Part-Time Working Code of Practice: What Employers Need to Know

If you employ part-time staff, or if you’ve ever received a request from an employee to reduce their hours – the landscape just shifted beneath your feet.

On 22 January 2026, the Workplace Relations Commission’s revised Code of Practice on Access to Part-Time Working came into legal effect. For the first time since 2006, employers have updated, statutory guidance on how to handle part-time working arrangements, requests to move between full-time and part-time roles, and the practical realities of managing a flexible workforce.

For SMEs, hospitality operators, and owner-managed businesses across Kerry, this isn’t just a compliance update. It’s a strategic moment that will shape how you attract talent, retain experienced staff, and manage your workforce over the next decade.

So what does it actually mean – and what should you do next?

What Has Changed?

The revised Code doesn’t create a statutory right to part-time work. That’s important to understand from the outset.

What it does do is set out best-practice expectations for how employers should respond when an employee requests to move from full-time to part-time work (or vice versa), and how to build part-time working into your recruitment, training, and career development policies.

The Code is admissible in evidence before the WRC, Labour Court, or the courts. That means if a dispute arises – particularly around discrimination, penalisation, or unfair treatment – an adjudicator will look at whether you followed the guidance.

Key provisions include:

• A structured process for handling requests – including timelines, consultation, decision-making, and appeals
• Banded working hours alignment – ensuring part-time arrangements comply with the Employment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2018
• Pro-rata protections – part-time employees must not be treated less favourably than comparable full-time staff
• Training and career development – part-time workers should have equal access to progression opportunities
• Protection from penalisation – employees cannot be punished for requesting part-time work or refusing to change their hours

Critically, the Code also expects employers to proactively assess which roles in their organisation could be performed part-time – including skilled and managerial positions – and to identify and address barriers to part-time working.

Why This Matters Now – Especially in Kerry

Kerry’s economy is built on SMEs, hospitality, and seasonal businesses. Many of you are already managing part-time workforces out of necessity. But the new Code raises the bar on how you do it.

For hospitality operators in Killarney, Tralee, and across the county, part-time working is often the norm – but so are disputes around hours, scheduling, and requests for flexibility. The Code now provides a framework that, if followed, can reduce your exposure to WRC claims and improve staff retention.

For growing SMEs, the Code creates an opportunity. Offering genuine part-time options – particularly in skilled or managerial roles – can help you attract experienced professionals who might otherwise be unavailable (parents returning to work, older workers seeking phased retirement, or people balancing caring responsibilities).

But it also creates risk. If you refuse a request for part-time working without clear, documented business reasons, and that employee later brings a claim (for example, under the Employment Equality Acts), the WRC will ask: Did you follow the Code? Did you genuinely consider the request? Did you explore alternatives?

Common Employer Mistakes (and How to Avoid Them)

We’re already seeing patterns emerge in how employers are getting this wrong:

1. Treating requests as “HR admin” rather than strategic decisions

A request to move to part-time work isn’t just a scheduling issue. It’s a potential trigger for discrimination claims (particularly around gender, family status, age, or disability), a retention risk if refused, and an opportunity to redesign how work gets done.

What to do instead: Treat every request seriously. Document your decision-making process. If you refuse, explain why in writing, with reference to specific business needs.

2. Assuming certain roles “can’t” be done part-time

The Code explicitly challenges this. It asks employers to assess whether tasks genuinely require a full-time presence, or whether work can be reorganised, shared, or covered differently.

What to do instead: Before you say no, ask: Could this role be job-shared? Could we adjust service delivery? What would it cost to accommodate this, versus the cost of losing this employee and recruiting a replacement?

3. Ignoring the banded hours provisions

Under the Employment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2018, if an employee’s contract doesn’t reflect the hours they actually work over a reference period, they’re entitled to be placed in a band of hours that matches reality.

If you agree to a part-time arrangement but don’t update the contract, or if hours creep up over time, you’re creating a compliance gap – and a potential claim.

What to do instead: When you agree to part-time working, document it properly. Review employment documentation regularly. Make sure banded hours classifications are accurate.

4. Failing to protect part-time workers from “career penalties”

The Code is clear: part-time workers should have access to training, development, and promotion on the same basis as full-time staff.

If training is always scheduled outside part-time hours, or if part-time staff are quietly excluded from progression conversations, you’re building a discrimination risk.

What to do instead: Review your training schedules, appraisal processes, and promotion criteria. Make sure part-time staff aren’t structurally disadvantaged.

Where HR and Legal Risk Intersect

This is where things get interesting,  and where many employers get caught out.

A request for part-time working often sits at the intersection of HR policy, employment law, and potential litigation risk. Particularly in the area of Employment Equality.

The point is this: part-time working requests are rarely “just” HR issues. They’re legal risk moments.

And if a dispute escalates to the WRC or the courts, you’ll need more than an HR consultant. You’ll need legal advice that understands both the employment law framework and the litigation risk.

What Good Compliance Looks Like

The best employers are already doing this:

They have a written policy on part-time working, aligned with the Code, and communicated to all staff
They’ve assessed the roles within their business to identify which positions could be performed part-time
They have a clear process for handling requests – including timelines, consultation, and appeals
They document decisions – especially refusals – with clear business reasons
They train managers to handle requests consistently and lawfully
They review contracts and banded hours regularly to avoid drift
They integrate part-time working into recruitment, training, and career development

If you’re not doing these things yet, now is the time to start.

How Orbitus Can Support You

At Orbitus, we take a one-stop approach to employment issues like this.

Our HR team can help you design policies, train managers, and handle day-to-day requests in a way that’s practical, compliant, and aligned with your business needs.

Our Litigation team – led by experienced employment law practitioners – can step in when things get more complex: when a request triggers discrimination concerns, when a refusal leads to a resignation, or when you need to defend a decision at the WRC.

And because we’re based in Kerry – with offices in Tralee and Killarney – we understand the local business environment, the sectors you operate in, and the practical realities of running an SME or hospitality business here.

Need practical guidance or legal support?

Orbitus provides Legal, Tax and HR expertise to SMEs and hospitality operators across Kerry. Whether you need a policy review, manager training, or representation at the WRC, we’re here to help.

Orbitus – Legal, Tax and HR experts.

This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. For advice on your specific circumstances, please contact us.

Need practical guidance or legal support?

Orbitus provides Legal, Tax and HR expertise to SMEs and hospitality operators across Kerry. Whether you need a policy review, manager training, or representation at the WRC, we’re here to help.