What you should consider when working part-time in 2023

More and more people are working part-time – around 11.4 million in Germany. In 2021, every second woman and almost every eighth man in Germany worked part-time (see chart). Among them, women worked an average of 20.3 hours a week and men 17 hours a week.

The part-time rate is also increasing among executives. In 2013, for example, around five percent of managers worked reduced hours, currently it is already 14 percent. The majority of them are female.

Vacation and special payments: What applies to part-time work?

When you work part-time, you have the same proportion of vacation time as when you work full-time. For example, if you previously got 30 days of vacation with a five-day week, you keep these 30 days even if you are only in the office six hours a day instead of eight. However, if you only work part-time three days a week, you are only entitled to 18 days holiday.

Even if some employers may have reservations about part-time work: By law, a part-time employee must not be disadvantaged compared to full-time employees. Even if you work part-time, you are entitled to proportionate payments such as vacation or Christmas bonuses.

What part-time options are there?

There are many different part-time models. First of all, any employment with working hours below the standard working hours for full-time employees counts as part-time work.

Anyone who only wants to reduce their working hours to a minimum can register in full-time part-time embark This is typically 75 to 90 percent of regular time and is popular with part-time executives. At the employee level, on the other hand, it is more common to also 50 percent or more to go down. Also a minor job, about a mini job, or one Working student position count as part-time.

In addition to “regular” part-time work, there are various forms of part-time work:

There are also various models for structuring part-time work:

• Job sharing: Two people share one job. Both can also work more than 50 percent. It is important that both get along well as a team and keep in close contact.
• Job splitting: The duties of a job are shared between two workers who can work independently. In practice, there can also be mixed forms of job sharing and job splitting.
• Representative Model: An experienced, older person works together with a young manager. In this way, she can pass on her knowledge within the company.

What are the disadvantages of part-time work?

A disadvantage of part-time is the lower salary. If you reduce from 40 to 30 hours, you get 25 percent less gross salary. However, since taxes are progressive, your net salary will fall less than your gross salary, depending on your salary level and tax bracket. The net hourly wage can therefore increase.

Right to part-time work: When can part-time work be refused?

Since 2001 there has been a right to part-time work for employees. However, this is linked to three criteria: you have been working in your job for at least six months, your employer employs at least 15 people and you have not reduced your working hours in the last two years or your employer has not already submitted your application for a reduction justifiably rejected.

>> Read here: These seven part-time jobs will earn you a full-time salary

If these points are given, only operational reasons can stand in the way. However, the employer must justify exactly why part-time work is not possible.

How do I apply for part time?

An application for part-time work should be submitted to the employer in writing at least three months before the desired start. An e-mail is sufficient. You don’t have to give a reason, but a few sentences of explanation usually increase understanding on the other side.

Can I go back from part-time to full-time?

There is no “right to return” from part-time to full-time. However, your employer must take them into account for newly advertised positions. An exception is part-time bridging.

How to switch to part-time without overtime?

According to Anja Karlshaus, a major challenge of a new part-time job is that employers do not tailor the task packages accordingly. The professor of business administration and human resources management at the Cologne Business School emphasizes that every job is the result of a division of labor and can therefore also be further divided. Anyone who changes to part-time should therefore clearly define in the initial phase which tasks have to be completed and which ones have to be handed over.

It also helps to make it clear in conversations with colleagues when you are not working. Delegating, open communication and good self-management are crucial.

Those who repeatedly work overtime and take on the burden of a full-time part-time job should learn to set boundaries, say no, and raise the situation with their manager.

How does part time not become a career killer?

It is still more difficult for part-time workers to get promoted or have a career. “Part-time work often goes hand in hand with increased working hours, and there are two big traps here,” warns Karlshaus. “Firstly, you save on training and further education, or secondly, you save on opportunities to network and, for example, skip lunch with colleagues.”

