A revised package of benefits announced by Stephen Byers, Secretary of State for Industry, today will ensure that part-time workers employed through an agency or on a temporary basis will enjoy the same rights to pay, pensions, training and holidays as other part-time workers.

The government estimates that over 400,000 part-timers, most of whom are women, should see an improvement to their employment conditions as a result of the revised regulations, which come into force on 1 July.

The new conditions include the right to the same hourly pay and overtime rates as full-time workers in comparable posts, the right to the same entitlements for annual, maternity and parental leave pro rata, and the right not to be excluded from training on the basis of the hours they work.

The DTI's website has yet to publish the regulations, but the site does have some background information available.