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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think you can’t really get a decent PT job unless you already work there

245 replies

Metoodear · 20/08/2018 08:22

So following on from my post about working PT I getting loads of people saying yep rally easy to woke pt I get 30, 40k pro rata blah blah however these are often women who have worked for a company for a number of years then reduced after maternity leave i am also not talking about PT were you drop one day but are still working 9-5 four days a week

This kind of PT working is not what I was talking about I am talking about after having done a qualification then after having 2-5 years out of work after being a SHAM trying to find a PT job that is under 25 hours a week that is not in a school admin or retail in a company you never worked for
i am a support worker but have had to take a job at the lower end of the pay scale in order to secure 20 hours a week working i have friends that have degrees in physiology ect who work in admin and a friend who has a degree in a second language but is really struggling to find anything other than admin or work in a school for less than 25 hours after being at home for8 years

I myself have been looking for another job since I got my curroone and you just don’t see PT ones

OP posts:
RedOrange21 · 20/08/2018 08:30

I agree. I work part time - 15 hours a week for decent pay but for a company I've worked for for over 10 years. No way anyone else would give me the same deal so I can't leave!! However friends have been successful applying for full time jobs and requesting part time at interview stage so that might be worth looking at.

Redcliff · 20/08/2018 08:31

it is a lot harder I agree. I'm currently on a FT fixed term contract and have started looking round for PT and there is not a lot out there. Even when a PT person leaves a role the role is often turned into a FT one again. There are a few web sites out there (women like us is one that springs to mind) that have PT roles on there - good luck.

RiverTam · 20/08/2018 08:31

Yes, I agree and said so on your other thread. Almost every person on that thread who breezily said YABU, it was fine, meant that they’d been able to return to work on PT hours, not that the had been able to find a job advertised as such.

BlairWaldorfsHeadband · 20/08/2018 08:33

It is harder. I work part time and get very little money for it, but I just cannot work full time hours: I don’t know how anyone can. It leaves me exhausted and anxious.

Original poster
Metoodear · 20/08/2018 08:36

When I had to turn down my full time job offer as a family worker I cried for about 5 days

I was gutted because usually family support work lends its self to PT as you manage your own case loads but no luck so far

I currently do work PT as a support worker but in a much junior role so I can work 8:30-3

Dh finshes at 3 but he works condescending hours rather than pt

OP posts:
Original poster
Metoodear · 20/08/2018 08:37

people keep saying you need to get in somewhere first but I don’t have the childcare

If I did I wouldn’t need to go PT

OP posts:
grasspigeons · 20/08/2018 08:39

I agree. I I had a professional job and went back part time after having children but I could not find any part time jobs to move on to from that job so I was trapped. I have now left that field as the company moved to a different area of the UK and I now work in admin at half the pay.

I don't know whether if I had applied for full time roles and been successful if I could have negotiated part time straight away, or after a year for instance.

MedSchoolRat · 20/08/2018 08:41

such a self-defeatist set of OP's threads.

After 7 yrs as SAHM I got a 65% FTE job that was advertised publicly. I didn't know the department or any colleagues. I was 'lucky' that DH quit his own FT job 2 months earlier so ready to take over domestic duties (and we could afford him to not work again for months). That was 5 yrs ago & he hasn't worked FT since, but has had many PT jobs, often with strangers. One of those jobs was advertised on MN.

Later I got another job with PI I never met before. I negotiated PT after that job was advertised FT.

Original poster
Metoodear · 20/08/2018 08:42

grasspigeons

I agree. I I had a professional job and went back part time after having children but I could not find any part time jobs to move on to from that job so I was trapped. I have now left that field as the company moved to a different area of the UK and I now work in admin at half the pay.

I don't know whether if I had applied for full time roles and been successful if I could have negotiated part time straight away, or after a year for instance.
wouldnt worry yourself I had loads of friends that tried this and they make literally no money because it all ends up on child care and then when they do try and reduce they are told only one day ortold no sohave to resign many of my friends have about 4 diffrent forms of childcare to try and cover FT working plus the holidays

Fuck that for a game of soldiers

OP posts:
RiverTam · 20/08/2018 08:44

Med and are those jobs using your skills, experiences and qualifications and renumerating you accordingly?

Di11y · 20/08/2018 08:44

I was very fortunate in being made redundant to secure a role on slightly more money but working 4 days. After a restructure I'm now working 2.5.

But that was without a career break and working more than I wanted for 2 years.

knottybeams · 20/08/2018 08:45

A lot of jobs won't be advertised as ltft but may still be considered. In my field ltft working is becoming the norm, I work 3 days a week (although that is easily more than 30 hours so not really part time!) I get the impression it's easier in jobs with professional qualifications though, so medicine/nursing/law/teaching/accountancy probably OK, but less specific graduate entry jobs may be a little harder.

stressedandskint · 20/08/2018 08:45

This is a massive issue! There needs to be some form of campaign about this.

