Job share how does it work

This means that the job share employees must be able to work collaboratively and clearly communicate with each other, not only over work matters but also practical issues like annual leave cover. Save except where the job sharing employees work entirely independently of each other, they must be sufficiently compatible for this arrangement to work effectively. Further, if one half of a job share partnership leaves your employment, you will be faced with the difficult task of advertising the remaining unfilled portion of a job as a part-time position, and finding another job share partner who not only wants to work part-time, but is likely to work well with any existing employee.

A job share arrangement can also pose a number of legal issues that must be given due consideration, preferably from the outset. Under this type of flexible working arrangement, the pay and other contractual entitlements are allocated to each job share employee on a pro rata basis.

That said, each of the employees must be treated as an individual in respect of their statutory and contractual rights and responsibilities. In some cases, this can result in additional cost implications associated with their individual employment rights. Further, as a part-time worker, job share employees should not normally be treated less favourably than their full-time counterparts by reason of working fewer contracted hours.

This means that part-time workers should, with certain exceptions, receive the pro rata equivalent to the same contractual rights and entitlements as a comparable full-time worker. This can include, for example, salary rates, sick pay, annual leave, any form of parental leave, and selection for redundancy. In some cases, a job may be advertised from the outset as a job share. In others, an existing employee may be looking for a more flexible working arrangement. As an employer, you do not have to grant an employee a job share arrangement, especially given that this involves the cooperation and agreement of two members of staff.

However, an employee is entitled to make a flexible working request where they have worked for you continuously for at least 26 weeks. This request must be considered in a reasonable manner and should only be refused if there is a good business reason for so doing, especially where two employees have already identified each other as suitable job share partners and agreed in advance how they will split their working hours. Given that the job role will still be covered in full, albeit by two different employees, you may be limited as to the basis upon which a job share can be reasonably refused, although some roles may simply not be suitable for job sharing or create too many cost implications for your business.

Job sharing can be very rewarding for both your business and the employees involved, but for this type of flexible working arrangement to work it will require a degree of flexibility and trust, as well as good teamwork and management. The following practical tips for employers can help you to effectively manage and maintain productive and successful job share arrangements:. A job share arrangement can present various practical and legal challenges for both employers and employees.

However, with the right approach and the right partnership — where the two job share employees are willing to cooperate, communicate and, where necessary, compromise — you can create a highly beneficial working arrangement for everyone involved. Working closely with our employment lawyers , we provide comprehensive advice on the options open to you as an employer and practical support through discussions with relevant employees. For help and advice, speak to our experts.

A job share works by two employees sharing the same role and responsibilities that one person would ordinarily undertake in a single full-time job, but on a part-time basis. This is typically done by dividing the total number of hours that need to be worked in a number of different ways, for example, working mornings or afternoon shifts, working half the week each or working alternate weeks. There are various advantages and disadvantages of job sharing, for both an employer and employees.

This could include increased productivity due to the wider range of skills and experience provided by two employees, as well as increased employee engagement and retention by allowing staff a degree of flexibility in their working commitments. A job share is a type of part-time working that requires cooperation and liaison between two employees. In contrast, part-time working is typically a self-contained role. By submitting, you agree to our Privacy Policy.

London Cambridge Aberdeen Manchester Birmingham. Call Immigration Audit. Immigration Training. Right to Work Consultancy. Create a personalised content profile. Measure ad performance. Select basic ads. Create a personalised ads profile. Select personalised ads. Apply market research to generate audience insights. Measure content performance. But they soon realized that this division felt artificial and ineffective.

Eventually, they decided to carve out two buckets of work: immediate requests from client teams, which required a response within hours, and longer term projects. Immediate requests are now resolved by whoever is available and online at the time. While they were initially diligent about keeping those around them apprised of how they divided the work, their bosses and co-workers now trust them to sort it out.

There have been unexpected benefits to sharing the job as well. For example, since their time is limited, they both push each other to focus on the most important priorities. Case study 2: Put respect first Several years back, Ryan Frischmann decided he wanted to get into software development so he applied for a job as a lead developer at a small start-up in Rochester.

During his interview, he learned that the role would be shared with a current employee who had been diagnosed with terminal cancer. The idea was that they would do the same job until his co-worker got too sick to work or passed away. Ryan recognized that this was a unique situation but he was willing to give it a try.

The arrangement allowed his colleague the flexibility he needed to continue working and gave Ryan the opportunity to learn from a more experienced colleague. Successful job sharing arrangements usually place responsibility for a functional arrangement on the individuals sharing the job job partners rather than the supervisor. Both job partners should agree up front that if one of the job partners is not meeting the needs of the organization or decides to leave the job, the other will revert to a full-time schedule, permanently or until a replacement job partner is found within a reasonable time frame.

This is considered a voluntary resignation and does not qualify the individual for position discontinuation and staff transition benefits. Elizabeth began to consider job sharing when her mother became ill. She realized that because of personal responsibilities, she no longer wanted to work on a full time basis but still wanted to be able to preserve her career skills and status within her profession.