Job quality and part-time work in the retail industry: An Australian case study

This article focuses on the important issue of job quality in part-time work, using a case study of the retail industry in Australia. Part-time jobs in retail in Australia can be either ‘casual’ or ‘permanent’, and this division is often equated with a distinction between bad and good quality work. This article examines the salience of this equation. It reports on the findings from a survey of, and interviews with, part-time retail workers in relation to three aspects of part-time employment that have a direct relationship with job quality: under-employment; variation in hours and schedules; and employee control over working time. In comparison to casual part-time jobs, ‘permanent’ part-time jobs in retail enjoy a modicum of employment security together with increased regularity and predictability of hours. However, this does not ensure employee control over working-time arrangements. Hence, it is argued that the lines of fragmentation in part-time retail jobs spill over the division between permanent and casual status. This raises important questions about HRM strategies to improve the quality of part-time retail jobs.