.5% pay increase despite its rejection by the trade unions.
THE FRENCH white collar union SNB-CGC has had an agreement it made with employers in the banking sector annulled by the Court of Appeal. Unions that were not a party to the agreement had claimed that it was contrary to the 'Aubry' laws on reduced working time.
UNDER PRESSURE from the ÖGB federation the Austrian government has announced that sick leave provisions for blue and white collar workers are to be harmonised although the union has called the measure 'narrow-gauge'.
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