Whilst the Covid pandemic is becoming a somewhat distant and surreal memory, it did cause many of us to re-evaluate our priorities. Many more have embraced a flexible working pattern and enjoy the freedom of working from home. Others have decided to focus on other interests or spend more time with their family and reduce their working hours.

But does such a reduction cost more than the pro-rata loss of earnings? With the data collection phase for this year’s salary survey of the IP profession just going live, I thought I’d analyse the impact of working part-time, specifically once qualified and working in private practice in the UK, using the data we collected in 2024.

Let’s start with the sample:

61% of part-time employees were female, whereas females represent only 39% in full-time employment. Of the part-time workers 67% had taken a career break, whereas this was true for only 26% of those working full time. 100% of the part-time workers that had taken a career break were female, 91% of which took the break for maternity / adoption leave. For those working full-time, the majority of those that had taken a career break were male (56%) and only 20% of these took a career break for paternity / adoption leave.

I would think it is safe to say that family circumstance is the most prominent driver for reduced working hours.

Now let’s turn our attention to actual income where I have converted the part-time salaries into their full-time equivalent for ease of comparison. Diving straight in at a base salary level, the pendulum swings both ways depending on level of experience.

The addition of other benefits such as pension, healthcare and car allowances to obtain the average base package (below) reinforces this position whilst also widening the gaps between part-time and full-time pay.

So far, so good. Yes, there’s a difference in income between part-time and full-time employees but it varies by experience as to who is better off and thus is as likely to be a result of sector and personal experience as it is to be a direct correlation of working hours. It is only once we add in bonuses that the situation becomes considerably clearer.

In all but one area, once bonuses were included, those in full-time employment were better off than their part-time counterparts, often considerably so. Is this down to the eligibility requirements for bonus schemes – 39% of part-time respondents had no bonus scheme, while this only applied to 15% of those working full-time? Or perhaps targets were less achievable in a shorter working week – only 11% of those working part-time felt their billable targets were “very” achievable versus 22% working full-time.
The value of the bonuses that were received were also far more significant for those in full-time employment with 50% earning up to a 10% bonus and a further 18% earning bonuses of up to a 30%. Whereas for those working part-time hours no-one earned more than a 10% bonus with only 22% earning up to a 5% bonus and a further 22% earning a bonus of between 6% and 10%.

The ability to earn bonuses will undoubtedly be impacted by the hours worked to achieve both personal and company targets. This makes sense when 50% of those working part-time perform only their contracted hours and not a minute more. Only 22% of full-time employees did the same. To sum up, whilst base earnings are less likely to be impacted if one decides to reduce one’s hours, bonus remuneration is almost certainly going to suffer.

But money isn’t everything, right? What are the benefits of working reduced hours – in addition to a better work / life balance? For starters, only 6% of those working part-time are considering taking a career break at some point, whereas this is 17% for full time employees. Second, there’s less managerial responsibility with 76% of part-time workers not having any direct reports, only 52% of those employed full-time can say this. And finally, there’s a reduced workload: 45% of full-time workers reported an increase in their workload, while only 24% of part-time employees indicated this.

In summary, it is my opinion that no, part-time hours do not pay. But then, money is rarely the reason for reducing one’s hours’ so does it really matter?

If you feel the above doesn’t represent your situation accurately why not set the record straight in this year’s survey. Or if you feel it does, why not have your say anyway to keep it balanced?