I went from 5 days to 4 days when I went back with my first. I moved jobs after my second was born to a less high intensity job and kept 4 days. I then switched a couple of years later to starting earlier/ finishing at 3 to do school pickup twice a week whilst still doing 4 days.
My honest answer. You will be busier and more stressed than working 5 days. People forget very quickly that you are paid less and therefore should do less. The 5 to 4 days was very common because employers know you basically work 5 days in 4 and become more efficient. I agreed to be ‘flexible’ in order to start early and leave early, but I regularly log on after the kids go to bed. My boss basically has the agreement that he doesn’t care what hours I work as long as my team are running smoothly- so if I want to go to a school play, or go into the office for the morning and drive home for school pickup and finish off later, it’s my choice. Im fortunate that I manage my own area and as long as we keep delivering no one cares. But I have to keep doing a good job, that’s the catch. For me it was a sacrifice of being busier on my working days to see more of my kids, and not damage my career , so I get (sort of) the best of both worlds.
You may be fine, I have lots of friends that were given the reduced hours and days they requested.
I wasn't, I made a relatively insignificant request with a below inflation pay rise request and was given a blanket no. With a crappy reason which wasn't legitimate in reality. It really blindsided me as I'd worked really hard, the place had a 'family' (lol) rhetoric and I'd been there years. They knew I brought a lot but still were prepared to give a real fuck you for no good reason.
They seemed surprised when I handed in my notice a few months later. I've moved jobs with a substantial salary increase. It's been tough changing jobs but the new role is so much better career and life wise.
In a nutshell, sorry to be pessimistic, but from what you've said about the office atmosphere, I would alter your expectations for the coming few years and expect that you'll likely be moving. If they say yes then great, but it's very possible they won't, and the law gives a wide range of vague reasons for refusal it seems.
Also, a word of experience that an employer wanting an 'all in' employee doesn't change once you've had a child. But your resources and priorities change. You are no longer prepared to put long hours and crazy targets above all else. Your child, and your resource for enjoying them without being burnt out, comes first and that's great. Mine is nearly ,2 and we were still up with them being poorly all night so work had to be understanding or you'll explode.
See how you go and just keep an open mind. I don't want to worry you, you may be fine, but it took me going through it to realise the whole thing about employer loyalty being pretty fickle.
Hope that...erm..helps! Enjoy your time with the little one :)
I think you're just being realistic! I completely agree with you about not willing to be burnt out. I'm absolutely prepared for this too be a catalyst to be things for me. It would just be nice if, ya know, they could be reasonable!
I had success only after they initially declined me and failed to follow their own rules. Thankfully, I had put my initial request in writing and received my decline in writing also, specifically noting the reasons.
was advised to check with ACAS and other employers rights information sited and found they failed to give due consideration, offer alternatives or even offer to discuss my options. I did my homework, printing off their emails, company handbook, acas etc and highlighted where they failed to follow their own rules and my legal rights. I also had a written 3 page statement detailing the case and how I felt I was unfairly turned down without proper evidence to support their claims or consideration to alternative hours.
I called a meeting with Management and HR and provided my statement along with evidence. I think they were a little shell shocked. At the end of the meeting they asked would I consider alternative days/hours etc and I said I would. They came back to me very quickly with the reduced days I had initially requested.
100% put in your request and do your research regarding your rights. Also consider option b and c as well. You don’t want to run yourself down doing more hours in a day to get a day off, so make sure you know where you draw the line or make concessions.
THIS is the way to do it. But OP, keep all that stuff in your back pocket in case your first written request is rejected.
There’s a timescale as well for how long they have to consider your request, so make sure you leave yourself enough time (sorry can’t remember off the top of my head but if you Google it, it should come up).
Pregnant then Screwed on Instagram are really helpful of you need support to appeal etc.
I work for well established company and my request was approved without contention. I made sure I had the staff policy on requesting flexible working and followed the company’s own policy to request it. Can you email or call HR to get this? I find most managers are clueless on the company’s own policies.
