Part-time work could help small businesses save jobs

Struggling small businesses could offer part-time employment as a way of reducing overheads and avoiding redundancies, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) has suggested.

The Chief Economic Advisor for the CIPD, John Philpott, stated that reducing working hours may prove to be an effective measure in the short-term for small businesses.

Mr Philpott said that the strength of economic recovery and how long it takes for the jobs market to get back to normal could determine the value of part-time working arrangements.

He went on to say:

"For some, if it is the difference between a part-time job and being unemployed, then in a sense that alleviates what could be the full impact of the recession, because at least people are getting income."

However, he added that staying in part-time employment year after year would not necessarily be an ideal situation should living standards drop as a result.

The most recent statistics from the Office of National Statistics showed that unemployment figures stand at 2.46 million.