Part-time franchises are franchises the franchisor states can be run on reduced hours, at least at the start. In October 2026, only a handful of brands in the L’Express Franchise directory said so explicitly on their profile. This guide sets out which formats lend themselves to part-time hours, the rules that apply when a franchise runs alongside a job, and what it costs.
A part time franchise is one the franchisor states can run on reduced hours, often alongside a job or family commitments. There is no legal definition. Most are home-based, children’s activity or local service models, where the owner sets the working pattern rather than a shop’s opening hours.
- Formats: home-based services, children’s and holiday clubs, pet care, cleaning and driving instruction.
- Entry costs: from £0 to £7,500 of personal contribution among the brands below.
- Alongside a job: an employment contract can restrict outside work, and trading income above £1,000 a year is reported to HMRC.
- Fixed costs: ongoing franchise fees are usually the same whatever hours the owner works.
No official statistics record how many UK franchisees work part time. The British Franchise Association’s 2024 National Franchise Survey, a survey of its own members sponsored by NIC Services Group, found that 50% of franchisees operate from home. The only citable information on hours for a given brand is what the franchisor publishes about its own model.
What a part time franchise is
UK franchisors use the term in three different ways, and the difference matters for the budget and the agreement.
- Part time from launch: the owner works reduced hours from the start, usually in a home-based or remote service business.
- Part time to begin with: the business starts on a few days a week and grows into a full-time operation, with more sites, sessions or clients.
- Run alongside another job through staff: the owner keeps another occupation and a team or manager delivers the service. This is closer to a management franchise than to a part time job.
Whatever the label, the franchise agreement sets the obligations. Many agreements include minimum performance targets, territory commitments or required opening hours, and these apply regardless of how many hours the owner intends to work. The terms are covered in more detail in the guide to franchise agreements in the UK.
Part time franchise opportunities in the UK
The three brands below state on their L’Express Franchise profile that the business can be run part time or flexibly. They are listed by personal contribution, lowest first.
SmartPA
Remote PA & Admin Services
- Business services
- 100 Locations
- Liquid capital: £0
The Travel Franchise
Home-based travel agency
- Personal services
- 0 Location
- Liquid capital: £995
Fun Fest Holiday Club
Children’s holiday club
- Sports – Leisure
- 47 Locations
- Liquid capital: £7500
A second group of brands does not use the words “part time”, but the format itself sets the working pattern: sessions are booked into school timetables or around clients’ routines rather than run on fixed opening hours.
LCF FunLanguages
Trusted Children’s Language Franchise
- Training – Education
- 47 Locations
- Liquid capital: £1980
Jam Coding
Inspiring Digital Education
- Training – Education
- 30 Locations
- Liquid capital: £1995
The Pets, Homes and Gardens Company
Professional pet care franchise
- Personal services
- 13 locations
- Liquid capital: £2000
Franchise formats that suit reduced hours
Part time franchising clusters in formats where the owner controls the diary. Shops, restaurants and gyms rarely appear, because their opening hours and staffing are fixed whatever the owner’s availability.
Home-based business services
Virtual assistance, travel booking and bookkeeping support run from a home office, by phone and online. Work can be fitted around school runs or another job, and the volume grows with the number of clients taken on. Launch costs are mostly the fee, training, IT and marketing. The formats are covered in more detail in the guide to home-based franchises in the UK.
Pros of a part-time franchise
- A trial run with a safety net: income from a job continues while the franchise builds a client base.
- Hours set by the owner: in home-based and booked-service models, the diary is not tied to opening hours.
- Lower entry costs: most part time formats need no premises, which keeps the launch budget small.
- A path to full time: some franchisors state that the business can grow into a full-time operation.
Children’s clubs and holiday clubs
Language, coding and sports clubs follow the school year: sessions during term, holiday clubs in the breaks. The rhythm is set by the calendar rather than by the owner, which concentrates the work into predictable blocks and leaves other periods quieter.
Pet care
Dog walking and pet sitting are booked by the visit, so the owner decides how many slots to offer. The work is local and repeat-based, and demand is concentrated in working hours and school holidays, when owners are away.