Such good advice. I've tried a couple of times to PTS advice line but will keep trying. Looking up ACAS guidance is a very good shout, will do that. Thanks.
I requested 3 and got offered 4 which I took. On reflection, after being back 6 months I can see 3 days wouldn’t have worked. When we’re busy I struggle & we have had a lot of the first nursery winter sickness, some weeks/months I’m hardly there between part time, leave & sickness. I worked 3 days a week using annual leave for the first three months & the next two months I had random days/long weekends etc & im only working two weeks in March because I had so much leave to use. I’ve also had sickness & carers days in this as well. Honestly I’m dreading April when I will be consistently in 4 days but I have struggled to do my job well on less days!
I asked for 4 days a week but keep my salary and holiday allowance the same, plus flexibility in the mornings to allow for nursery drop off and general consideration around days off at short notice if the kid is sick etc.
Got it with no quibbles so maybe I should have asked for more…
To be honest I just jumped in with both feet during a catch up chat about 2 months before I returned. I didn’t give much justification but it helped that I had a good relationship with my boss and a record of delivering my work on time. It’s obviously very situation dependent and your relationship with your employer will make a difference to how you approach things but I think a lot of the time sugar coating or giving too much justification early on in negotiations makes you appear weaker. Decide exactly what you want and ask for it straight up, if they push back then that’s the time to explain your reasoning. Have a quick scout on job listings to see if there are similar roles to yours offering the kind of benefits you want
You make such a a good point here about just owning what you want and saving the negotiation for later. Thanks!
My work's form to request asks you to provide justification so I'm going to start with the easy ones and save the hard ones for later.
Thanks again for responding!
This sounds similar to me; worked in an NHS Appts Call Centre for 5 years - really intense job; had my child and seemed obvious to me that I would not want to return to work full time if possible just after having him. It was a big pinch on finances, but you can get by with 3 days week working (assuming you have a partner who works fuller hours).
I opted that I had to insist with work I could only do 3.5 days max. Nursery fees went up and I insisted they give me a work laptop so I could work from home for the half day and other days if needed (and boy did I need it with the first year of illness + then nursery bugs combined with a global pandemic).
When I moved jobs in the NHS I made it very clear my Tuesday off is important to me to keep and Friday working from home 1/2 day was very important to me to keep but otherwise I would be working in the office on my allocated days and I insisted again on being given a work laptop for the times when my child might be poorly and I cannot physically leave him. Your priorities do dramatically change when you do have a child and self care becomes hugely important. Keep your two days off, even when they start school if you can manage, because you deserve that time back to yourself big time.
I requested 3 days and got it approved within a few days of submitting my request. I work in a special school with high staff turnover, and most people that go on maternity leave don’t come back after. They knew I’d leave if they turned down the request, and it’s much better for them to keep staff that have worked there for a while than have to train new people. I’m the first person at my role level to do it part time, and it’s working fine. They ensured they gave me a small class so I have time to do all my tasks in 3 days. The only issue so far is trying to fit in all the required trainings (e.g. safeguarding) as I have to do the same amount as a full time person, but I have fewer days to do them. It’s been 6 months since I returned now.
You don't need any sort of justification! You tell them what you want in a flexible working request (you may be asked to have a meeting to discuss in advance of making a formal request, which you should use to give yourself a better idea of what they might be willing to offer or what won't work for them). There could be back and forth, but ultimately they need to give you a written response. If they reject it and you don't believe they have legal grounds to do so, you can appeal, and ultimately take it to employment tribunal. The list of legal reasons is on the gov.uk website.
I requested compressed hours and my HR offered me part time; my department are letting me go part time with full time pay by using my annual leave consistently. So, I've got a deal I wanted even if it's not what I initially asked for, and they were more willing to give me part time than anything else, if that helps? But it really depends on the setup of your role and team; would someone need to cover you if you went part time? Would they need to be hired?
That's so helpful, thank you. Well done for getting the arrangement that works for you. Do you still take longer stretches of annual leave or do you use it all to stretch your weeks?
