Part-time working is an increasing feature of the Irish labour market, particularly in the retail sector. In the Republic of Ireland, as is the case across Europe, part-time workers are predominantly women. However, 88% of people working in the Irish labour market are employed on a full-time basis (the European Union average is 83%).
The Protection of Employees (Part-Time Work) Act 2001 implemented European Union (EU) Directive 97/81/EC concerning the framework agreement on part-time work. This Act requires equal treatment of part-time workers and their full-time colleagues. The Act generally prohibits the penalisation of employees who refuse to transfer from part-time to full-time work or vice versa. It did not deal with the obstacles inhibiting employees from accessing part-time work in the first place.
