Job-sharing
This article summarises the main features of job-sharing - a special form of part time work, which allows two people to fill one job.
Each person has a permanent part time post. You split the hours, pay, holidays and benefits between you according to how many hours you each work.
The Labour Force Survey from Spring 2004 (still the most recent statistics available) indicates that, in Scotland, 23,000 women (2.3% of all women employees) were job-sharing. The number of men job-sharing was too small to publish an estimate.
The main types of job-share
Shared responsibility
- Duties are not divided and job-share partners are interchangeable.
- Works well for jobs where the work flows continuously.
- Demands a high level of communication between partners.
- Partners need to co-operate closely and should be well matched.
Divided responsibility
- Each partner has their own case-load or project to focus on at work.
- Works well if the work can be split into different client groups or different projects.
- Can be suitable if partners don't know each other very well.
Unrelated responsibility
· Partners do completely separate tasks, but work in the same department.
· More like two part-time jobs running in tandem.
· Can fit situations where the partners have different skills.
There are various options for dividing hours of work. Most commonly they are divided 50:50. Benefits such as holidays and pay are shared pro-rata, according to each partner’s individual entitlement.
The most common job sharing systems
1. One partner works the first half of the week, until Wednesday lunchtime, the other partner works the second half of the week.
Advantages:
- simple and regular pattern
- colleagues and clients soon get to know which partner will be working on any one day
- appointment diaries can be filled in advance
- can suit parents who need regular child-minders.
Disadvantages:
- if there are regular weekly meetings, the same partner misses them all
- the partner who works on a Monday will get most of the public holidays and must agree to work extra days to balance this.
2. One partner works mornings only, the other works afternoons.
Has the same advantages as the above system.
Disadvantages:
- lack of continuity can disrupt your concentration
- if it is not possible to complete a task in a half-day, it can be hard to return to it the following half-day
- travel time and costs are the same as if you were working full time.
3. Week about
Less common and not always popular with people who have domestic/childcare commitments.
4. Alternate weeks starting mid-week
Usually each partner works from Wednesday until the following Tuesday, then the other takes over. This works best in a job where the partners are interchangeable, with no division of client groups or duties.
Advantages
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neither partner misses all regular weekly events, such as team meetings
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you share any blips in the company hours, such as early closing on a Friday
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you have a six days’ stretch away from work every week.
Disadvantages
Common factors
No matter what system you choose, you should consider the following.
- It can help to build in a period of overlap (usually a half-day) so that you can discuss with your partner any shared duties or problems, or both attend regular team meetings.
- If you rarely meet your partner, you must have a good communication system: written notes, phone-calls or email.
- If you are already in a post and wish to apply to job share, you might have to find a suitable partner yourself. However, more organisations now have job-sharing agreements which allow them to advertise a half job.
Useful Contacts
Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (formerly Department of Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, BERR)
Web: http://www.bis.gov.uk/ Former Web: http://www.berr.gov.uk/ will continue to operate for some time
Direct Gov: http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/Employees//index.htm
Working Families: http://www.workingfamilies.org.uk/asp/family_zone/fs_fw1_flexwork.asp
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