Help me pick my work days?

[SteppingStonesOfDoom]

Work have (finally!) agreed to let me flex my working and condense my hours into four days a week. I can either have a Monday or a Friday off. I’m trying to work out which is best? I was thinking a Monday off but now I’m wondering if that will be effected by bank holidays? Anyone who works four days a week have any advice on the best day to be off?

I have a Friday off, otherwise it feels like I'm on the back foot when I come in on a Tuesday, also a lot of meetings happen on a Monday and Tuesday and I feel like my absence is more noticeable. With Fridays off, work is getting a good deal, FT people are inevitably winding down. And it's not great for bank holidays as our work automatically take this out of our allowance so if I had Mondays off I'd have more flexible days to take when I wanted.

So if you take Monday you wont benefit from bank holiday Monday's but it is the quieter day for shopping etc.
Fridays are busier
I take a Monday and I don't get the Sunday dread feeling.. its joyous

I do Monday - I can then use the bank holiday to choose another day off which is fabulous. Friday is an "easier" day which tends to have less meetings and people log off a bit earlier so I'm not missing out on that!

More conscientious people would probably pick Friday

Take off the Friday. Work crisis always happens on a Friday afternoon....

I chose to take Mondays off so I could have that day as annual leave instead to have a day off of my choosing and not using it for the bank holidays. Also childcare means you still pay for bank holidays when they are closed.

My non working day is a Friday. It suits me as I start my weekend early so can do any errands on that day or go to the hairdressers etc. When bank holidays happen I get a 4 day weekend which feels lovely 😁

I don't work Mondays, and Bank Holidays are a pain in the arse, but thats my works fault, so maybe check what your works policy is.

So at my work we have to work some Bank holidays, we're NHS, and so sometimes I have to work. It's officially a half day, but in reality its until the work is done so usually 2pm, so DH has to take a full day AL to cover childcare. Its very annoying!

I don't work Mondays, depends on how you are allocated leave but I'm much better off in terms of annual leave for not working on a Monday. We are given the BH allocation pro rata then have to use that to book off the BHs, I end up with a surplus as I only need to book easter. Also never have the Sunday night dread 😆

If you take Monday off off you get extra annual leave to make up for the public holiday that you missed, if you work on Mondays you're seen as getting extra bank holidays so your annual leave is less

Definitely don't work Monday. Childcare still charges you on bank holidays too

I did four days a week for several years and had Monday off. My pro rata bank holidays got added to my annual leave, so I had more or less another week added on. Also no horrible Sunday night blues. Fridays were always pretty chilled out at my workplace so it was nice working there on a Friday tbf.

Have Mondays off, you should get extra leave as you will not benefit
from some of the bank holidays.

Mondays off are good because the bank holidays falling on a non working day means they are available as leave days. I have Monday and Friday off but no work on Mondays is a revelation.

I have done both and much preferred having Monday off.

Thanks everyone! Looks like Monday is a good day to have off then!

@SteppingStonesOfDoom DO check with your HR dept how leave is calculated - you may be "throwing away" your Monday BHs if you can't take them as leave on other days - this was the case for me, and it took me a few years to get my head around that. My day off is now Wednesdays and it's suited me really well, I like the way it puts a breather in the middle of my week.

I condensed into 3.5 (would easily be four but I didn't mind a late finish for the early finish the following day), but with alternating weeks.

Week 1 I do Monday - Thursday and week 2 I do Tuesday - Friday. Means that every other weekend is a 4 day weekend.

It's absolutely revolutionary.

Oh! I'm about to go down to 4 days per week from April & it never crossed my mind to worry about Bank Holidays! Ooops. I had better find out how we calculate them... I love working on a Friday as it is so quiet. The roads are clearer for my long commute & nobody bothers me at work. I get loads done, so decided on Monday instead of Fridays off.

That's rubbish and quite unfair!

It shouldn't be the case but def worth checking

https://www.tuc.org.uk/guidance/i-dont-work-mondays-will-i-miss-out-bank-holidays

Check with how bank holidays are accounted for with part time working at your place of work but for me, having Mondays off is by far the best day as I get a pro rata bank holiday allowance that I can use on other days. I get approximately a week's more leave per year by having a Monday off than a Friday off.

Plus, Mondays are quieter for running errands than Fridays and I don't actually mind that "Friday feeling", particularly leaving the office on a Friday afternoon. It's often a bit of a quieter day (not always, but often.)

If you get Bank Holidays added to your annual leave pro rata then having Monday as your day off definitely works out to your advantage.

@Blueey Thanks but no need to get outraged on my behalf. I get reasonable X days (pro rata) above the legal minimum plus Bank Holidays. And on my grade (academic related) the BH are apparently "take it or leave it". At least that was the last time I checked/had it explained to me which is quite a while ago now. Some of my other professional staff colleagues (they're also in a different pension) get the same amount but the BH are accountable. Presumably because they are more likely to be asked to work on BH - in the olden days when we were all full time ;-) and my institution definitely suffers from "historical dinosaur rules" where HR is concerned and change is slow.

I'd have the Friday off then you won't have to worry Bank Holiday Mondays either, if that is your works practice.

Always a Monday! I never get the Sunday night dread (even on a Monday it doesn't come). U get extra holidays as u still get the allowance of the bank holiday Mondays 👍 this can be an extra week of holidays or more!

I wld never choose a Friday as I notice that lots of places seem much busier and the traffic come lunch time is busy with lots of folk finishing early.

Is it only an option of Monday or Friday? I did this and had Wednesdays off, it was lovely

I have Mondays off and have for about 10 years.
I get the bank holiday Mondays back on a day of my choosing. Nothing not to like about that.
I love NOT having Sunday night blues.

the only disadvantage i can think of it at least round here, none of the hairdressers and beauty salons are open on Mondays. A lot of cafes are closed too. Which is pain!