Cleaning
Part time cleaning franchises come in two forms. In some, the owner cleans a set number of hours a week; in others, the owner wins contracts and schedules a team, which suits someone keeping another job but moves the model towards management.
Driving instruction
Driving school franchises regularly come up in part time searches, and lessons can be booked in the evenings and at weekends. To charge for driving lessons in Great Britain, an instructor has to be on the approved driving instructor register held by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency, so the franchise sits on top of a qualification rather than replacing it.
The limits of a part time franchise
- Slower growth: fewer hours usually means fewer clients and a longer path to breakeven.
- Fixed fees: a flat monthly fee weighs more on a part time turnover.
- Targets in the agreement: minimum performance clauses do not adjust to the owner’s availability.
- Two sets of obligations: an employer’s rules and the franchisor’s apply at the same time.
Running a franchise alongside a job
A franchise run alongside a salaried job brings three sets of rules into play, none of them specific to franchising.
The employment contract: many contracts include clauses on outside work, conflicts of interest or competing activities, and some require the employer’s consent.
HMRC: a franchise run as a sole trader is self-employment, and gross trading income above the £1,000 trading allowance is reported through Self Assessment, alongside PAYE income from the job.
The franchise agreement: minimum activity or performance targets apply from the start, whatever hours the owner has available.
Good to know: the £1,000 trading allowance
According to HMRC guidance on gov.uk, the trading allowance exempts up to £1,000 a year of gross trading income. Above that, the individual registers for Self Assessment by 5 October following the end of the tax year in which the income was earned. The allowance applies to the business’s turnover, not its profit.
What a part time franchise costs
Working fewer hours does not usually reduce what the franchise costs to open. The initial franchise fee, training, equipment and launch marketing are the same as for a full-time franchisee, and the published figures in the tables above apply whatever the planned hours. Entry points below £10,000 are set out in the guide to low cost franchises in the UK.
Ongoing fees are where reduced hours make the most difference. A management service fee charged as a percentage of turnover falls with lower activity, while a fixed monthly fee stays the same, so it takes a larger share of a smaller turnover. The fee structure, and the figure, are set out in the franchise agreement.
The bottom line
A part time franchise in the UK is defined by what the franchisor allows and what the agreement requires, not by a legal category. The formats that suit reduced hours are home-based services, children’s clubs, pet care, cleaning and driving instruction, with entry costs in the directory from £0 to £7,500 of personal contribution. The UK franchise directory lists every brand with its published figures.
Questions about part time franchises
A part time franchise is a franchise the franchisor states can be run on reduced hours, from launch or at the start before growing. There is no legal definition in the UK. Most are home-based, children’s activity or local service businesses where the owner controls the diary.
Yes, where the franchisor allows it. Some brands state it on their recruitment material, such as The Travel Franchise, which says its business can be run part time or full time. The franchise agreement still sets minimum targets and obligations, whatever the hours.
In the L’Express Franchise directory in October 2026, SmartPA, The Travel Franchise and Fun Fest Holiday Club stated on their profiles that the business could be run part time or flexibly. Children’s clubs, pet care, cleaning and driving instruction are other formats commonly run on reduced hours.
It is possible where the franchisor allows it. Three sets of rules apply: the employment contract, which can restrict outside work or competing activities; HMRC, through Self Assessment for trading income above £1,000 a year; and the franchise agreement, with its own targets and obligations.
Gov.uk states that gross trading income above the £1,000 trading allowance requires registration for Self Assessment by 5 October following the end of the tax year. A franchise run through a limited company has separate Companies House and Corporation Tax obligations.
Franchisors rarely publish a figure. The working pattern depends on the format: school sessions follow the timetable, home-based services follow client demand and booked services follow the number of slots offered. Minimum targets in the franchise agreement effectively set the floor.
Not to open. The initial fee, training and equipment are usually the same whatever hours are planned. Ongoing costs depend on the fee structure: a percentage of turnover falls with lower activity, while a fixed monthly fee stays the same.
Some franchisors build that path into the model. Fun Fest Holiday Club states that franchisees can start part time before expanding into additional sites or complementary childcare services. In other networks, growth comes from adding clients, sessions or staff within the territory.
