EMPLOYING PART TIME MEMBERS OF STAFF

Economic Outlook Roundtable: What Yorkshire’s Finance Leaders Are Saying About Growth, Hiring and the Road Ahead

Senior finance professionals from across Yorkshire recently joined Sharp Consultancy for an exclusive roundtable discussion featuring an economic update from Paul Mount, Economist and Deputy Agent at the Bank of England. The session provided a timely, in-depth look at the UK’s economic landscape — followed by a candid conversation about what businesses are experiencing on the ground.The picture that emerged was one of cautious realism. While official forecasts point to easing inflation and a gradual return to stability, many organisations across the region continue to navigate weak demand, rising labour costs, tightening legislation and stalled investment projects. Yet despite these pressures, there remains a strong sense of resilience and adaptability — qualities that have long defined the Yorkshire business community. At Sharp Consultancy, our specialist finance and accountancy teams speak daily to employers and professionals across commerce, industry, public practice and the not-for-profit sector. What we heard in this session closely aligns with the insight we gather from clients and candidates across the region. Below, we explore the key themes shaping business confidence, recruitment activity and the outlook for 2026. Inflation Is Easing, but Confidence Has Yet to Follow The Bank of England outlined its latest central forecast: Inflation expected to gradually return toward the 2% target. GDP growth set to remain modest but stable through 2026. Interest rates anticipated to settle around 3.5% based on market expectations. Unemployment projected to hold near 5%. However, the sentiment in the room was clear: despite improving headline numbers, confidence across most sectors remains fragile. Many organisations described the environment as “flat” — not contracting, but unable to capitalise fully on opportunities due to economic uncertainty. Sharp Consultancy continues to see this play out: businesses are stabilising rather than expanding, focusing on cash management, operational efficiency and carefully controlled hiring. Labour Costs Continue to Reshape Workforce Strategies Wage pressures were a recurring theme throughout the discussion. Employers highlighted: Significant increases to the National Living Wage. Higher employer National Insurance contributions. Expected future changes to minimum wage equalisation for younger workers. Rising cost and complexity associated with apprenticeships. These factors are pushing up costs at every level of the workforce and reshaping recruitment behaviours. Across Sharp Consultancy’s accountancy and finance divisions, we are seeing: Strong demand for replacement hires where roles are business critical. Lower volumes of growth hires, particularly in commercial and project-focused appointments. Clients increasingly prioritising candidates who bring breadth, adaptability and long-term value. Construction & Infrastructure: Capacity Under Pressure Leaders from the construction sector painted a challenging picture — one mirrored by many Sharp Consultancy clients operating across the wider built environment. Key themes included: Planning delays of 9–10 months, particularly related to the Building Safety Act. Businesses holding on to workforce capacity despite reduced margins — a strategy that may not be sustainable in 2026. Difficulty justifying new capital expenditure under IFRS when future cashflows are uncertain. Concerns that smaller subcontractors may not withstand prolonged delays or reduced demand.Yet, attendees also highlighted that construction could become a catalyst for economic recovery — provided policy reform and planning improvements unlock stalled projects. Manufacturing: Rising Costs and Shifting OperationsLeaders representing manufacturing shared concerns around: Rising energy and operational costs. Increased frequency of site closures and offshoring. Significant challenges in attracting engineering and technical talent. Early signs of contraction in several sub-sectors, with aerospace a notable exception. These pressures reinforce the growing importance of finance leaders who can model scenarios, manage volatility and guide long-term planning — roles Sharp Consultancy continues to support across the manufacturing landscape. Charity & Public Sector Organisations Facing Acute Strain For organisations reliant on local authority funding, the challenges are particularly stark. Attendees reported: Government and council funding caps. Rising NI, wage costs and VAT changes adding millions to annual budgets. Increasingly complex consultation requirements under forthcoming employment legislation. The likelihood of significant cuts to the frontline services in the months ahead.Sharp Consultancy’s continues to work closely with organisations navigating these pressures, supporting clients through restructuring, recruitment challenges and financial planning needs. Recruitment Outlook: Stability Over Expansion Across sectors, the message was consistent: 2026 is expected to be cautious, steady and focused on maintaining capability rather than expanding headcount. Attendees forecast: Workforce levels remaining broadly flat. Hiring driven by essential replacement roles. Transformation, M&A and large-scale project hiring likely to remain subdued. Improved recruitment confidence only once interest rates and policy direction stabilise. For employers, this means sharper competition for high-quality finance talent — an area where Sharp Consultancy’s specialist teams continue to provide targeted, market-led support. What Comes Next? A Slow but Steady Rebuild Despite the challenges discussed, the roundtable ended on a constructive note. Many leaders believe that once interest rates settle and stalled investment begins to move, the region could see a more meaningful upturn — potentially from 2026 onwards. Yorkshire businesses have proven time and again that they are resourceful, resilient and ready to adapt. Sharp Consultancy remains committed to supporting them through every stage — whether stabilising teams, recruiting future leaders, or navigating the next phase of growth. If you’d like to understand what these economic trends mean for your business or team, speak to our specialist consultants for a confidential market discussion. Contacts Us

