To think my flexible working request will not unreasonable?

I don’t know why mumsnet are such bitches about flexible working.

@NameChangedOct it entirely depends on your sector, in mine flexible working requests are almost always accommodated in some form.

You have demonstrated by doing a 4 day week how it works and what the impacts are. You could offer an alternative day for example perhaps a Weds would have less impact on deliverables. Alternatively you could agree to do it for 1 year with a review before making it perm.

I’m a senior manager doing 0.81 FTE myself and I have approved hundreds of requests in my career. About half I have needed to reach a compromise but there’s only been 2 I refused completely.

Employers are expected to find ways to accommodate, not ways to refuse. But given the ridiculous comments above you’d think you were asking for something completely unreasonable.

I can't see how the changes in the law will have any impact on a situation like the OP's. The employer clearly does have reasonable grounds for refusing the request in this case.

Given that your manager has already expressed reservations you need to compromise or you will get a flat out refusal, which would be legitimate if the impact of your current pattern using Annual Leave is any guide. I would suggest there would be less impact on the business if your day off was on Wednesday rather than Friday and you work at 90% of fte by working 12.5% longer on Mon,Tue,Thu&Fri. This would be perceived as much closer to full time and more likely to be accepted. Having your day off mid-week is better for lots of reasons - more mum&toddler activities available, less pressure at family-friendly venues that are always really crowded on fridays, having a midweek breather helps the week to be more bearable generally. And if a project is delayed due to your day off it feels like a shorter delay to only wait from wed to thu rather than fri to mon.

The timing issue appears larger on Friday/Monday because of the weekend. Can you suggest taking off a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday instead? Psychologically, the gap of you waiting a day to finish up will not seem as dramatic.

Sounds like a reasonable business reason to decline to me! When I applied for flexible working I had to state the effect would have on the business and how any effect could be mitigated on my application form.

Everyone wants Fridays off. I currently have two team members in my small team of 4 that don't work Fridays (I inherited them with that arrangement). It is mangeable but an utter ballache for arranging meetings and it means anything time sensitive falls to me on a Friday. So if I ever take Friday off nothing gets done.

The employer could still show this is unreasonable.

Why not ask for Monday's off? If you can't complete a task by Thursday close of business you're potentially creating a 4 day delay whereas if you're not available to complete on a Monday you personally are only creating a single days delay?

I personally feel it's reasonable for them to deny the Friday.

Sounds like their reason is not unreasonable!

puls it maybe be better if you had a day off mid week? Or would that make no difference?

Labour have just published a draft of the new workers rights bill which is expected to change the law to make flexible working the default for all unless employer can prove unreasonable. This is more favourable to employees than the existing law is. It will take a few months to get through parliament etc but it might mean that your employer will have to rethink their approach in future

Here

See your ‘not the end of the world’ is irrelevant.

It means your team do not hit their deadlines.

Saying ‘it’s different clients each time’ so it’s fine. Is ok until people start noticing deadlines are regularly missed.

If a deadline is 2-3 days and it’s regularly being missed, it’s regularly being missed. The deadline is set as that, for a reason. It’s not important to you. That doesn’t mean it’s not important.

You have essentially being testing it out and they are telling you it doesn’t work.

You can always ask- you have no legal right as a parent to have a day off with your child. It's not juts a day delay, possibly- if you hand off on a Thursday, it's not done on a Friday, then you re pick it up on Monday, then the task may not actually be completed until late Monday, or Tuesday. The business has told you the delays are unacceptable and unworkable. You don't see an issue with the delays, but they do for their clients, so in that basis sounds like they'd refuse. As others have said, you may need to look for other roles, whilst still obviously making the request as you are entitled to- as is any employees, children or not.

Rearrange these words
Cake, eat, to, have, and, want, your, you, it

You really think holding up time-sensitive work for a few days is no big deal? Ridiculous
Get a job that doesn't rely on your 'legal right' (it isn't, btw,msee below) to work or not

Applying for flexible working
Employees can apply for flexible working from their first day in a job. This is known as ‘making a statutory application.’
The basic steps are:
The employee writes to the employer.

The employer discusses the employee’s request with them and makes a decision on it within 2 months - or longer if agreed with the employee.

If the employer agrees to the request, they must change the terms and conditions in the employee’s contract.

If the employer disagrees, they must tell the employee giving the business reasons for the refusal. The employee may be able to complain to an employment tribunal.

You have no more “legal right” as a parent than anyone else requesting flexible working. It sounds like a reasonable business reason for saying no. Is there another day off which would work better? Or could you do compressed hours working 9 days a fortnight instead, and your partner do the same but alternate the weeks so one of you is off the same day each week. I’d also be cautious about reducing your hours because everyone I know who’s done that, they end up working the same amount for less pay.

Sounds like a completely legitimate business reason to decline your request.

They sound like justifiable reasons to me.

YANBU to want a day with your DC, but it does sound quite impractical in your current role. I’d suggest request job share and dropping to 3 days PW or finding a new role

I also wondered initially if it was a reverse, given that the OP actually set out very reasonable business reasons for refusing the request.

You don’t have a legal right as a parent to work a four day week.

You can make your case but so can they, and if they’ve already found it difficult for you to be off one day every week, then they have good evidence as to why it wouldn’t work for them long term.

A one day delay on the tasks I pick up isn’t the end of the world. It wouldn’t be the same client each time and most are understanding.

You may think they are understanding, but it won’t take much for them to move their business elsewhere if it is an ongoing issue. Your request would affect the ‘needs of the business’ too much from what you say, so I imagine it would be refused.

I've gone back to work part time after mat leave but in my role there are no key meetings on a Monday so that's my day off. Since I've returned I've realised that often people are trying to get things finished for the end of the week but if things come in on a Monday they can often wait until Tues with no business impact and you've got flexibility in the week to 'catch up'. Could a Monday off be a better option? I wouldn't have realised this until I've been back to work and experienced it. I thought I'd prefer to have Fridays off but it's actually nice not to have that end of weekend feeling on a Sunday!

I will start something on a Thursday and unable to finish it, I have to hand it over to a colleague (which I think is fine, only slightly less efficient, or if the colleague can’t get to it then it waits until Monday which delays the output beyond our usual times, but it’s hardly life or death)
So colleague has to pick up your work on top of their own, and if they can't do the work you couldn't that causes delays?
Perfect example of how it wouldn't work.
In fact is this a reverse with the blasé attitude of giving colleagues a heavier workload and detrimental affect on the business?

But those other reasons (sickness etc) will still happen, but on top of your absence so even more problematic.