to think I should be able to go part time even though I don't have children

[suziepra]

Hi,

I worked really hard when I was younger, paid off most of my mortgage so my outgoings are small now.

I requested to go part time but they just fobbed be off with its not suitable with my job, even though other people doing similar jobs with kids got this approved.

I feel peeved as its generally the rule that children is the only valid reason to go part time, I just want to enjoy my life more.

When I signed on the job centre threatened to stop the JSA because I was only applying for part time and as someone without children im expected to only look for full time work!

It was full time applying for the jobs I was qualified for so would have been pointless applying for others. Additionally I spoke to an ex HR manager this week who said they definitely weeded out 'over qualified' CVs when recruiting so an even bigger waste of time if they wouldn't be considered anyway!

Nail on the head ruby! I'm glad someone else gets it, my advisor was good actually apart from the must apply full time, but she was just following the rules there. She appologised most weeks for making me come in to sign on as she couldnt really help with the search.

The flexible working thing may well apply to everyone but your employers only have to consider it not grant it in my opinion its a pointless policy I work for the nhs I requested flexible hours when my little boy was diagnosed with autism and learning difficulties nights wer impossible to do because of his, needs I was outright refused as it didn't meet service needs. I have been off sick since and probably won't be going back as my sons needs are significant and I don't need the stress ,I,m not suggesting your reasons for wanting part time work is anybless valid than my reason for wanting flexibility but if your employers don't think it will be beneficial to them they can just say no .

Could you work compressed hours or does your employer have a long hours high workload culture that makes that impractical?

I work in a professional job and I manage to do full time hours for a full time salary and rarely work more than 4 days per week.

I do this by doing longer days on the other days (we work flexi time where you have to do 37.5 hours per week on average, it also travel and these are usually long days that all count towards time worked). I also use up some of my generous annual leave allowance.

How long is it since someone had a part time request accepted and what would happen if someone with DCs asked now? It might be a case of waiting until someone else had a request accepted and then raise the possibility of a discrimination grievance.

If a part timer left, might you able to apply for their PT 'allocation'?

Could you get a similar PT or lower grade role elsewhere or do contracting or be self employed.

YANBU at all. Why shouldn't you seek work that fits with the rest of your life just like everyone else?

And if more childfree employees and fathers opted to work part time, because they also have a life outside work, then maybe our stupid long hours culture of presenteeism would be forced to end and make for less prejudice against mothers who want to work part time.

Good luck with your job search!

Agree with others - YANBU to expect your request to be treated in the same way as colleagues with kids. Interesting on the JSA front though. If anything, that is more discriminatory (because only parents can "legitimately" apply for PT jobs). That seems very unfair, especially for someone in your position who is not expecting the state to subsidise your PT income.

Not quite the same but I am considering relocating back to the UK in next few years. I don't have kids at the moment. If I remain childless, I am considering contract work (and ironically most of the jobs are maternity covers!) In my line of work PT really just means compressed hours and I have seen SO many women burn out from trying to do 5 days in 4. The plan is to take a few months between each gig so I can do fun stuff and maybe finally finish my Masters. It's not PT but next best thing for me. Could you consider something like that?

I think you should definitely be able to work part time regardless of children or not. If your employer now won't consider it, are you looking elsewhere?

I think you sound pretty bitter OP and that won't be helping your relationships in the workplace. In the most recent case the lady is clearly less skilled than you and doing a 50% different job from you. So yes they may well feel she can go part time and that has nothing to do with you.

Part time is not all it's cracked up to be frankly. I worked 4 days a week for years - doing 5 days work in those days. Everybody I know who is part time has complained at one time another about how difficult it is to progress, how challenging handover of information is.
I now work less than full time hours but over 5 days. Best of both worlds tbh. When you next apply - and you're right you now have to wait - why not try that - offer 30 hours over 5 days which means you could work 1 half day in a week or 5 shorter days or whatever. You may find that fits better with business needs.

Have you done your job part ?
How much time in job do you have to spend with other people ( meeting s ,checking things , )
Is your job suitable for part time working
Who esle does your job?
What hours do they work?
Would be happy to get phone calls from work when you are not working?

You are entitled to be considered for flexible working on the same basis as anyone else.

If you'd remained on jsa for much longer you would have had to apply for anything even if full time and outside your skill set. The point of jsa from the government's point of view is to get people into work not to match people to their skill set. I'm afraid you don't have much understanding of the reality of this.

