To think my flexible working request will not unreasonable?

[NameChangedOct]

Hello! I returned from maternity leave 3 months ago. I’m full time, but had accrued a LOT of annual leave so have been using this to take every Friday off for the rest of the year, essentially working a 4 day week. From January I was hoping to request a permanent change, 4 days for 80% pay.

However, my manager is saying it’s really difficult for the team/business under my current working arrangement and may not be sustainable permanently. I do appreciate that the work I do comes in (with little notice) as tasks/mini-projects that take 2-3 days and are quite time sensitive. So usually I will start something on a Thursday and unable to finish it, I have to hand it over to a colleague (which I think is fine, only slightly less efficient, or if the colleague can’t get to it then it waits until Monday which delays the output beyond our usual times, but it’s hardly life or death). Everyone else on my team works full time, even those with young kids.

I’ve not put a formal request in but AIBU thinking the above is not a good enough reason for them to refuse this as a legal right as a parent.

i really love my job, colleagues and flexibility (I can WFH), but I also need a day off to spend with my little one.

Can you take Monday off instead?

Could you do two 1/2 days from home this your generally around. I do that and love those days.

If I was one of your colleagues with young kids I'd be annoyed that I had to finish your work as well as my own while you swanned off to spend time with your child when I couldn't spend time with mine.

I think management will worry it will set a precedent.

Yes, I have read all of the thread. As I said, I have also been on the employer end of this argument a great many times, with a strong HR team who know how this would play out if it came to a tribunal.

The reasons the company may want to refuse do not make it legitimate. The OP is currently working 4 days a week for a year – that is demonstrable proof that the arrangement works. The company do not have demonstrable proof that it doesn't work. They can't just 'think' it won't work – they have to robustly prove it.

Another option could be to claim up to 4 weeks per year of unpaid parental leave you are entitled to. You have to take this as whole weeks, but you could then use your leave not for holidays but for regular days off? Wouldn't stretch to weekly tho...

@Didimum but as OP says in her opening post, it does not work.

It hasn’t been a year. It’s been 3 months with another 3 to go.

The ongoing experiment is proving it, based on the OP’s own words!

@Didimum except her boss has made to quite clear that it doesn't work

This was my thinking too unfortunately. Your team (especially given they also have young families to navigate) may have been turned down for the same reason and may feel unwilling to take on the additional work without compensation for it. I think I'd be sticking it out until your Al runs out and looking elsewhere for something for that point. It's sad you are in a position to have to do that but unfortunately some jobs just don't lend themselves well to part time. I think the alternative is you look at a further drop and suggest a job share that one of your colleagues might go in with you on?

It’s a guarantee delay on each project irrespective of the client cares or not indeed
its obviously been brought to their attenti

They could still turn her down for regular days off though - employers have every right to dictate when you take your annual leave.

The right is that the request cannot be unreasonably denied. There is no right as a parent to work part time!

what about another day? Say Wednesday? Then you can complete whatever it is on Thursday?

Her boss would need sound prove of financial loss over this period of 4 days a week for a year to prove it doesn't work. And if it doesn't work, then the company should deny the annual leave being used like this – they haven't so they don't have a leg to stand on there. The company would also have to try to advertise to recruit for a 1 day a week replacement and show an inability to recruit.

I have been through mediations with ACAS, unions and threatened tribunals for flexi working many times. If employees choose to take it further, then in most cases the company would not be successful.

I am willing to bet that you are the least popular person in the office these days. You are routinely handing off your work to colleagues to cover for you and/or are the direct reason that work is not being done to deadline. I am a bit concerned that in 4 years time, you'll be the one expecting to never ever have to work school holidays and the rest of them must just suck it up to accomodate your family time.

Personally, I think they would have had every right to refuse to let you take your annual leave in the form of these endless Fridays and it seems very unlikely they'll agree to this arrangement long term.

Flexible working has to be a solution that does not negatively impact the business. Possibly, changing your non-working day to a different day would be a good option. Or you do a version of compressed where you work longer days for 2 days a week and then on the last day you only do a half day.

Or you discuss dropping your hours more noticeably to accomodate the possibility of a job share so that he role is still covered 5 days a week.

Loads do. Have you ever worked in a business where people work literally flat out for 8 hours a day? No chats, no coffees, no meaningless meetings that could be emails, every single piece of work is productive and profit producing. 8 hours solid a day, every day of the week?

The only workplaces that work like that all the time are hell to work in, and burn though staff very quickly. Most businesses have some form of slack in them.

Especially if you work in an industry where there a busy periods and fallow periods (insurance, accountancy etc) if you're still going at 100% capacity during the first month of the quarter, you're going to be massively under resourced at quarter end reporting.

If your teams are EVER at over 100% capacity, you're in a badly run business.

@Didimum source for that?

It's clear it doesn't work because projects are being delivered later and later. Bear in mind that this comes from OP who thinks it's "not the end of the world". You can bet it's worse than the OP says, because OP wants to seem like the reasonable one.

I think the example you give would be a reason they could reasonably deny. Would a different day off work eg Monday or Wednesday? Or compressing hours into 4 days? I worked in an office where everyone was also full time when I put in flex request it was partly denied because granting it for me would make it difficult to refuse others. In end I did same as you used my annual leave to temporarily work part time and used my al days to form an exit plan into a different career.

A source for what? I've said it's from my very experienced HR teams who are well trained.

'Delivering later' as a statement does not mean anything, because you need to provide proof that delivering later is a tangible harm. That needs to come from financial losses, loss of clients etc.

And did you ignore recruiting for 1 day a week? They also need to demonstrate they can't do that, and not just say it.

I did what you do. At the moment they're paying you for 5 days work but, due to your accrued holiday, you're working 4 days. You're entitled to holiday. It's not your fault they have arranged adequate holiday cover. My manager made similar noises about moving to a PT contract because I told him I was struggling to do 5 days work in 4 days (because they also hadn't arranged adequate holiday cover). A change of contract would be beneficial as they'd be paying you for fewer hours, they would (should) have more manageable expectations of your workload and they would have the financial capacity to arrange a job share (potentially, most people want more than 1 day, so that's worth keeping in mind). You can't do 37.5 hours of work in 30 hours and they shouldn't be expecting that whether you're on holiday or on 0.8fte.

FWIW I ended up leaving that job. But negotiated 0.8 in my new one.

@Didimum ah so it's just word of mouth.

The business can well say that they're facing difficulty because of the projects being late. I'd imagine they're facing constant complaints. It's also unlikely that having someone work one day a week negates those issues because they'd still have to hand over the projects to them.

I don't have Friday off btw. Due to business needs.

The operational needs of the business come first, and if your request makes things harder for them, they are under no obligation to approve a FWR.

No – I have literally been present with unions and with ACAS representatives during staff grievances on denied flexi working. If at that point, the onus is on the company to provide proof, not just have the opinion of.

Yes, they can 'say they are facing difficulty', but they have to provide proof of it. If they are receiving complaints they have to provide proof of it. It may be unlikely having a 1 day a week replacement wouldn't negate it, but they have to prove that it doesn't.

The company is already in a weakened position to deny because they are already allowing it and have been/will be for a full year.

What aren't you understanding about the word 'proof'.

@Didimum no they've not been allowing it for a full year.

RTFT

For 6 months then – 3 months ago now til end of the year. Same difference. All the other points stand.