Job Share

Job sharing is an arrangement in which two people take joint responsibility for a full time post, sharing the duties of the post by mutual agreement between themselves and the appropriate manager. Each person has a proportion of the work/pay/holidays and other benefits associated with the post. Employees will not be treated any less favourably than other staff employed on a full time basis.

Job sharing requires an element of liaison between the partners in order to fulfil their joint responsibilities. The amount of liaison required varies according to the nature of the post. Part time posts are usually regarded as self-contained. The emphasis with job sharing is on the formal commitment between the two post holders to develop a close relationship in which they will jointly fulfil the job aims and objectives.

The appropriate manager in association with the job share partners determines the way in which each post is shared. Agreement is needed on the hours that will be worked and the duties that will be undertaken by each partner. It is important that the division of the post is clear, particularly in the event of any disputes about performance. During work hours each job share partner may deal with the full range of duties of the post. Alternatively there may be a division of tasks e.g. full time tasks can be divided, or job share partners may take responsibility for specific tasks according to the needs and demands of the business.

A successful job share requires communication between the job share partners. An adequate period of overlap will be negotiated so job share partners have the time and opportunity to liaise during working hours.

Any overtime for individual parties will be paid at the usual hourly rate. This means that if one job share partner provides cover during the other’s absence, he/she will only receive their standard hourly rate, or time off in lieu for the additional hours worked.

The appropriate management will agree with the job share partners how the job share hours should apply to each partner.

On occasion, Azure may require the partners to the job share to provide cover in the absence of the other. If this is necessary it will be discussed at the time of appointment and will, where possible, be reflected in the conditions attached to the post.

If one partner leaves, the other partner will be offered the post on a full time basis. If he/she does not wish to work the hours of the full time post it will be advertised as a ‘Job Share’. If advertising does not produce a suitable partner who is considered compatible with the other partner, the remaining job share partner will be advised that it is necessary to re-advertise the post on a full time basis and that every effort will be made to transfer the remaining individual to an alternative part time post. In the event that this is unsuccessful and Azure feels it is inappropriate to convert the post to substantive part time posts, then the remaining job share partner’s employment will be terminated with due consultation and notice.

If the job share arrangement, for whatever reason, is not working, then the appropriate management has the right to terminate the job share arrangement. If this happens the individuals will be consulted with. It may be possible to offer the opportunity of redeployment to another post within Azure and all options will be fully explored and considered. If there are no suitable post for redeployment then the employment of one or both of the job share partners may be terminated with due notice.

The total hours worked will not exceed the hours for the already established post, however, this arrangement will allow job sharers to be more flexible in the way their actual hours are worked.

Although job sharers are not automatically required to increase their hours to cover their partner’s absence during periods of holidays or sickness, there may be occasions where additional hours may be required. These will be agreed between the job sharers and their manager.

Both job share partners will be employed on the same salary scale with pay pro-rata to the hours each job share partner is contracted to work. It may be, however, that the job share partners are entitled to different incremental points on the same scale in accordance with Azure’s grading structure.

Annual leave will be calculated on a pro-rata basis according to days/hours worked, but will not exceed the total length of entitlement for a full time post.

These will be divided on a pro-rata basis. However, should the working arrangements provide an unequal share of public and statutory holidays to one individual, job sharers will be expected to adjust working arrangements to achieve a fair and appropriate allocation of these holidays.

Other terms and conditions attached to the post for example sick leave entitlements, pension scheme, maternity benefits, etc, will be dealt with through Azure’s main terms and conditions of employment relevant to the grade, hours, length of service etc, as with other non-job share employees.