- Businesses can employ workers on a variety of employment contacts including part-time and full-time
- Part-time employment is often considered to be between 1 and 30 hours a week
- Full-time employees will usually work 35+ hours a week
- Flexible working is the development of a culture where workers are able to work in a range of employment patterns (full-time, part-time, zero hours contracts, work from home etc)
Evaluating full-time contracts
- Hiring full-time workers is expensive but it generates significant benefits
The Impact of Full-time Contracts on a Business
Advantages
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Disadvantages
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- Full-time contracts encourage loyalty to the business from employees
- Having a stable and consistent workforce reduces the need for frequent hiring
- Full-time employees are often more motivated, leading to higher levels of productivity
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- Providing benefits and a steady salary to full-time employees is more expensive than hiring part-time or contract workers
- Full-time employees may be less flexible with working hours which can be a challenge in industries with fluctuating workloads
- If business demands fluctuate, having a full-time workforce may lead to overstaffing during slow periods
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Evaluating part-time contracts
The Impact of Part-time Contracts on a Business
Advantages
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Disadvantages
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- Part-time contracts can help businesses to attract and retain staff who value work-life balance
- Productivity may improve as staff feel valued, having been given the option of working part-time
- Can enhance workforce flexibility as it may be easier to schedule employees to work at busy times
- Low business costs if the worker is only needed for part-time hours
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- Part-time contracts can create challenges in terms of communication and collaboration
- Monitoring and managing part-time workers can be challenging
- E.g. an employee may be absent from a weekly meeting regularly as it is their day off
- It may be harder for part-time employees to be promoted as they have less opportunity to gain the skills needed
- Part-time employees may be less committed to the business and may be more likely to leave to get another job
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