In part-time you are also often less visible to colleagues. One’s own output is often not seen in relation to the input. According to Karlshaus’ research, this career obstacle does not necessarily have to be the case, after all, even Bill Gates and Elon Musk ran their companies part-time. If there were more part-time role models, even at a higher level, then part-timers would also be less likely to compare – or be compared – to full-timers.

Anja Karlshaus emphasizes that a part-time manager can even offer opportunities for your own team. A part-time manager is forced to give up more responsibility and delegate more tasks, which increases the exchange among the team.

Why do many women and few men work part-time?

The gender gap in part-time work is large (see graphic). Women often do most of the unpaid childcare and housework and reduce their hours to do so. Since women earn less money on average because, for example, they work more often in sectors with lower wages, the financial incentive for them to work part-time is even greater. This is how the career gap between the sexes is growing. Tax advantages such as spouse splitting also favor an unequal distribution of gainful employment among married couples.

“Men who want part-time work are often less accepted than, for example, women who have just become mothers,” criticizes Karlshaus. In the case of men, the desire to work part-time would often be chalked up as a lack of professional motivation. “He probably has no career ambitions,” it would say.

Where are the best part-time opportunities?

“In principle, part-time work can be implemented anywhere, but not always according to the same model,” emphasizes Anja Karlshaus. Traditionally, there is a particularly large amount of part-time work at employee level in sectors with a high proportion of women.

Even in areas with a younger workforce and flat hierarchies, part-time work is more often the norm. Especially in the service sector and in public administration, shorter working hours are already the norm.

How much pension will I get in old age with part-time work?

Those who work part-time receive less salary and can pay less into the pension fund. Will part-time work become a risk factor for poverty in old age? A simplified calculation example: Johannes is a mechanical engineer from Karlsruhe and earns an average of 60,000 euros gross per year. The 45-year-old has worked full-time for 22 years, but now wants to spend more time with his children and less time in the office. If he reduces his working hours to 30 hours a week for the remaining 20 years of work, his gross annual salary drops to 45,000 euros. His monthly pension will later be reduced by around 250 euros and would be around 1854 euros. If he worked full-time, he would get 2104 euros instead.

>> Read also: This is how the statutory pension is calculated

Another example: The 35-year-old computer scientist Pia earns an average of 70,000 euros gross in Dresden and has already worked for twelve years. She now wants to go part-time for five years and work 20 hours a week during this time before going full-time again. In bridging part-time work, her monthly salary drops to 35,000 euros gross. She later foregoes a monthly pension of around 148 euros: Instead of 2488 euros, after 42 years of work with five years of part-time work, she would only receive a statutory pension of 2340 euros per month.

Both examples illustrate the difference, not the absolute pension amount and do not take into account salary increases.

Reducing working hours: What other ways are there?

In addition to part-time work, there are more and more “hidden” part-time models with which employees can flexibly divide and reduce their working hours:

• On sabbatical or sabbatical is a temporary break from work that more and more companies are offering voluntarily. This can be organized, for example, as unpaid special leave through a long-term work account (keyword: “part-time invest”) or through wage waivers in the part-time model. Civil servants are entitled to a sabbatical.
• four day week and reduced full-time: A few employers have already reduced regular full-time hours. In the metal and electrical industry, for example, there is a 35-hour week in many companies. In Germany, some small companies or businesses have introduced a four-day week, but this is the exception rather than the rule.
• That “Purchasing” additional vacation days: For a correspondingly lower salary, you can buy additional vacation days if your employer offers this, such as Deutsche Bahn.

Going part-time – what do you need to consider?

In principle, there are many ways to work part-time for a shorter or longer period. Part-time work is increasingly being encouraged by companies and is also becoming more common among executives. Young fathers are also more likely to work part-time. Nevertheless, you should ask yourself beforehand whether certain career jumps and part-time promotions will be more difficult for you – and what you could do about it. On the other hand, anyone who works part-time to continue their education or become self-employed can benefit financially in the long term.

You should also consider a loss of income and pension due to part-time work. The part-time calculator from the Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs offers initial orientation. Anyone who can generally afford less income must ultimately ask themselves what is more important in the respective phase of life: time or money.

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