Human resources and organisational structures - OCRWays of working

The number of hours worked

Employees usually work in one of three ways when they are employed by a business. These are on a part-time, full-time or flexible-hours basis. Which basis is used usually depends on a mixture of business requirements and the requirements of employees.

Full time

Full time usually refers to an employee working more than 35 hours per week, often spread over five days each week. Full-time employees work in all job roles. Examples of job roles that include full-time employees are teachers, office workers, pilots, police officers, doctors and nurses.

Part time

Part time refers to an employee working for only part of the working week, or anything less than full time. Often, a part-time employee may work for two, three or four days a week. Part-time employees work in all industries but are commonly found in the retail industry, where a shift role may only be required on certain days or times.

Flexible hours and zero-hours contracts

Having flexible hours is a more modern way of working. Employees are given a set number of hours to work in a week, month or year but get to choose when they work. For example, a business might let employees start work any time between 7am and 10am, then depending on start time, finish between 3pm and 6pm.

Flexible-hours workers may work any number of hours up to full time, so they may be either full or part time. Flexible hours are often beneficial to both businesses and employees, as offering flexible working can lead to higher staff retention and better productivity, while also providing employees with flexibility in their personal lives.

Some businesses offer flexible hours in the form of zero-hours contracts. In a zero-hours contract, an employee has no specified number of hours per week. Instead, they are given work when the business requires them. This is beneficial to the business as it fills business shortages. It also provides employees with a lot of flexibility, but it can lead to uncertainty about whether they will get any work, and they may not receive a regular income.

The type of contract

When workers are given a job by a business, their work is agreed according to one of three different types of contract. The contract types are permanent, temporary and freelance.

Permanent contracts

A permanent contract is one that has no fixed end date. The employee may stay within the business until either they decide to leave or the job role no longer exists. Permanent contracts are suited to certain types of more stable, long-term job roles, such as nurses, pilots and teachers.

Temporary contracts

A temporary contract is one that has a specific end date, where the worker is only employed for a certain period of time. Temporary contracts are very common within the retail industry and in other industries with seasonal demand. For example, a high street shop would require more staff over the Christmas period, so it would employ staff on temporary contracts.

Freelance contracts

A freelance contract is usually one where a self-employed individual is engaged to carry out a specific piece of work over a defined period of time. The period of time is sometimes very short. Freelance work is very common in the creative industries, such as when a business needs an advertisement, promotional photographs or a new logo.

Location of work

Technology has had a huge impact on how businesses operate and how employees work.

Remote working

Remote working is where employees are able to work from home or work while they are mobile. This is because technology has enabled them to work remotely in the same way they would in an office. Not all roles are able to take advantage of remote working. For example, police officers and retail workers usually cannot work from home.

Remote working means that employees have more flexibility – they may not have to travel as far and are less likely to take time off because of sickness or be late. However, employees working remotely may not always work as productively away from colleagues and they may not be able to seek help easily when required.