Returning PT - which days?

[OneForTheRoadThen]

I'm currently putting together an official flexible working request to work 3 days a week. I wondered if anyone had any advice on which days to go for.

I was told that Monday was always a good choice to work as you then benefit from Bank Holidays. Is it better to do 3 days in a row?

In terms of childcare is it better for children to go to childcare for 3 days in a row or to have gaps between the days? Does it make a difference? My son will be 10 months old when I return to work.

Any opinions gratefully received

[redmimi]

I find that Monday's are a bad day as you will only get a pro rata entitlement to holidays and bank holidays but will always have to deduct the hours on a bank holiday. Also some nurseries still charge for a back holiday if they are closed. Thankfully mine didn't.

I like working 3 days in a row but have friends that prefer breaking up the week. I think kids adapt to whatever pattern they get used to.

I now work tue, wed, thur which is great for long weekends!

[PurpleCrazyHorse]

What days will give you the best chance for getting it agreed?

I would have worked Tues-Thurs by preference, giving us long weekends to go away every weekend. Boss would never have agreed so I did Mon, Wed, Fri as the number of days was more important than actual days, for me.

There's pros and cons for both. Being in every other day meant there wasn't a big build up of work/emails between working days. DD did fine at the CM every other day.

[Avebury]

Tues/ Wed/Fri works well as Fridays are often a bit more relaxed and you are only ever not in for one day at a time so things don't build up and if you are being hassled by phone or e mail on a day off you can legitimately say 'I don't work today but I can deal with that tomorrow'

[OneForTheRoadThen]

Thanks for your views. I don't think my boss minds which days I do as I'm an account manager and I am responsible for my own clients. I think I could make an argument for any 3 days.

I think I might put a couple of options in my request to improve chances of success!

[Bringmewineandcake]

I originally did Mon, thurs, Fri at my manager's request but luckily got to change to Wed-Fri after 1 year and the consecutive days work much better. Not rtft sorry, but bank hols are an issue if your company pro rata them. Yes you'll have a shorter week a couple of times a year, but you'll have to take some out of your annual leave if it is pro rata.

[Bringmewineandcake]

Tues-Thurs is probably the least likely option your boss would accept if you're in a team and there has to be cover.

[BikeRunSki]

Find out how your organisation deals with BH for pt'ers - I benefit from not working Mondays. I have, and havn't worked Friday's. Not working Friday's is hard, as everyone always wants stuff for the end of the week, and I always used to finish off on Thursday evenings at home, but I guess it depends on the role.

I have worked 3 days a week for the last 8 years, always consecutive and sometimes as a job share.o dos consecutive days so that I could have a big chunk of time to go and weeny mum, who is 6 hrs drive away. Now that both DC are are school, it doesn't really matter.

[purplemunkey]

I work Tues-Thurs and I love it. I like working the three days in a row, I don't think it would matter much which combination it was. I like to have the clean break between work and the (gloriously long) weekend. I'd probably be thinking about all the things I need to do tomorrow if I broke my days up more. I think its probably more likely that things would stack up for you too if people thought 'oh, x can just pick this up tomorrow' rather than deal with it themselves if you're back in the next day rather than the following week IYSWIM. I have to be very organised and plan my time well so I like to have as much control as I can over my workload!

We go to regular groups on the days I'm at home but there's so many toddler groups around I'm sure I could've found alternatives if my days were different.

I'm quite glad Monday isn't one of my days, getting things done and progressing in three days is hard enough without having a two day week every time there's a bank holiday.

I love my work life balance, good luck with negotiating your flexibility

[pinkhorse]

I used to do Tuesday to Thursday and loved it. I always felt like my ds should have 3 days in a row at childminders rather than in one day then not the next then in again the day after.
I always felt ready to go back to work after a four day weekend rather than having the odd random day in the week.

[BackforGood]

Tues - Thurs is best for most people's contracts, as you only get 3/5 of the BH allowance, but obviously have to take a full day each BH, so that eats into your AL. If you don't work Mondays then 3/5 of a day's AL gets added on to your holiday entitlement for you to take elsewhere.

Doesn't really make a difference to dc if they spread days out or do them together.
Once they get to school, most schools tend to do more things you'll want to attend, on Fridays (class assemblies, Summer Fetes etc.) so that's a good day to have off - unless of course you work some where that has either shorter days on a Friday, or a more relaxed atmosphere on a Friday in the office.

