If your take home pay was 5k a month, would you do this?

Absolutely take it! Go for as much progression as you can; move jobs later if you hate it. Guarantee your child needs you more as a teenager than they do as a toddler; my DS were in nursery from 7:30am (so in road at 7am) and in until 6pm having the time of their lives.

It’s not just £1k after tax though is it? It’s more into your pension, and career progression. you are the sole breadwinner… I don’t think you can afford to turn down £1k (I say this as someone in similar salary as a single parent although ds is 18 now 😂)

You say dc would be in childcare anyway, so there would be no change, you might want to consider paying for a little more help with cleaning/meal prep if you are out of the house.

do it, save the money, have an amazing holiday for you both…. I used to do this with ds, and have been able to fund a lot for him recently, as a thank you for him being so accepting when he was little and I was working. Sometimes I couldn’t get to sports day or the school play, but we’ve been all over the world together, and we both value that.

Take it. Speaking as a single parent without financial support I think you will need it I did. Stick it in the bank or straight in your pension and go for salary sacrifice if it takes you over 100k. If not it will pay for the fun times!

I wouldn’t xx

Personally I’d choose money, but that’s just because we’ve always struggled

Can you use the new offer to try to negotiate a pay increase with your current employer, even if not full £1k they may increase a little.

I would do it and I did do it. Single parent with one in nursery and one in primary school. Like another poster said, carrying the whole financial burden was hard. No other adult to share any tricky financial times. I also like nice stuff so needed to pay for it.

Primary school is tricky. They invite parents in to watch stuff mid morning rather then first thing. It meant I couldn't go as often as I would've liked. But in terms of flexibility, it was secondary school when I really needed it. There's far more going on in their lives that you want to be aware of.

Fast forward a couple of decades and I wish I'd done it sooner. The one area I gave less consideration to in my earlier days was pension. The best boost a pension will have is the early years. As a single woman I have no-one to share the costs of retirement so need more put away than someone in a couple.

What else comes into play for 1k? More senior role? Better brand? Better progression opportunity?

you’ll lose childcare benefit so won’t have an extra )1k in your pocket. £6k take home is over £100k gross.

I would always advocate going for more but since you have no back up as a single parent, I would suggest keeping the flex (which includes trying to negotiate more WFH days with the new employer) until your youngest is old enough to take themselves to and from school by themselves.

A 5 pm pick up is still early and disruptive unless your new job and transport/commute is very very predictable. Your dc may also have afterschool activities they will want to be ferried to which they won't have the option to do if you are in the office 4 days a week.

4 days in the office is quite tough if you are used to lots of flexibility. Try that at your current place for 2 weeks and see how you get on. I was approached by a recruiter for a big job that required 4 days in the office. The recruiter acknowledged it may be a dealbreaker - it was and it also sounded like it was for other candidates.

I wouldnt - you. are earning a lot already and lose the flexibility. you probably aren desperate for the money?

No, because

1. I'd be worrying that the lack of flexibility around WFH would extend to other occasions where flexibility is required such as sick days, dentist appointments, school assemblies etc.
2. I wouldn't want to fall into the dreaded 100k tax trap and lose the tax free childcare and funded nursery hours.

Don’t do it ! You will fiend your extra 1k on commute and childcare and loose flexibility

I'd be tempted to stick with what you've got, money is nothing compared to things like job security, low-stress environment and a happy kid. You've already got those things.

What are the benefits (pay, pension, holiday, etc) vs extra costs (travel, childcare, commute time) of the new job? Is the job more engaging/interesting? Is it a higher stress position/industry? Is it a rare career opportunity, or is it likely to come around again? What is the probation period, and is it a permanent or fixed term contract?

Am I reading this right - you earn £5k per month and have full flexibility? I think if youre earning that much you could afford to manage without the extra while LO is so young

She said it’s after tax, but I agree with your point about increased costs.

I would do it... I would be wanting to be sure I had savings and career prospects.
Not all parenting takes place in the home.

Flexibility every time.

Primary school so much harder to navigate the timings and book wrap around and holiday care. Not to mention going into school to watch assemblies etc.

It wouldn't be worth it for me. Soon, your DD will be wanting you to come to all manner of nativities, class assemblies, book sharing mornings and so on, and you'll wish you had that flexibility.

You’re right. There are so many children tha notice when their parents are t around all day when they are at school. What a load of tosh.

I would t swap working from home and flexibility for 1k a month unless you NEED the extra.

I’m a single parent and I stand by flexibility when dc are at primary school especially if the other parent doesn’t attend any of the events and is no help in the holidays or school closures or sickness.

Its not just the cost of the commute is it? There is the extra expenditure of more suitable clothes, makeup etc to work on site. lunches and snacks. Then the time wasted getting to work, getting ready which will bring no benefit. How much of that etra £1000 is going to be of use once the tax man, the garage, the coffee seller etc have got their grubby hands on it?

No, I wouldn’t. You’re talking about nursery runs, so presumably your dd is very little. Now are the easy years for working. You won’t have it this easy in primary school and she’ll need you a lot more in secondary.

I found it easy to work long hours when mine were 2/3 and in nursery. But it was hard at 4-11 in primary school. My eldest is a teen and needs a lot of taxiing around to sports training which starts at 4:30pm. I’d hang on to your flexibility and quality of life as you don’t otherwise have much support.

Well that depends on the job. most will allow dependents or emergency leave for sick children, so a less flexible job day to day doesn’t necessarily mean no allowances at all for a work-life balance.

my work is not flexible at all with hours but a sick child a parent can take the day off no problem. Either dependents or a/l. Bear in mind parental leave is a thing too, albeit unpaid. If the job pays more generally then a few unpaid days aren’t a problem.

generally as a dept we are supportive of single parents too.