Part-time work in European companies : establishment survey on working time 2004-2005

This report analyses the usage of part-time work in companies across the European Union and documents the extent to which it is practised. Based on a large-scale, representative survey carried out in establishments with 10 or more employees in 21 European countries, the report looks at different national policies having an influence on the take-up of part-time work. It also examines variations in the incidence of part-time work between men and women, as well as profiling part-time workers in terms of pay, career prospects and sectoral distribution. The report concludes that the impact of part-time work on employees' work-life balance depends on the practical handling of such arrangements at company level - such as the degree of autonomy granted to employees working part time or the prevailing legal conditions - as well as on the specific conditions of reversibility and work organisation.