Dealing with a cut in employment hours is hard for everyone in the family, especially during the current global economic crisis. How you handle the partial loss of your job is up to you. Basically, don't panic. Yes, you may need to tighten your belt a bit, but you can ride out the storm to a new job with some patience. Here are ten things you need to do in order to handle a cut in your employment hours.

1. If your hours are cut back, ask how long the cut back is expected to last. It helps you to plan whether or not to look for another job or to request extra hours once the employment hour cut is finished. Hopefully your boss will be able to answer your questions, but be prepared in case they have no idea how long the cut in your hours will last.

2. It is a good idea to ask your employer whether or not you can take paid work somewhere else to help supplement your income while your hours are cut back. You want to make sure that you do not break your current employment contract by taking additional work.

3. Once you know that your hours are going to be cut back, start looking at how it is going to impact your income and your outgoing bills. You should be spending less in travel costs, childcare costs, and more during this shortage.

4. Look over your budget expenditures and lay out the essential bills that need to be paid first and then determine where you can cut back. You should focus on paying things like your car payment, mortgage, and other essential debts first.

5. Contact your creditors and other firms about your debt if you suspect that the cut in hours is going to cause you to struggle paying them. Lenders are usually willing to work with you towards getting your bills paid, such as mortgage companies extending your term and lowering your payments temporarily and finding a better tariff on your utility bills.

6. Research whether or not you are eligible to receive any additional tax credits to help supplement your income. Obviously you will be ineligible to receive any form of working tax credit if your hours drop below 30 hours a week. If this happens, it is important to contact the HMRC before overpayments are made that you may have to pay back at a later time.

7. If you do lose you working tax credit you may be able to claim a jobseeker's allowance in its place. However, you need to be working less than 16 hours a week and earning what is considered a low income. You will need to contact your local job centre to find out if you are eligible for this credit.

8. Make sure you understand how the cut in your working hours will affect any form of redundancy payouts you may be eligible for. You should inquire whether or not your employer will pay your redundancy pay as if you were still working full time.

9. Ask what the cut in hours will do to your pension. Employer contributions are usually paid based on your earnings, so you may see a reduction in your pension payments unless your employer decides to continue paying into it as if you were still working full time.

10. You could be eligible for a redundancy payment if you are earning less than a half week's pay for a period of four consecutive weeks or for six weeks in a thirteen week period. You will have to give your employer written notice in order to claim this money.