A best case scenario? Non-manual part-time work and job-sharing in UK local government in the 1990s

Abstract

Local authorities in the UK have been described as “model employers” of part-time and job-share employees, with the needs of employees themselves, particularly women with family responsibilities, acting as the primary driver for the use of reduced hours working patterns. To investigate how far this “exemplar” label applied in practice, and to what extent this overcame the well-known drawbacks of reduced hours working patterns, the causes and consequences of working reduced hours amongst professional, managerial and administrative staff were investigated in a London borough in the mid-1990s. It was found that the “model employer” label was applicable, but it was under threat from an emerging emphasis on a demand-led, service-driven use of reduced hours work. It is argued that there is a strong business case for making more creative use of reduced hours work synthesising “supply-side” and “demand-side” needs, and that this change in approach will therefore be counterproductive.

Key Words:

• Reduced hours work
• part-time work
• job-sharing
• local government
• work and family