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There are approximate 8.4 million part time workers in the UK. For businesses of all sizes there are a huge range of advantages to employing members of staff on a part time basis – but there are also several challenges which must be taken into consideration.

Advantages and disadvantages to employing part time members of staff:

Keeping costs down. Employing somebody on a part time basis can be an effective way to reduce staff costs in roles where there isn’t necessarily a need for someone on a full time basis.

Attracting the best talent. Having the option of part time work can help both with recruitment and staff retention; part time work can be attractive to parents with young families or those approaching the later years in their careers and are looking to reduce their hours. These people can offer a wealth of skills and experience and offering flexible and/or family friendly working arrangements can lead to improvements in staff retention.

Flexibility. Part time employees can enable a company to ensure that it has the right number of people in the right roles during times when business demands are greater. Roles and working hours can be determined around a variety of scenarios and may be fixed with an individual working fewer hours each day or working set days or alternatively a part time employee may work shifts which could vary on a week to week basis. There are also options around employing members of staff on term-time contacts or on a job share basis.

Staff morale and productivity. It’s not just part time employees themselves who can benefit; they can alleviate the pressure of workloads on full time members of staff – particularly if a business is relying upon overtime to keep up with demand – and therefore help reduce stress and combat low levels of staff morale in the workplace.

Additional costs. Part time workers can impact on costs and businesses need to consider that employing individuals on a part time basis can lead to additional expense – for example with benefits and training.

Recruiting part time employees:

As an employer, you will need to determine whether a particular role would be suited to a part time working arrangement. To do this you will need to take into account:

Objectives and outcomes. Establish what you want the employee to achieve and consider what time is needed to do each aspect of the role. Also think about the particular skills and personal attributes that will be needed and include these in a detailed specification.

Working hours. Think about whether there are elements of the job which have to be done on certain days or at certain times – this will help you understand how much flexibility there is in the hours you would require the successful candidate to work. Also consider whether the role is to be created on a part time only or job share basis.

Recruitment process and interviews. Make the process as convenient to those looking to work part time as possible to attract the best candidates; part time opportunities can open up the recruitment pool to applicants who may not have considered the position if it was on a full time basis. Try and schedule interviews at times which suit the part time hours being offered i.e. on the relevant days.

Managing part time employees:

It is important to consider how part time employees will fit into your existing team structure and to also give thought to how you will effectively communicate and manage those who are not working full time hours.

Communications. You must make sure that all part time workers receive all staff communications; you may need to contact them by phone, email or text message if they are not at work on a day when you make an important announcement or send out a message for the first time. For staff meetings and company briefings, try to find a time when all team members will be available or if this is not possible, hold additional sessions which will give every employee an opportunity to attend.

Flexibility. Establish whether your part time workers can work additional hours on major projects or attend meetings which fall outside their normal working hours. Are they happy to be contacted by you on days that they are not at work?

Training. Part time employees should have access to the same training courses which you offer to full time members of the team; consider if you need to make adjustments to how these are delivered i.e. inclusion of home study time and condensing particular elements of the course.

Employing part time members of staff:

Part time workers must be treated equally to comparable full-time employees who work for the same company and perform similar roles under the same type of employment contract. This includes:

Salary / rates of pay
Access to occupational pension scheme
Training, career development opportunities and consideration for promotion
Right to receive enhanced sick, maternity, paternity, adoption leave and pay as well as parental leave and dependents leave
Pro rata contractual benefits such as paid annual leave and staff discounts

Sharp Consultancy specialises in the recruitment of temporary, interim and permanent finance professionals. With offices in Leeds and Sheffield our highly experienced team of consultants recruit for positions throughout Yorkshire and beyond. CONTACT US today to speak to a member of our team about your recruitment needs.