Is it ever fine to work part time?

1 April 2009

1 minute read

Should employers be asking staff to work fewer hours in a bid to cut costs?

Insurer Medibank Private is shifting 140 full-time staff to part-time positions as part of its merger with an occupational health services firm.

With takeovers also threatening jobs in the banking sector, is downgrading your hours a viable alternative to redundancy?

The Community and Pubic Sector Union doesn't seem too pleased. A spokesman comments: "These are radical plans and far more extreme than Australian companies in legitimate financial trouble."

What do you think of the Medibank move? Is it an innovative, job-saving proposal, or a cynical corporate ploy to slash wages in the midst of a recession? And will larger financial firms be tempted to follow suit?

AUTHORAnonymous

Insider Comment

Ro
Robert
2 April 2009
nice to even have a job
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Da
David G
1 April 2009
It's not a viable option for front-office revenue generators. The fewer hour they do, the less money they make and the more likely they are to lose their jobs!!!
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Be
Belinda
1 April 2009
Medi-who? Who cares - only low-level staff will be affected by such plans. If the banks do it, it will for call-centre people and the like.
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ji
jinx
1 April 2009
It depends on how desperate you are - whether you could get a full-time job elsewhere.
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