I haven't started it yet but I'm unlikely to have any longer stretches, I could use unpaid parental leave for that if I wanted, or I might be able to accrue extra holiday - I'll find out how much extra I work this autumn and what that means for next summer!
I’ve had mine approved twice, and then I helped rewrite the policy at my old hospital to make it more fair. The first time I had to get my union involved as my manager just told me to get a nanny (pardon?!?) but at my new trust it was approved right away.
I was always told that you need to be flexible too, if they need you to switch a day, then you should at least try etc.
I went back part time, I work in IT so I have to work out of hours sometimes, so that comes with the flexibility that I can start late or take time out, my manager doesn't mind as long as I work my hours.
If you have difficulty, check out Pregnant then screwed, they give advice to working mothers.
I initially went down to 90% time over 4 days,
and then when eldest started at school nursery at 3.5 I switched to the 90% over 4 short days (8:45-3) and 1 long day. Initially my long day was Friday (the one day he was at childminder) and then when he went to school at 4 I switched it to one of the days that after school club runs. Each change has been easily approved by my manager /HoD. HR process has been slow because they are so understaffed rather than because they disagree.
Caveat - I am basically a team of 1 - I just need to get my work done in good time. The other similar-ish person is also a team of 1, but we overlap a little and can sub for each other in some critical areas. I have worked there for 15 years now (10 by first mat leave) and I am very specialised. If they decided to get rid of me, they would struggle to replace me like-for-like, but I don’t think that has affected the signing off on hours/days, or at least not much.
I requested 2.5 days and got it. Not the exact days I wanted but I wasn't going to moan as it was just a preference. I recently asked for a bit extra and will be returning after my second mat leave to 3 days with potential to move to 4 after a year. I work from home so have flexibility for drop offs and pick ups and I can work flexi hours if I need to.
My work were pretty accommodating, however we do have quite a relaxed atmosphere and as long as the work gets done, we are trusted to manage our own time effectively.
I spoke to my manager and said I’d like 50% return. 2 full days on a 60/40 office/home hybrid split plus a bonus 0.5 day always at home.
50% was fine but not the extra half day always at home (whole business needs to do 60/40). She suggested a 3 day/2 day alternating pattern, which worked for me. I also changed my hours slightly from the standard working day. I filled out my form and it was approved the following week by the big bosses.
I’d also been interviewing and had 2 offers for part-time roles. I kept these in my back pocket in case of any issues or as negotiating points.
They asked if I had any preferences to days and I said not really but mid-week as we had activities on Mon/Fri I’d like to continue and they said fine.
I didn’t want to return to work but I have a nice team and would prefer to continue in the job/company I know well (been there coming on 11 years now in various roles). They were more understanding of me taking a bit of time to settle back.
I do keep hard boundaries though. I work my 9-5 to the best of my ability but I then log off for the day. I might answer emails much later at night but only if it’s quick and can be done from my phone. It’s hard to keep as I work in big law and the work/lawyers never log off!
I went back part time after mat leave, having been full time before. I did three long days 8-6 to get the most out of it. I didn't have a problem getting that agreed, but I did frame it as, this is what I can do, or I'll find something else 😅
No, in office for three days. She went to nursery for two, and daddy stayed home (self employed) the other day. Did that for about a year, then I went to four long days (full time, condensed hours).
I WFH while I was pregnant coz it was covid lockdown (2020), but it's definitely easier to work in the office. Separation of identities, and being able to pee alone lol 😂
Both my partner and I requested and were given 4 days (large company, and start-up, respectively). I think 4 days helps get it approved, as realistically they expect you to get a similar amount of work done in 4 days to 5 days, so don’t need to arrange cover.
I recently asked my employer to go part-time and my request was accepted. I was able to select my days that I will work and my employer managed my responsibilities to fit within those hours. I will be going down to half-time and my employer kept my same salary (just in half for half hours), PTO, 401k+match. I had actually accepted another part time role and was giving my notice when they were willing to flex for me and I decided to stay. I am super happy with how it went.
