The NEWORK Centre
Level 2 Willbank House
57 Willis Street Wellington
Phone 499 1048
e-mail nework@xtra.co.nz

No 6 November 2003

Ways of Working

Some definitions and descriptions:

Full Time Work is classed as 30 or more hours per week.

Most "employed" people are full time workers.
Being employed means, organisations buy a person s time, to use how they want to.
An employed person would expect from their employer a contract stating the terms and conditions of employment within the organisation.
An employer is responsible for deducting, collecting and paying to the Inland Revenue employed persons income tax etc

Part Time is classed as not more than 30 hours per week many part time workers work far fewer hours.

Many part time workers and jobs are flexible and require varying amounts of hours to suit the workload and employer.
Part time work gives the flexibility to balance other responsibilities such as family commitments with earning.
Part time working and payment arrangements vary.
You may work set hours for a set amount of pay or you may only be paid for hours worked which could vary depending on workplace demands.
As a part time worker you have the same legal protection as a full time worker.
Holiday allowances are usually calculated as a proportion of full time workers allocated annual leave days.

Self-employed working is rapidly becoming the preferred working option for more and more people.

Being self employed means you are personally responsible for collecting, deducting and paying the Inland Revenue your own income tax and GST.
This is done when a self-assessment tax return must be completed and submitted to the Inland Revenue.
You are flexible enough to work where and when you want.
More self-employed people are home based and do not have the strain and stress of travelling to a place of work for a certain time.
A self-employed person to succeed must be self-motivated as they can only rely upon themselves.
They are the work force, the administrator, the marketing team and the boss!

Seasonal work is also becoming a more popular option for some industries, particularly the travel industry.

Workers are employed for a particular period of time in the year or season i.e. summer season (holiday tour operator s reps, or airline stewardesses) September until end of April.
The winter sun and ski resorts recruit there seasonal staff in the summer months ready to start work late in the Autumn usually April or May and continue through the winter.
Some people work at continuously seasonal jobs.
Other industries that heavily rely on seasonal work and staff are the farming and entertainment industries.
Farming work duties depend on seasonal variations the biggest variation factor is the weather.
Crops can not be harvested unless the weather has been dry.
Many fruits and vegetables are also reliant on weather conditions to determine when the time is right to harvest them.
Seasonal workers are generally employed on a short contract of employment, many farming seasonal workers are classed as "casual labour".
The Christmas season is another very short and definite season with many Santa Claus only being employed from the 28th November to the 24th of December.

Volunteer worker often in charitable organisations.

They can be anywhere in the world.
Volunteers mainly staff the crisis countries receiving aid from the western world.
Graduates can use this situation as a means to gaining practice in their chosen specialist areas at the same time, giving valuable assistance to those with the greatest of need.
Volunteers are not paid to do this work but some do receive food and board.
Volunteers also staff the many charitable shops in the business centre. They do not get paid but may receive expenses, they are usually part time workers giving up some time for the good of others.

Job Share/Term Time both part time jobs.

As the name suggests a job share means two or more people share a full time job.

People need to be of the same ability to share a job.
This arrangement works best where the work tasks are repetitive, but not necessarily mundane.
Occupations that may be suited to job share include teaching, laboratory posts and assistants, librarians and clerical and banking posts.
Job sharers may work half of the normal working week or day or they may work alternate weeks, some other arrangements to suit all may be in place.
As a term time worker, you have the flexibility to take time away from your job during the school holidays.
This time off is unpaid.
Term time workers have the same terms and conditions as permanent workers.

Career Breaks are planned breaks to allow parents time away from work to bring up and look after under school age children.

Career breaks are longer than parental leave provisions and can be up to 5 years.
Career breaks of several months are often referred to as sabbaticals.
Career breaks are negotiated on an individual basis with the employer
You may be retained as an employee or agree a period of unemployment with guaranteed re-employment
People on career breaks use that as a development time, keep up to date with current systems, procedures and legislation by attending training and development courses.

Flexible time working gives workers the advantage of within certain time limits being able to start and finish work when they want.

A typical organisation may stipulate start times from 7.30am until 10.00am and finish times 3.30pm to 7.30-pm.
Thus allowing workers the opportunity to work up to 12 hours in one day
There is usually a minimum daily hour requirement.
When "flexi" hours reach a certain level a worker may be allowed to take a day or two days per month off. This is in addition to annual leave entitlement.
Some organisations allow "flexi" time to be converted into overtime. The worker then receives payment for extra hours worked rather than time off.
The terms and conditions of employment of the "flexi" time worker will stipulate hours to be worked annually or over a specified period.

Portfolio workers are usually self employed.

They are contracted by organisations to complete a piece or pieces of work.
This way of working has grown due to the increase in short and fixed term contacts for full time workers.
The portfolio worker is a diverse character who to succeed needs to have good management, selling and communications skills.
They need to be flexible to build a mixed portfolio of work.
They also need a sense of responsibility to ensure contractual obligations and employers needs are met

The NEWORKer can be viewed online at the Work & Age Website