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.

I do have private healthcare (which I’ve used for myself and dd) and a bonus.

BUT
Cost cutting has meant my employer has pared back the healthcare scheme so some things previously covered are no longer covered and the choice of specialists is significantly worse. They are still providing healthcare in accordance with employment contracts - but it’s a lot less useful.

Similarly with bonuses - they’re not guaranteed and have varied.

If you do opt for wfh make sure it’s explicitly set out in your employment contract that your permanent location of work is your home and it cannot be amended without your consent. Look out for any obligations on you to go to other locations.

As another poster said, it’s an unstable job market so be sure as you can be that the move won’t result in redundancy at month 23….

It’s a tricky one. Don’t look over the fact you’ve had a bonus for 14 years, without realising it you have probably become adjusted to that. Equally given you are 3 days WFH as it is, being in the office full time is a big jump.

Health care / dentist didnt bother me too much as it’s the same service, I’ve not had to use it for any emergency or diagnosed conditions illnesses etc so could live without that.

1 week sick pay isn’t great IMO. Especially with kids. I very rarely am ill but i did have an accident last year which meant i was off work for 3 months.

Flexibility is worth a lot to me,
If you have some savings in the bank you could always use them for private healthcare if and when needed.

I don’t think there is anything that would have me willingly give up my flexible remote working with the odd day in the office. It’s the most important benefit that my role offers and how I manage to keep life's plates spinning. I don’t think an extra £20k would have me in the office full time

Wow what do you do???

I think if you can save £800 per month(!) then £85 from that won’t make a huge difference.

Just to throw another consideration into the mix - is the ‘completely flexible’ job committing to that and does that fit well with the role (or are those WFH potentially penalised). More and more companies, especially those with HQ offices, seem to be rolling back flexible working and mandating a 3/4 day in office policy.

Personally I’d prioritise (after fair salary and good role), a strong and reputable company, decent (meaning both competent and not an AH) manager, career/salary, flexible working arrangements, and then extra benefits (in that order).

The sick pay policy would be deal breaker here for me. Bonus and health care I could maybe live without (I have both) but one week’s company sick pay would make me nervous. I’ve never used much of mine, but it’s a valuable safety net.

I would prob take the extra flexibility with young children, although childcare is much easier at age 2 than when they start school. One thing to say is that company policy is always changing, my company has now mandated 3 days in the office a week, which wasn't the policy when I joined.

Personally I’d prioritise (after fair salary and good role), a strong and reputable company, decent (meaning both competent and not an AH) manager, career/salary, flexible working arrangements, and then extra benefits (in that order).

I'm with @AbzMoz . At your salary you'll lose a lot of that bonus to tax, unless you're happy to push it into your pension. Healthcare, as pp have said, is more or less valuable depending on your age. Same goes for sick pay. 1 week is very very mean. A bout of flu or COVID could wipe that out. We get 1 month in my place and even that worries me because any need for chemo or surgery and you could be looking at surviving on statutory sick pay (unless critical illness pays out) with very little warning. Does your household have another income you could survive on if that happened?

Are you currently in the flexible job?

6k is what, 3.5k after tax? So if you spread that over the year it’s 375 a month loss if you include paying for your private healthcare.

I think with a two year old if all other things (progression, job satisfaction) are equal I’d take flexibility over office working even if you get circa 90pc net of the other salary. Less than 100 a week difference which I’d hazard a guess you will recoup in some ways (less food and coffee out, lower commuting costs).

I have total freedom to sort my calendar as I see fit, but that doesn’t mean I can come and go as I please. If I have an escalation at work, or a customer needs me on a meeting etc, I have to attend. Work always comes first. My manager has told me that as long as my customers are happy then I can sort my diary out to suit me. So I will schedule a lot of my meetings around my needs, but for me it’s give and take, i will need to work unsociable hours, now and again, when the shit hits the fan.

There’s no way I could look after a two year old (or any age child) whilst doing my job.

But I’d take this over a higher salary with less benefits as I couldn’t stand being back in the office with a commute to work

Ive always had private healthcare and have barely used it in twenty years. I'd just live without it.

I'd take the flexibility/lack of commute tine/cost over a 6k bonus every time.

Cost it properly. Compare the cost of commuting, the value of your own time spent doing it.divide the pay for each job by total hours including commute time.

You have to be paid a LOT more to make it worth it.

What do you think the chances are of the flexible job being chAnged to back in the office full time? Lots of companies are bringing people back in...

Do what's best for your mental health

It sounds like right now flexibility is more important for you, so i’d go with that. For my circumstances (older kids, hate WFH) i’d go for the other. But it’s what suits you and makes life easier. Money isn’t everything.

I think the healthcare is a bit of a non issue to be honest. At your salary and the amount you save you could afford to pay for it if you wanted. So for me it wouldn’t be a deciding factor

I would definitely prioritise a wfh job. But with the caveat of being aware they could change this.

id be focusing more on the feel of the company. Both as an employer/co worker vibe, they type of work I’d be doing, experience gained, promotion opportunities and maybe most importantly how secure is the job/company. 1 week sick pay does seem poor though?

Honestly, no, because you’re going to want to do some work throughout the day and you can’t do that with a two-year-old in tow so you’re gonna have to put your two-year-old into some sort of childcare which will be daytime hours. I will try and stick with the job with the healthcare and dental and see if they could be in anyway flexible with start time or finish time try and get the best of both worlds.!

i have 100% work from home (bar being in London once a quarter) and total flexibility. Honestly, it’s a game changer. I’ve been looking for a new role for other reasons, and finding something that would even get close is tricky.

It can take some getting used to, but once you do it’s amazing. sports day, school meeting, lunch with a pal. Off I go and flex my day.

Im always available in core hours. always communicate with my team and line manager, and the do the same. Even our CEO flexes to be with his kids.

After a while that has become a really important way of working. Everyone benefits and it's an ongoing reminder that the business trusts us all. So I'd take the flexibility if salary is on par.

Your take home is very good without the bonus.
To me, excellent flexibility is pretty much the most important benefit a company can offer me, if my salary is above a certain level (which yours is).

@Loveduppenguin where did you get the idea OP is looking after her child whilst working from home?!

Also @Uertt how much realisticAlly do you need private healthcare? As PP have said unless you have chronic health conditions or are older (probably unlikely as you have a 2 year old) is that really necessary?

I’d be wary about the limited sick pay of the new job. I’ve never had a long time off work unwell but it could happen and with a weeks pay only, as the main earner, I’d be screwed. Would you be? This concern makes me think stick with your current role and its benefits, but answering I further questions would help confirm

Firstly, what’s the annual leave like in both roles? Poor sick pay and less annual leave often go hand in hand but that may not be the case.

Secondly, is your current role really going to make you work from the office five days a week? Can they enforce this? My workplace has gone to 60% in the office which I do as live nearby but many others don’t comply. It’s hard to monitor, and most managers don’t really support this arbitrary figure (me too, I care more about whether the work is done and done well) so there has been little impact on people who are actually in less.

I'd look in detail at work the work private healthcare covers. Any new policy will exclude pre-existing conditions. Your £85 a month could give you much better cover, similar or worse - I'd do a proper comparison. If you're in the UK and young you may not get much use from private cover - but a lot depends on what is covered.

So you don’t need the 6k and can afford your own health insurance if go for flexibility but make sure that’s what your contact says.