Part-time workers in local councils and schools are being undervalued, overworked and used to fill full-time posts lost as a result of draconian Government cuts, is the stark finding of a new survey carried out by UNISON, the UK’s largest public service union.
The survey of more than 2,600 part-time workers – who make up around 60% of all employees in local government and schools and 91% of whom are women – reveals unpaid overtime amongst part-time workers in schools and councils has become commonplace. 39% of respondents work up to two hours of unpaid overtime each week, with 12.5% working 3-4 hours and almost 10% working 5-10 additional hours for no pay.
20% of respondents revealed they are covering the work of a redundant or vacant post as well as their own, with almost half a million posts slashed from local government alone under the Tory-led Government.
Many workers who are paid only for part-time hours are covering full-time posts as a consequence of redundancies.
UNISON Head of Local Government, Heather Wakefield, said:
“Part-time workers are the lifeblood of local government and schools and local services would collapse without them. Yet they are facing an all-out assault on their pay, conditions and hours of work. They are routinely used to fill full-time gaps in the workforce left by redundancies, but often with no security of contract, hours or income, and no overtime pay.”
The study also reveals that a high proportion of staff who previously worked more than 31 hours have seen their hours slashed. The proportion working 35-36 hours has plummeted from 40% to just 1.4% since 2010. There have also been major cuts in hours for those working above 27 hours.
Almost one million workers – constituting 61% of the total local government workforce – are classified as working part-time because they work less than the standard working week of 37 hours, or 36 hours in London. These workers are not paid enhanced overtime rates until they reach full-time hours, allowing unscrupulous employers to exploit them by offering term-time only contracts in schools, or contracted hours that are slightly lower than full-time in local government.
Heather Wakefield went on to say:
“This survey also highlights the start of a trend in zero hour contracts in councils and the high degree of flexibility required of many part-time workers. This can undermine the very reason for them working part-time in the first place, to care for children and other relatives, domestic work in the home or some work-life balance.”
The majority of part-time workers are concentrated in low paid jobs, and many have more than one job to survive because full time work is not available. 75% of those surveyed earn between the full-time equivalent of £13,505 and £23,151, well below median UK earnings of £27,000.
With so many workers concentrated in low paid jobs, with no possibility for full-time hours, 9% of those surveyed revealed they have a second job, while a small number work three jobs. These are often for the same council or school, but are not aggregated for National Insurance or pension purposes.
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Notes to Editors
The UNISON Local Government Conference is being held at the Brighton Centre on Sunday 15 June and Monday 16 June 2014.
