Part-time and seasonal help, without the chaos
Part-time roles are a great way to test a person and a function. They're a terrible way to dump leftover work.
Design the role around predictable hours
'Whenever we need you' gets you no-shows. 'Tuesday and Thursday, 9 to 2' gets you a reliable employee. Part-timers have other lives. Respect the schedule.
Treat the trial period as real
The first 60 days of a part-time hire tell you whether they could grow into full-time. Pay attention. The next employee may already be on payroll.
Don't use 1099 as a workaround
A regular part-time worker on your schedule, using your tools, is an employee. The 1099 shortcut costs more than it saves the first time you get audited.
Take your version of this question further
This is one operator-tested angle on the question. Your shop, your size, your trade, and your team change the answer. Ask your specific version inside Ask a Shop Owner to get a response grounded in how owners like you actually handled it.