Q5. I work part time for a small company. Am I entitled to the same employment rights as my colleagues who work full time?

A. Part-timers have all the same statutory rights as full-timers. Statutory rights include things like protection from discrimination or from unfair dismissal and rights to receive a minimum wage, holiday pay, notice and redundancy pay if you qualify for them. Most statutory rights now depend only on your length of service, not the number of hours you work.

Since 1st July 2000, part-time workers also have the same contractual rights as full time workers who do a similar job. Contractual rights are terms and conditions which are agreed between you and your employer. They include things such as rate of pay and bonus schemes. Your contract may give you improvements on your statutory rights (for example better holiday or sickness arrangements) but cannot give you terms that are worse than the statutory minimum.