Shetland top of the league in Scotland for part-time working

More than a third of all jobs in Shetland are part-time, according to a trade union.

With 4,200 workers aged 16-64 (34.3 per cent of the workforce) in such positions, the isles are at the top of the league in Scotland for part-time working, according to the GMB. The Scottish average is 26.3 per cent.

The figures are in a new GMB report which was published today in Coventry at the GMB National Equality Conference and are drawn from Office for National Statistics (ONS) data for July 2010-June 2011.

GMB official Kamaljeet Jandu told the conference said: “This mushrooming of part-time jobs is often at the expense of full-time employment and on too many occasions part-time working is characterised by low pay, insecurity and bad conditions.

“Employers need to recognise that the major reasons people opt for part-time working is that they need flexible hours for childcare duties or that they cannot find a full-time job. We are calling for the government to have an economic strategy based on quality job creation and growth.”