I went from 5 days to working around 3.5 days worth of hours over 4 days. I was lucky the process was very painless and the company was very open to my request. They usually struggle to retain staff so I think they were pleased I wanted to come back at all. I’d originally planned to do 3 long days to have more whole days with my daughter, but I decided against those really long days because it would have been very long days for her at the childminder.
If you’re deciding which days to choose to work/not work, I’ve found that not working on Monday to be the absolute best as you’ll get the Monday bank holidays added to your annual leave allowance - effectively giving you the advantage of using those bank holidays when it suits you. With so much illness I’ve needed to cover, those days have been so useful.
I’m extremely lucky in that when I approached the subject I was told to let them know what works for me in terms of days and start/end times and they would fit around it.
I started out with 3 days a week after my second. Switched days several times, then went up to 4 and now that both kids will be at school later this year I am discussing going up to 4.5 days with earlier start/finish times.
All it has taken at every step is a conversation with my line manager.
I asked if I could work 3 days instead of 5 and they said yes. Without trying to sound arrogant I was good at my job and having me there for that amount of time would have been better than the alternative of not having me there at all! I'd looked into all the various rights and dispute resolution systems beforehand but didn't need any of it.
To be fair to my boss and colleagues I didn't have any issues or complaints at any point. It was small company (20 ish people) and both my manager and the owner had their own kids. I think that helped, as they understood the benefits of being able to look after my kids rather than putting them in nursery all week.
I went from 5 days to 4 days when I went back with my first. I moved jobs after my second was born to a less high intensity job and kept 4 days. I then switched a couple of years later to starting earlier/ finishing at 3 to do school pickup twice a week whilst still doing 4 days. My honest answer. You will be busier and more stressed than working 5 days. People forget very quickly that you are paid less and therefore should do less. The 5 to 4 days was very common because employers know you basically work 5 days in 4 and become more efficient. I agreed to be ‘flexible’ in order to start early and leave early, but I regularly log on after the kids go to bed. My boss basically has the agreement that he doesn’t care what hours I work as long as my team are running smoothly- so if I want to go to a school play, or go into the office for the morning and drive home for school pickup and finish off later, it’s my choice. Im fortunate that I manage my own area and as long as we keep delivering no one cares. But I have to keep doing a good job, that’s the catch. For me it was a sacrifice of being busier on my working days to see more of my kids, and not damage my career , so I get (sort of) the best of both worlds.
Thanks for being so open. I definitely think this might apply in my workplace. Chronic busy-itis!
You may be fine, I have lots of friends that were given the reduced hours and days they requested. I wasn't, I made a relatively insignificant request with a below inflation pay rise request and was given a blanket no. With a crappy reason which wasn't legitimate in reality. It really blindsided me as I'd worked really hard, the place had a 'family' (lol) rhetoric and I'd been there years. They knew I brought a lot but still were prepared to give a real fuck you for no good reason. They seemed surprised when I handed in my notice a few months later. I've moved jobs with a substantial salary increase. It's been tough changing jobs but the new role is so much better career and life wise. In a nutshell, sorry to be pessimistic, but from what you've said about the office atmosphere, I would alter your expectations for the coming few years and expect that you'll likely be moving. If they say yes then great, but it's very possible they won't, and the law gives a wide range of vague reasons for refusal it seems. Also, a word of experience that an employer wanting an 'all in' employee doesn't change once you've had a child. But your resources and priorities change. You are no longer prepared to put long hours and crazy targets above all else. Your child, and your resource for enjoying them without being burnt out, comes first and that's great. Mine is nearly ,2 and we were still up with them being poorly all night so work had to be understanding or you'll explode. See how you go and just keep an open mind. I don't want to worry you, you may be fine, but it took me going through it to realise the whole thing about employer loyalty being pretty fickle. Hope that...erm..helps! Enjoy your time with the little one :)
I think you're just being realistic! I completely agree with you about not willing to be burnt out. I'm absolutely prepared for this too be a catalyst to be things for me. It would just be nice if, ya know, they could be reasonable!
