To ask your working pattern with primary aged kids

[cadburyegg]

Kids are Y3 and YR. I've done 22 hours over 3 days since DS1 was 1. Have been offered a new job with a higher salary pro rata and 27 hours. It's going to be a mixture of hybrid working and in the office.

I'm a single parent, and can't rely on ex to help with school pick ups etc so I have to juggle it myself. They currently do after school club 2 days a week

I can't decide whether to stretch the 27 hours over 5 days..

• less rushing around
• less time kids have to spend in wraparound care

• potentially would have to commute more
• more days to cover in the school holidays

Or do it over 4 days

• 1 day to "myself" to do housework / other things etc in term time, and one day off a week with kids in holidays

• more rushing around to get to places on time
• would have to increase kids' time in after school club

Please help me decide. What do other people do?

Different patterns work for different people, but if it was me I would definitely want to work 4 days. Ideally Tue-Fri because you should get bank holidays pro rata'd which means extra annual leave to take at other times. Plus inset/training days are often on a Monday so you wouldn't have to worry about childcare for those days.

I would probably do 2 longer days and 2 shorter days, that would mean using after-school club twice a week. I think it would be worth it to have 1 day "off" (to catch up with housework and errands, have appointments, do things for yourself).

I work 4 hours a day, so 20 hours a week. Works perfectly for us as DH works away most weeks so I'm on my own with the DCs. I prefer to work every day but fewer hours as it means I get some free time each day. I wouldn't want to sacrifice that for a whole day off each week but no free time the other four days.

Single parent, my son's dad only has him once a month.

I work full time as a senior civil servant, compressed hours over 4 days. I have to work in the evenings to keep on top of things but not every evening. My son goes to breakfast and after school club 3 x a week and my mum has him for 1 overnight a week.

I doubt I will ever work more than 4 days as I love a day to myself. Do you get much holiday?

It's the holidays which are the killer.

So over four days that's much less holiday club to pay for

Sometimes I try bc and do it over 4 days but dc seem to have lots of activities at the moment so over 5 but then school strikes so back to 4 it’s a complete nightmare and I am knackered.

I do 30 hours over 4 days. I do all school drop offs and start work at 9am. I pick up at 3:20pm 2 days a week, a relative picks up 1 day and DD does 2 days after school club. I thought about trying to spread the hours over 5 days but it wasn’t feasible, I need at least 2 full length days for it to work out job-wise.

I have a 28h variable flexible working agreement Core hours 10-2 Monday, 10-5 Tue Wed Thur. And 11-1 Fridays. the remaining hours I do whenever suits both business need and me personally. So this week I worked longer Mon-Thurs and can take tomorrow off without holiday.

65+ hours but 50 in work, the rest at home. We have an amazing childminder for the youngest and school with excellent sports/clubs/activities for the teens. DH and I tag team so I do the morning rush & drop off and he does the afternoon picks ups/dinner/general clean up.

37.5 hours over 5 days. Fully WFH. I typically work 8:30-4:30 with half an hour for lunch, and do school drop off/pick up either side of that but my hours are flexible so I could choose to work a different pattern if it suited me better.

I work 28 hours a week. During term time I spread them over 5 days so I can do school runs most days and we can do nice things after school like go to the park. In the holidays i condense it into 4 days.

Can you do it as 3.5 days? Then you could have a day off and do school pick up another day as well