Returning to work with 2 under 2

[Shazafied]

Hi all,

So I have a 9mo and am pregnant with dc2, expected April 2019. So I'll have a 16mo and a newborn.

I am on mat leave until the end of Nov (took 52 weeks) and will be returning 3 days a week till I go on mat leave again in April, when I plan to take 52 weeks leave again.

DD1 has had a couple of settle mornings at the child minder , she charges £50 per day and DD will go 3 days per week. This doesn't leave much of my wages but (until I found out I was pregnant) was sure I wanted to keep my job going.

I work in admin at a HEI and have started at the bottom due to a late career change (health reasons). But it's a nice job (although can be stressful at times and my line manager is horrible, everyone else is nice though!) with good prospects and conditions... I'm on the very bottom rung though.

So as not to drip feed - my salary is around £11k when I go back. Husband earns £55k, mortgage is £450 pcm so we are not struggling. We have no parents around so all childcare to be paid for.

Just wanted to hear experiences from other mums of 2u2! I'm already thinking if it's worth going back. Until DD1 qualifies for 30 hours free childcare (stretching to 20 hours per week of over 52 weeks) we'd have to pay £100 per day for childcare (for both), wiping out my wages totally ... in fact I'd incur a loss with travel. I think this would go on for 15 months or so.

After that we'd have to pay full rate for younger child plus 10 hours worth per week for DD1. They'd both be going 30 hours per week.

I reckon it really won't pay for me to work until dd1 is in reception and and dd2 is receiving the 20 hours (over 52 weeks) free per week.

Already thinking if it's worth it - I'd like to keep my job going but I'm the bottom band so that makes me feel I could have a chance of getting a similar job again in the future (id like to work for an HEI forever I think), although it would be harder after 2 or so years out of work wouldn't it?

DH often works away so in reality it will fall to me to get both little ones out the door , to CM, get myself to work on time , pick them up on time and if there are emergencies .... is it worth it just to keep a basic admin job going?

I think I'd be happy enough being a SAHM for a couple of years on the understanding that I'd go back to work at a planned time (eg when they are 3 and 4). I just worry that I might not get back in to the same employer etc.

Can others who have been through similar please share their stories ? I've loads of time to think about it but don't know anyone else in this boat in RL.

Thanks all xxx

I had 2 DC with an 18 month gap and was a SAHM until the youngest was 2 years old then went back to work part time and used a childminder. Two thirds of my wages went on childcare and travel costs but I did net a small profit which obviously increased once the eldest started school. I think if you are bottom of the salary scale anyway and you don't need the small income you will get after paying childcare fees I would not bother going back until at least one of them gets the 30 free hours. Of course if you really like the job and jobs don't come up very often then it might be worth waiting and making a decision in May 2020 when you are due back. Presumably your oldest won't get the free hours until January 2021?

Thanks so much for your insight, how did you find being a SAHM? Did it help knowing you'd go back to work after a couple of years? I don't think DD1 will get any free hours till April 2021 (if I've read rules correctly).

My employer is enormous and there are loads of admin jobs around, including part time ones ... did you find it harder to get a job having been out of the market for a wee while? Or did you find employers were not put off by the break?

Thanks again xx

Just wanted to add @Cornishclio it's a good point you make about the small profit after childcare. I think I'd be happier going back when a small profit is to be made (£400 pcm or more) even if a lot of my wages disappear to CM. It's just the thought of going to work for zero money and the added stress!

I think I'd need some kind of outlet for my sanity though, even just a couple of hours a week at an evening choir or something.

Sorry - just checked again - Jan 2021 is correct for free hours DD1

I found it relatively easy to get a job after going back to work.

This was years ago though before things like tax credits, free hours etc so I got no help with childcare costs. I had worked full time up to having my first DD and left a good career but in those days I would have had to return full time to my existing post within a year and of course by then I was pregnant with DD2. I struggled to be honest with two very small children but financially it made no sense to go back part time and I did not think I could cope full time with a DH who did long erratic hours and lots of travel. Everything was on me. I adapted by joining lots of mum groups to get some adult contact.

Eventually we moved to another area of the country as London was so expensive and we needed a larger house so DH accepted a job transfer to the West Country. I worried jobs would be harder to come by but I was offered 2. My DD has just had her second DD and has gone for a larger age gap and gone back to work part time. Her DD1 is 3 so her free hours start in January next year just as she returns to work so will just have to pay for DD2.

I don't think from the sound of it that you will struggle finding work as that is more of an issue after a 5+ year gap. Coping with 2 small kids with a DH who is not around much might be a challenge. My advice would be get out every day to do something.

Thanks so much that's all really helpful - agree with the mums groups. We are inner city and there is at least one a day I can walk to (v lucky).

I've written it all down and I'd have to work for around year for no wages, then dd1 free hours kick in .... once they kick in I'd earn about £3.5k per year (profit) in a similar job after childcare costs (dd1 x 1 day and dc2 x 3 days).

That would continue for around 16 months. Then Dd1 would start reception and dc2 free hours would kick in (sept 2022)... so all at once it will become profitable to work again.

So if I do leave I'd start eyeballing the university job boards in the spring of 2022... by which point I'd have been out of the game for c. 2 years.

Xx

Bump !

You have 2 children who have 2 parents, why isn't your husband sharing the childcare costs? Why is it all coming out of your wages?
I'm in the same position except we share the childcare costs. Anything else seems completely unfair.

I'm expecting my second next month. There will be 18 montgs between them. My husband works long hours and away often so we decided I would SAH until youngest is 2. I'm a teacher and went back to work part time when my ds was 8 months and I struggled to juggle everything. I know I wouldn't manage it with 2 U 2. So looking forward to spending next 2 years with them. I will then go back full time and focus on my career 😊

I only kept working because I did not want to lose my contract (in my job part time permanent contracts are gold dust!) I only did one day a week but if I thought I could have got a job easily again once my ds were older I would have given it all up in a flash.

My employer allows career breaks for up to three years. No guarantees that you’ll have your job at the end, or even a job, but you get first dabs at being matched into a job which suits your skills and experiences once the career break comes to an end. Would that be a possibility for you?

I'll have a similar gap with DC2 and DC3 when DC3 is born, DC1 is older and at school. I will be working and/or studying and a single parent with 2 DCs fairly young, I don't know how it will work yet but am optimistic that where there is a will there is a way! X