The website will undergo maintenance on Thursday 18 December 2025 from 7:00PM to 10:00PM, to enhance system performance. During this period, some services may be temporarily unavailable. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.
The website will undergo maintenance on Sunday 21 November 2025 from 8:00AM to 2:00PM, to enhance system performance. During this period, some services may be temporarily unavailable. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

Part-Time Work

What are common part-time arrangements to consider, and how to implement them successfully.

What Is Part-Time Work

An arrangement in which employees work reduced hours on a regular basis. Part-time employees normally work less than 35 hours in a week, including those who work less than a full day all week or only some days per week. Examples include organisations employing part-time employees to provide coverage of duties during peak periods or when work needs to be done only at particular times (e.g. retail).

Increasingly, employers are offering part-time work options to back-to-work women and retirees where part-time work is preferred or the only work option.

What Are Common Part-Time Arrangements

It is common for organisations to adopt a combination of the approaches below to suit their business and employees' needs.

Work Shorter Days

Under this arrangement, employees work a full work week but shorter days (e.g. half days). The management and employees have to agree on the new hours based on the organisation's peak hours, employee's selected hours, or a combination of both.

In addition, both parties must agree on the duration of lunch breaks. Part-time employees may sometimes have shorter lunch breaks due to shorter working hours. Employees may also have revised rest hours and work during lunch breaks to ensure a continuation of operations.


Work Fewer Days Weekly

Under this arrangement, employees work fewer days per week than a full-time employee, although they may cover the same hours as a full-time employee on each day. Most organisations have two or more part-time employees. In such cases, companies can pair employees so that each employee works alternate days.

Employee A works on Monday, Wednesday and Friday on even weeks, and Tuesday and Thursday on odd weeks. Employee B works on Tuesdays and Thursdays on even weeks, and Monday, Wednesday and Friday on odd weeks.

Above: Example schedule where two part-time employees work on alternate days

If there is only one part-time employee, this person usually works on the company's peak day. To avoid misunderstandings, management should clarify issues related to specific day(s) of work.

 

Work During Weekends (to Cover High-Volume Periods)

This arrangement is usually adopted by companies that operate all seven days a week, or companies with peak periods during weekends (e.g. food and beverage or retail outlets).

How to Determine the Suitability of Part-Time Work

There are many industries where part-time work and staggered time are especially relevant. However, in cases where both arrangements are acceptable, a part-time arrangement usually yields more benefit – especially in industries where operations occur at a fixed time, or when customer flow peaks over a certain period of time.

To determine the suitability of part-time work in your organisation, you should:

If barriers to part-time work cannot be resolved, you may consider other types of flexible work arrangements.

You may also like