I'm a new graduate but also a single mum. I'm looking for a part time job preferably 20-30 hours per week relevant to my qualifications and experience.

Like pp have said, my options are limited to retail, admin or working in a school. Why?

BlairWaldorfsHeadband · 20/08/2018 08:46

Ive always thought it would be better to encourage more part time jobs. There would be more jobs and people would have a work life balance, I don’t understand why it’s not a thing.

Lazypuppy · 20/08/2018 08:48

@Metoodear but it's your decision to want to work PT. Why have you taken the salary hit and not your partner?

I believe it is worth working FT and paying for the childcare, so once the kids are a bit older its easier for you to then progress.

It sounds like your kids are in school so why can't you just pay for either before/after school care so you can work more hours. An employer may be more willing to let you drop a few to say 35 hours

Employers are only going to offer PT contracts if it suits their business, thry don't have to if they don't want to.

QueenCuntyFlippers · 20/08/2018 08:49

I was just appointed as a part time member of staff (advertised to the public) in a sector that is renowned for staff desperate to get pt hours but the posts not being available.

It is possible :)

Oysterbabe · 20/08/2018 08:49

Yeah I agree. I went PT after maternity leave. I'd struggle to find something else similar part time.

1pinkorchid · 20/08/2018 08:52

I agree OP, went on Mat leave at same time as two friends. They have both had to take 'basic' part time jobs not related to their qualifications because that was all that was available. I managed to get part time in my current job, but it does mean I'm stuck there as this won't transfer to other similar positions.

Ohhbollix · 20/08/2018 08:53

I do agree with you OP. I’ve been in my job for 15 years, 6 of them part time, working three days a week, after I had children. I get paid very well but I also feel like I can never leave because I would never get the same deal elsewhere. I’d love to work locally (currently I commute to London) but I’d have to work 7 days a week locally and still wouldn’t make near my London salary.

RiverTam · 20/08/2018 08:53

Lazy If both me and DH work full time (which will happen soon as I am now applying for full time jobs) it’s not about paying for the childcare, it’s about the fact that with no family support DD will be in after school club every single day and have to be in holiday clubs 5-6 weeks of the year. And if DH every left his current company for a new job, that would almost certainly increase as his holiday allowance would drop back down (he’s on quite a lot of holiday as he’s been at his company so long. Doesn’t really enjoy it, though, but is stuck for reasons like this).

I’ll be honest, I didn’t go through all the struggles of having DD for her to be in childcare 6 weeks a year, 8am-6pm. But that’s what will be happening.

ThomasRichard · 20/08/2018 08:55

I’ve advertised a well-paid, interesting PT job twice and had very few applicants. 9.30-2.30, 5 days a week, £30k salary. I thought I’d get applicants biting my hand off but even the people we interviewed asked whether there was a possibility of going FT.

inquiquotiokixul · 20/08/2018 08:55

I think your specific AIBU is more "AIBU to think that it's going to be impossible to find a school-hours&term-time-only pt job in a very specific and non-school-hours-all-year-round sector when my qualifications are 5 years ago with no hands-on experience to consolidate the theoretical learning"

The answer to which is of course Yanbu, you are quite correct. But it simply isn't generally applicable. You've had loads of examples on both your threads of people both recruiting into and adapting decent jobs with pt hours across many sectors, just not your specific dream job.

Babymamamama · 20/08/2018 08:55

Yes it is true. I work part time but adjusted down to that from full time after having DC. The job would never have been offered to me part time in the first place. I also did job-share for a while with another mum employee but she and I both worked there already and proposed the arrangement to the employer who accepted. This is something that isn't underlined enough... If you want to work long term then ideally get into the job you like/want full time before starting your family. You will probably also get more maternity pay that way. And are in a better position to negotiate when you return from mat leave.

BlairWaldorfsHeadband · 20/08/2018 08:56

I’ve advertised a well-paid, interesting PT job twice and had very few applicants. 9.30-2.30, 5 days a week, £30k salary. I thought I’d get applicants biting my hand off but even the people we interviewed asked whether there was a possibility of going FT.

Probably because it’s still 5 days a week. Sadly that wouldn’t be useful to me because I need at least two days off a week.

I’m surprised no one took it though.

RiverTam · 20/08/2018 08:56

God, I’d love that! Doubt it’s in my industry, though, you’d be lucky to get a FT job at £30k!

Have you advertised it on MN? Got a link to the ad you could share here?

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