An investigation by the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) has unveiled the fact that part time workers are failing to realise their potential due to outdated assumptions about the nature of such employment.

The report has highlighted in particular the situation of women who often find themselves in part time work in order to juggle with childcare arrangements.

Women part-time workers are earning 40 per cent less per hour than men working full time – about the same pay gap as 30 years ago – and employers are failing to make best use of their considerable skills and experience.

Jenny Watson, acting chair of the EOC, said: " Many employers who routinely update equipment and plug into the latest management thinking are still stuck in the past in how they think about work, confining flexibility to a 'working-time ghetto' of low pay, and low prospects.

With these out-dated attitudes, it's no surprise that the part-time pay gap is stuck at a shocking 40 per cent - a figure that hasn't shifted for 30 years."

She added: "The best employers are leading the way, moving away from 'presenteeism' to giving people choice in how they work simply because they recognise it's good for business, fitting the demands of a 24/7 world and improving staff morale. But the pace of change is still slow."


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