ABSTRACT
Many people nowadays would prefer to work part-time instead of committing themselves to the traditional full-time pattern of working hours. Many are in practical terms unable to work full-time, for example because of childcare or other family responsibilities. It is inevitable, therefore, that employers will from time to time encounter requests from existing employees to move from full-time to part-time working. This is particularly likely to occur when a woman who has taken maternity leave is ready to return to work and makes a request to return on a part-time or job-share basis.