Human resources (HR) departments employ recruiters, administrative assistants and benefits specialists; in some instances, the people who perform these tasks are employed in part-time HR jobs. As with full-time employees, part-time HR workers often have college degrees in personnel management, business administration or related topics. Additionally, some firms employ college students in part-time HR roles and these individuals are able to transition into full-time positions when they graduate from college. Some small firms with minimal numbers of workers can function efficiently with part-time HR employees while some major companies employ part-time rather than full-time HR personnel in order to reduce operating costs.
Many of the people employed in part-time HR jobs are tasked with recruiting workers to fill vacant positions. When an employee leaves the firm, the recruiter must contact the employee’s manager and create a job requisition that details the worker's job duties. The recruiter then places advertisements on the company's website, in local newspapers and at regional employment centers. When applications are received, the recruiter compares each applicant's professional and academic credentials with the job posting. The recruiter arranges for qualified applicants to be interviewed by the hiring manager while other applicants normally receive a declination letter.
Some people employed in part-time HR jobs are responsible for handling interpersonal issues involving employees and management. In many instances, employees have the right to file complaints with HR if managers violate company ethics rules or policies. Managers contact HR representatives when employees fail to abide by company rules or when disputes arise between workers. The HR representative normally interviews the parties that are involved in the dispute and decides how best to handle the situation after taking into account company procedures and regional labor laws. Serious issues that cannot be dealt with by the HR representative are normally passed onto the HR manager who is normally a full-time employee.
At some firms, the people employed in part-time HR jobs are responsible for handling issues related to payroll and employee benefits. Employers in many countries pay workers on a weekly, bi-weekly or monthly basis in which case the people responsible for processing payroll are often part-time workers since there are insufficient tasks to keep full-time workers busy. Payroll processors collect employee time cards and authorize the accounting department to disburse paychecks. If employees opt to divert some of their gross wages into health care accounts or retirement funds then the HR representatives who handle payroll are responsible for processing these deductions. At the end of the fiscal year, HR representatives have to send pay statements to workers that detail each individual's annual earnings.