Some people suggest it's better for your job if you don't work your 3 days together, so clients don't have such a long wait for you to get back to them, but I suspect that depends on the job - I've never had an issue with it.

Lots more people have Fridays off, so that can work either way - better chance of a friend being about to meet up with, but, OTOH everywhere is much busier / more crowded.

I find I'm FAR more productive on a Monday - get loads done at home - but relax into 'weekend mode' come Thursday night and get much less done on a Friday. That could be just me of course

[JustDanceAddict]

I work mon/thurs now, and love having s shorter week.
In a previous job I have done 3 days of choice which (I think!) were mon, tue & thurs. I liked having a day off in the week otherwise the housework went to pot (kids were younger then so more mess), and it meant if a child was ill on mon or tue I could go in on the weds. My boss was v flexible, I was v lucky (got made redundant sadly).
I find most people have Fridays off so you can meet with people easier and the week just feels shorter. So I'd do a combo of mon, tues or weds, & thurs. I think if you do mon, tue, wed that's too long a gap between wed & mon.

[JustDanceAddict]

Good point re the Monday thing. I think mine were pro-rata'd too as I remember sitting with the admin person and trying to work it all out!

[WhoisLucasHood]

I've done Tues to Thurs which is nice, I currently work Wed to Fri which is great as we get early dart on a Friday, everyone is in weekend mode.

[SherryRB]

Whatever you put in your flexible working request, to maximise it being accepted successfully, I suggest you word your options to demonstrate how that will suit the business i.e. present it to make it look like you are going for the options that make the most sense for your role or the type of work that you.

I used to work from home two days a week, Tuesdays and Fridays. Tuesdays worked well for me because on Monday nights I had a manager meeting at 9pm (which I dialled into from home). The rest of the manager team was based in Chicago.

[museumum]

I did Tuesday to Thursday but didn't like it. I always felt bad in Tuesday mornings that people had been waiting for a response from me since Thursday evening (I also had to leave in time to collect ds before 6).
I now work four days but if I went back to 3 I would do either Monday, Tuesday Thursday or Monday Wednesday Thursday.

[ReceptionMum]

I used to work Wed - Fri (3 days), but now changed to Tue-Thu (3 days again).

For me working on Mondays was an expensive option - 2 children at nursery, had to pay for Bank Holiday days (even though not attending) and at the same time take 1 day holiday at work.

DD has started school this Sept, DS is still at nursery. So, I kept Monday off again.

Also, when I checked school calendar - I confirmed my selection of days off as Mon & Fri: they seem to have a quite a few INSET days and they are either Mon or Fri; also last days of half terms are always half days, so I would need to take half a day holiday as well.

[OneForTheRoadThen]

I'm just bumping this as my flexible working request has been approved and ive been given the choice of Tues -Thurs or Tues, Weds and Fri. Any advice? Thanks

[CheshireSplat]

I think either would be good.

How long are your hours? If it's a long day and a long commute I'd prefer to have the Thursday at home with DC rather than not see him much from Mon eve til Fri morning. But if you're home at an ok time, it may be less disruptive for him/her to have 3 days in a row.

Would you have more friends around on a Friday? As a PP has said Fridays are often a nice day to work as they can be more laid back. Do you ever have work nights out? If so, do they tend to be Thurs or Fri? Would you want to drag yourself back in if it was your day off?

Lots of questions but it's a good choice.

Well done in getting what you wanted. Lucky you!

[OneForTheRoadThen]

Thanks Cheshire! That's a good point about not seeing much of my son from Tues-Thurs. I don't work very long hours (I'm actually based from home) but 2 days a week will be visiting clients in central London. It's certainly something to think about so thanks for pointing that out

As I'm home based I don't have work nights out! But I am leaning towards doing 3 days in a row as I think I'd just like to get work out the way tbh

[AmberEars]

I work Mon / Wed / Thurs. I like having my days off separately rather than in a block, so that if someone emails me at work there is only a one working day delay before I reply.

But on the other hand it's good not to work on Fridays so I can go to my DC's sharing assemblies. Also some of my friends also have Fridays off so it's a good day to go for a run with a friend or meet someone for coffee (my DC are all at school now).

So I'm not sure which I'd choose of your two options!