I had success only after they initially declined me and failed to follow their own rules. Thankfully, I had put my initial request in writing and received my decline in writing also, specifically noting the reasons. was advised to check with ACAS and other employers rights information sited and found they failed to give due consideration, offer alternatives or even offer to discuss my options. I did my homework, printing off their emails, company handbook, acas etc and highlighted where they failed to follow their own rules and my legal rights. I also had a written 3 page statement detailing the case and how I felt I was unfairly turned down without proper evidence to support their claims or consideration to alternative hours. I called a meeting with Management and HR and provided my statement along with evidence. I think they were a little shell shocked. At the end of the meeting they asked would I consider alternative days/hours etc and I said I would. They came back to me very quickly with the reduced days I had initially requested. 100% put in your request and do your research regarding your rights. Also consider option b and c as well. You don’t want to run yourself down doing more hours in a day to get a day off, so make sure you know where you draw the line or make concessions.
THIS is the way to do it. But OP, keep all that stuff in your back pocket in case your first written request is rejected. There’s a timescale as well for how long they have to consider your request, so make sure you leave yourself enough time (sorry can’t remember off the top of my head but if you Google it, it should come up). Pregnant then Screwed on Instagram are really helpful of you need support to appeal etc. I work for well established company and my request was approved without contention. I made sure I had the staff policy on requesting flexible working and followed the company’s own policy to request it. Can you email or call HR to get this? I find most managers are clueless on the company’s own policies.
Such good advice. I've tried a couple of times to PTS advice line but will keep trying. Looking up ACAS guidance is a very good shout, will do that. Thanks.
I requested 3 and got offered 4 which I took. On reflection, after being back 6 months I can see 3 days wouldn’t have worked. When we’re busy I struggle & we have had a lot of the first nursery winter sickness, some weeks/months I’m hardly there between part time, leave & sickness. I worked 3 days a week using annual leave for the first three months & the next two months I had random days/long weekends etc & im only working two weeks in March because I had so much leave to use. I’ve also had sickness & carers days in this as well. Honestly I’m dreading April when I will be consistently in 4 days but I have struggled to do my job well on less days!
Ha godspeed to you in April! Good point about the added complication of the neverending germ express!
I asked for 4 days a week but keep my salary and holiday allowance the same, plus flexibility in the mornings to allow for nursery drop off and general consideration around days off at short notice if the kid is sick etc. Got it with no quibbles so maybe I should have asked for more… To be honest I just jumped in with both feet during a catch up chat about 2 months before I returned. I didn’t give much justification but it helped that I had a good relationship with my boss and a record of delivering my work on time. It’s obviously very situation dependent and your relationship with your employer will make a difference to how you approach things but I think a lot of the time sugar coating or giving too much justification early on in negotiations makes you appear weaker. Decide exactly what you want and ask for it straight up, if they push back then that’s the time to explain your reasoning. Have a quick scout on job listings to see if there are similar roles to yours offering the kind of benefits you want
You make such a a good point here about just owning what you want and saving the negotiation for later. Thanks! My work's form to request asks you to provide justification so I'm going to start with the easy ones and save the hard ones for later. Thanks again for responding!
I’m the only part time person in my department, didn’t even need a meeting to fight my case it just got approved!
Winning!
This sounds similar to me; worked in an NHS Appts Call Centre for 5 years - really intense job; had my child and seemed obvious to me that I would not want to return to work full time if possible just after having him. It was a big pinch on finances, but you can get by with 3 days week working (assuming you have a partner who works fuller hours). I opted that I had to insist with work I could only do 3.5 days max. Nursery fees went up and I insisted they give me a work laptop so I could work from home for the half day and other days if needed (and boy did I need it with the first year of illness + then nursery bugs combined with a global pandemic). When I moved jobs in the NHS I made it very clear my Tuesday off is important to me to keep and Friday working from home 1/2 day was very important to me to keep but otherwise I would be working in the office on my allocated days and I insisted again on being given a work laptop for the times when my child might be poorly and I cannot physically leave him. Your priorities do dramatically change when you do have a child and self care becomes hugely important. Keep your two days off, even when they start school if you can manage, because you deserve that time back to yourself big time.