Parents with children of school age have to look for full time employment if they are signing on so you have not been discriminated against by the job centre because you are childless
. My friend has no children she works part time her compamy reduced her hours fine. I think you just have a inflexible employer tbh.

Seems folk in Wales use less water per person.

oh sugar, idiot me, sorry for wrong thread!!

You are being unreasonable. You put your request in, if you think your company have behaved illegally, seek legal advice.

Just wanting to work less hours without extrapolating further makes you come across as quite whiney, I imagine you would elicit more sympathy if you explained what your other commitments are and why you want to work less hours.

The nature of more professional jobs mean that even women with children are turned down the choice of part time hours and find it difficult to move between jobs. 'Blue collar' tends to lend itself to shift work and therefore part time work more easily.

Your attitude to "blue collar" jobs is really
unpleasant. Lots of people do any job necessary to make ends meet regardless of qualifications. But since you were evidently claiming contribution based jsa you obviously don't consider yourself part of the great unwashed.

Wanting to work less hours makes me winey? Its irrelevant why I want to work part time.

I'm over skilled for blue collar jobs, how is that unpleasant?

Wanting to work less hours makes me winey? Its irrelevant why I want to work part time.

I'm over skilled for blue collar jobs, how is that unpleasant?

women withchildren arent necessarily entitlef to change to part time

On your original point - yanbu about wanting to go part time even though you don't have children.

Your attitude (and writing style, for a highly educated person tbh) is very poor though.

If you wanted to go part time when you were on Job Seekers and you knew that jobs in your area of expertise were in short supply with part time hours thenyou have been looking Iin other skill sets too.

It's irrelevant that you have paid tax as, for all we know, yyou may have used more than most people from the NHS or from the fire service etc. Tax doesn't just pay unemployment benefit.

When I got engaged to DH I had to leave the bank where we both worked. What with travel, ttc (ivf) etc I decided to go for a part time job, one that was flexible and left me free on a Friday to fly to Italy.

To achieve this I had to lower my sights and accept that the job I was doing before just wasn't possible to do part time. I signed up with a secretarial agency and temped until I found a suitable p/t job. The job was boring and didn't stretch me at all but sometimes that's the price you pay for flexible working.

Thanks everyone, I haven't tried working part time, but I have taken Tuesdays and Wednesdays off for the last month to test. Didn't massively change my work, things were still waiting there when I got back.

Im more agreived that I want my current job just with less hours. If I took a min wage job to earn the same as I do in one day I would have to work 4.

The plan now is just to save up money and next tax year after I've earnt the tax free amount, to quit and have some time off.

I don't think its any of my employers business what I do on my days off as long as its not illegal or brings the company in to disrepute. Its none of their business what I do on my weekends so don't see why I need to explain what I will be doing on non working days when working part time.

It appears that you're sufficiently financially solvent to be able to make choices. Most people on jsa and many employed people can't do that.

I'd be interested to know how you're overqualified for blue collar jobs and what professional qualifications you can get with such poor writing style though.

That's an unnecessarily unpleasant post, sooty.

Op I agree with you. No advice, but good luck.

I think you should focus more on the negotiation here. Why doesn't your employer want you to go PT? What are their concerns? How can you meet them?

For instance, you could say, could you instead have four weeks unpaid leave a year for longer holidays, or so you can take one day a week off regularly except at very busy times.

Mst ppl with flexible arrangements had to negotiate them and make a reassuring case to the employer. It isn't just a case of making a formal application and being first in the queue.

Where I work we don't give a monkeys why someone wants part time. We have given PT for elder care and unpaid leave for someone to do an applied art course and to volunteer after the haiti earthquake. Sme ppl are PT because they want to be, end of. We don't care. They are highly skilled, they cost us less and they are less likely to leave.

As a manager, I've been happy to consider requests from non-parents (and parents of grown-up children) to reduce their hours, and in most cases, these requests have been authorised. To me, it makes sense for employers to be flexible and if business needs permit, I usually bend over backwards to accommodate the preferences of a good employee. Consequently, I think yanbu about your employer at all.

With regard to the JSA, sorry but YABU. It really doesn't matter what you have paid in, the safety net is there to help anyone in need. If you are capable of working full time, then you should be open to doing so if you want state support. If you can support yourself without claiming, then of course, it's up to you.