Would you give up private healthcare and a bonus for total flexibility over your working week?

[Uertt]

Just that really.

Salary is the same for both jobs (take home 4,200).

One has a bonus of around 6k after tax (this % has been paid out every year for the last 14 years) and private dental and healthcare. Great sick pay policy. But it’s full time in the office and as I have a DD (age 2) I feel quite stressed about the prospect of having a commute (I currently work from home 3 days a week).

The other has no benefits at all and only a week sick pay but I have total freedom to have my calendar as I see fit.

I’ve never not had private health and I’ve looked into laying it myself and it’s around 85 a month which seems a lot.

Only you can know what suits your circumstances best

@BlueJuniper94 that can really apply to 90% of the threads on here!

I'd be cautious about what total freedom means, will you never have any meetings with others? Deadlines etc? I had a job once that said total freedom but every month there was another urgent client issue that meant ridiculous hours and no extra pay, even in normal times there was so much work to do yes I could have some flexibility if I then wanted to work until midnight finishing everything

I value flexibility very much. I need to be able to be home if need be

And think of what youd be saving in commuting costs x

@TheCurious0range there will be client demands but office hours are 9-5 and after 5 there is no expectation to be available. I am able to work from home and go in if I want to. I agree it could mean I work late but that’s part of flexibility I guess

It depends what your priorities are right now. Do you need the extra bonus or is it a nice to have? Can you comfortably afford the £85 a month, or do you have little disposable income?

If money isn’t tight, and you can learn to live without the bonus and pay £85 a month - I would take flexibility every single time.

My take home is £4,600 with bonus and healthcare but I have been fortunate enough to be able to keep my mortgage very low and I own my car - my outgoings are quite low. So if I needed to, I can always afford a drop in salary. I do work from home pretty much 100% of the time but if they recalled in to the office I would hope I could find something else with the flexibility, even if it means a drop in income.

@youreactinglikeafunmum every time I think about sitting in traffic and having to find a parking space etc I just feel so stressed! When I wfh I can cook and exercise and I feel I might resent not being able to do that. It’s just annoying about the lack of bonus

Disagree!! Most of the time the partner is a rotter!

No I wouldn’t
But I am odd and prefer a structured working week

@WhereIsMyJumper i tend to save around 800 a month so I would have to save a bit less if I started paying for my own healthcare etc.

I just don’t know if I have it in me to put up with clock watching which the other role seems to be

Nope

I'm currently doing 4 hours a day in the car for the school commute as dd goes to a special school

never again will I commit to this 😄

Really, 6k is great, but good mental wellbeing and feeling at peace is priceless

As long as, as a pp mentioned, youre clear on how youd have full control, if that makes sense - as long as they won't be giving you surprise deadlines and days in the office, I'm team flexibility x

I think you’ve answered your own question. You value the lack of commute, you want to be able to prepare healthy lunches and have time to exercise AND you have a two year old. I’d take the one with no bonus or healthcare. Besides, do you know what the career progression is like? Is the pension scheme better? What about maternity benefits if you choose to have another child? Will they pay for you to study if you wanted to study?
You can always look for a higher paying job further down the line when it suits. For now, take the lower income but have a better quality of life.

This is an "only you can know..."

Based on my experiences of work....

In this job market is be inclined to stick with your current role and see if you can do 1 or 2 days from home for 2 reasons.

Once I had kids/ hit 40 I have had a litany of ailments. Like honestly shocking. This year I have claimed over £70k in private health care...so I personally wouldn't want to give that up.

Redundancies are on the up my sector is at 30% and ongoing...If you've been in role more than 2 years you have better security and if they do let you go you'll get a decent payout

Yes, but I’ve never had a job that came with bonuses and only once had one with private health. I’m now self employed (so no sick pay, holiday pay, pension, bonus, private health or other perks) but my take home this year so far has been twice yours, I work fully from home 4 days a week whatever hours I want and take 12 weeks holiday a year.

One thing I would say is that after 45yo that private heath care starts to have very real value.

Whether that matters to the OP is known only only to her.

I’ve had private healthcare for 20 years as an employee..never used it. When I needed medical assistance it’s not covered ie infertility and pregnancy 😂

total flexibility as a young working mum is worth far more.

the bonus id miss though….thats a family holiday every year. If you WFH 3 days a week already I don’t think losing a bonus for flexibility which may get taken away if the employer decides to change their policies is worth it….

If private health care is covered by no longer paying to commute then yes I would definitely take flexibility. I wfh, very flexible role, good holidays but do not earn as much as you. I really value the flexibility I have and would really struggle to give it up. Ultimately is this new job one you will enjoy and have possibilities with.

I'd go for the extra healthcare and bonus.

Look in detail about how much it would cost you to buy those things yourself. What is the actual delta between not paying for the healthcare, commute and getting a bonus Vs having no bonus, paying for healthcare but no commute? What is the true difference, bearing in mind that if you have to pay for it, it will come out of net income.

Ignoring the commute for the moment, it looks like very roughly 12k gross on top of the base package in the first job, to account for benefits. So your gross package would go down by about that. I.e. there is a delta of about 24k between the two, by the time you pay for healthcare and anything else you would pay for from the bonus. Factor in the commute and decide if that is worth it to you.

Everyone's line in the sand will be different.

Go for the less stress role - you have plenty of salary available each month - I only have £600 per month after bills left and out of that pay £92 for private medical insurance - I feel its worth it either way the state of the NHS and hearing about friends’ cancelled appointments and operations -

How much would you save by not commuting: would it be more or less than £85 a month?

How much have you used your private health insurance to date? I've never had it through work and pay privately - never used it for me or my family, but maybe I'm lucky.

If the above tally financially, the benefits of flexibility with young children can be huge. I never missed any of my DCs school events, was able to work round their sick days/inset days/covid home schooling with a very, very supportive employer. That to me was worth so much more than any additional benefits that may have come my way.

I now work out of the home 9-5 and really miss the flexibility of jours, and mainly working from home.

Personally I’d keep the healthcare, I used my workplace one heavily the last two years and I’m going to be staying in the job in order to keep it.

Yes ... I did this 2 years ago. Went from private industry to academia. No bonus which is sad (used to spend that on holidays!). But now I work condensed hours 5 days in 4, 2 of those from home. I manage my own time. No health care but I currently pay £34 per month for me and DD. Pension and annual leave is great. I think if you can manage on the salary and the job itself offers progression/stability/interest then you don't always need to be chasing the highest pay cheque.

....and the terms of my company private healthcare cover simply can't be reproduced privately, it just doesn't exist.

If the OP is 25yo it probably makes no difference. If the OP is 45yo it's a serious consideration. (Maybe not a deal breaker, but need to be considered.)