Can anyone shed any light on a company ( retail store ) which only offer part time contracts for all staff except probably management. My daughter went for a job interview and was informed of this arrangement whereby the hours are made up by working overtime when the store is busy or covering for sickness etc.Is this the norm in retail work as I would have thought it would be difficult for someone to plan their life around part time wages. It would mean difficulty in getting loans or a mortgage. What is the logic behind this? does it mean if the store is going through a slow period then staff only have their contracted hours, but have to be flexible as well to accommodate the busy periods.