Prague, March 4 (CTK) – More than one fifth of the 6 percent of people in the Czech Republic who work on a part-time basis do so involuntarily, according to the results of an international comparative study that the Czech Statistics Office (CSU) has released.
It said the Czech Republic has one of the lowest shares of part-time jobs in the EU.
In 2014, out of the people who worked on the part-time basis 21 percent did so involuntarily.
In 2000, there were less than 10 percent of them and in 2010 around 16 percent. The share of involuntary part-time jobs increased during the economic crisis.
The average of 30 percent of people had part-time jobs involuntarily in the EU.
The Czech Republic’s 20 percent share is similar to the situation in Britain and Norway, while in Italy, Spain and Cyprus, almost two thirds of people doing part-time jobs had to accept them involuntarily.
People opt for part-time jobs to combine employment with care of children and the family, for health reasons, during studies, professional training and gradual retirement.
However, a frequent reason is that they cannot find any other suitable full-time job.
Besides the lower pensions people receive if they work for a shorter time for a longer time, some of them complain that they have to do perhaps 80 percent of the regular work load even if they have half-time jobs for which they are paid half the regular wage.
Part-time jobs are done more often by women who take care of their children or older family members.
Klara Cozlova Cmolikova, from the Gender Studies organisation, said previously women doing part-time jobs do not usually receive firm benefits and they cannot hope for promotion.
More nursery schools would allow women to take full-time jobs, Gender studies said.