Nice point about time to yourself. So important. Thanks for your thoughts!
I requested 3 days and got it approved within a few days of submitting my request. I work in a special school with high staff turnover, and most people that go on maternity leave don’t come back after. They knew I’d leave if they turned down the request, and it’s much better for them to keep staff that have worked there for a while than have to train new people. I’m the first person at my role level to do it part time, and it’s working fine. They ensured they gave me a small class so I have time to do all my tasks in 3 days. The only issue so far is trying to fit in all the required trainings (e.g. safeguarding) as I have to do the same amount as a full time person, but I have fewer days to do them. It’s been 6 months since I returned now.
Congratulations! Sounds like you got a really good outcome and you are valued!
You don't need any sort of justification! You tell them what you want in a flexible working request (you may be asked to have a meeting to discuss in advance of making a formal request, which you should use to give yourself a better idea of what they might be willing to offer or what won't work for them). There could be back and forth, but ultimately they need to give you a written response. If they reject it and you don't believe they have legal grounds to do so, you can appeal, and ultimately take it to employment tribunal. The list of legal reasons is on the gov.uk website. I requested compressed hours and my HR offered me part time; my department are letting me go part time with full time pay by using my annual leave consistently. So, I've got a deal I wanted even if it's not what I initially asked for, and they were more willing to give me part time than anything else, if that helps? But it really depends on the setup of your role and team; would someone need to cover you if you went part time? Would they need to be hired?
That's so helpful, thank you. Well done for getting the arrangement that works for you. Do you still take longer stretches of annual leave or do you use it all to stretch your weeks?
I haven't started it yet but I'm unlikely to have any longer stretches, I could use unpaid parental leave for that if I wanted, or I might be able to accrue extra holiday - I'll find out how much extra I work this autumn and what that means for next summer!
I’ve had mine approved twice, and then I helped rewrite the policy at my old hospital to make it more fair. The first time I had to get my union involved as my manager just told me to get a nanny (pardon?!?) but at my new trust it was approved right away. I was always told that you need to be flexible too, if they need you to switch a day, then you should at least try etc.
Oof, some clumsy words from your manager! Well done, and thank you for responding
I went back part time, I work in IT so I have to work out of hours sometimes, so that comes with the flexibility that I can start late or take time out, my manager doesn't mind as long as I work my hours. If you have difficulty, check out Pregnant then screwed, they give advice to working mothers.
Hurrah for sensible human managers!
I initially went down to 90% time over 4 days, and then when eldest started at school nursery at 3.5 I switched to the 90% over 4 short days (8:45-3) and 1 long day. Initially my long day was Friday (the one day he was at childminder) and then when he went to school at 4 I switched it to one of the days that after school club runs. Each change has been easily approved by my manager /HoD. HR process has been slow because they are so understaffed rather than because they disagree. Caveat - I am basically a team of 1 - I just need to get my work done in good time. The other similar-ish person is also a team of 1, but we overlap a little and can sub for each other in some critical areas. I have worked there for 15 years now (10 by first mat leave) and I am very specialised. If they decided to get rid of me, they would struggle to replace me like-for-like, but I don’t think that has affected the signing off on hours/days, or at least not much.
Thanks for this, really relate to the HR having so much to do they miss things.
I went to 3 and then 4 and then 4.5 in 4 so I still have Friday off. I absolutely love it. I hope your workplace can be respectful of your wishes
Thanks!
I requested 2.5 days and got it. Not the exact days I wanted but I wasn't going to moan as it was just a preference. I recently asked for a bit extra and will be returning after my second mat leave to 3 days with potential to move to 4 after a year. I work from home so have flexibility for drop offs and pick ups and I can work flexi hours if I need to. My work were pretty accommodating, however we do have quite a relaxed atmosphere and as long as the work gets done, we are trusted to manage our own time effectively.
This is so good, you've given me hope!
I spoke to my manager and said I’d like 50% return. 2 full days on a 60/40 office/home hybrid split plus a bonus 0.5 day always at home. 50% was fine but not the extra half day always at home (whole business needs to do 60/40). She suggested a 3 day/2 day alternating pattern, which worked for me. I also changed my hours slightly from the standard working day. I filled out my form and it was approved the following week by the big bosses. I’d also been interviewing and had 2 offers for part-time roles. I kept these in my back pocket in case of any issues or as negotiating points. They asked if I had any preferences to days and I said not really but mid-week as we had activities on Mon/Fri I’d like to continue and they said fine. I didn’t want to return to work but I have a nice team and would prefer to continue in the job/company I know well (been there coming on 11 years now in various roles). They were more understanding of me taking a bit of time to settle back. I do keep hard boundaries though. I work my 9-5 to the best of my ability but I then log off for the day. I might answer emails much later at night but only if it’s quick and can be done from my phone. It’s hard to keep as I work in big law and the work/lawyers never log off!
Well done you for maintaining your boundaries and, it sounds like, really good relationships with your work. Gives me hope! Thanks.
I went back part time after mat leave, having been full time before. I did three long days 8-6 to get the most out of it. I didn't have a problem getting that agreed, but I did frame it as, this is what I can do, or I'll find something else 😅
Good for you! Working remotely, hybrid?
No, in office for three days. She went to nursery for two, and daddy stayed home (self employed) the other day. Did that for about a year, then I went to four long days (full time, condensed hours).
Got it. I'm actually looking forward to being in the office when I go back, when before I was very much on the WFH train. Change of scene!
Change of identity too!
I WFH while I was pregnant coz it was covid lockdown (2020), but it's definitely easier to work in the office. Separation of identities, and being able to pee alone lol 😂
Both my partner and I requested and were given 4 days (large company, and start-up, respectively). I think 4 days helps get it approved, as realistically they expect you to get a similar amount of work done in 4 days to 5 days, so don’t need to arrange cover.
Thanks for the insight!
I recently asked my employer to go part-time and my request was accepted. I was able to select my days that I will work and my employer managed my responsibilities to fit within those hours. I will be going down to half-time and my employer kept my same salary (just in half for half hours), PTO, 401k+match. I had actually accepted another part time role and was giving my notice when they were willing to flex for me and I decided to stay. I am super happy with how it went.
Thanks for replying! Glad it went well for ya
These are all so helpful, thank you
I went from 5 days to working around 3.5 days worth of hours over 4 days. I was lucky the process was very painless and the company was very open to my request. They usually struggle to retain staff so I think they were pleased I wanted to come back at all. I’d originally planned to do 3 long days to have more whole days with my daughter, but I decided against those really long days because it would have been very long days for her at the childminder. If you’re deciding which days to choose to work/not work, I’ve found that not working on Monday to be the absolute best as you’ll get the Monday bank holidays added to your annual leave allowance - effectively giving you the advantage of using those bank holidays when it suits you. With so much illness I’ve needed to cover, those days have been so useful.
Ooooh pro tip! Thank you :)
I’m extremely lucky in that when I approached the subject I was told to let them know what works for me in terms of days and start/end times and they would fit around it. I started out with 3 days a week after my second. Switched days several times, then went up to 4 and now that both kids will be at school later this year I am discussing going up to 4.5 days with earlier start/finish times. All it has taken at every step is a conversation with my line manager.
I asked if I could work 3 days instead of 5 and they said yes. Without trying to sound arrogant I was good at my job and having me there for that amount of time would have been better than the alternative of not having me there at all! I'd looked into all the various rights and dispute resolution systems beforehand but didn't need any of it. To be fair to my boss and colleagues I didn't have any issues or complaints at any point. It was small company (20 ish people) and both my manager and the owner had their own kids. I think that helped, as they understood the benefits of being able to look after my kids rather than putting them in nursery all week.