Fully in office for 4k more?

[Livingforfriday1985]

I currently work in local government and have done for last 7 years.4 days at home, 1 in office.

Been wanting to work in HR/recruitment and been offered a role 1 mile down the road. Its in office every day, no option for hybrid.
Currently studying for HR qualification half way through.

My children are 10 and 12 and its ideal to still be at home when they come in from school etc and during the hols.

Would you take an office job for £4k more? Shall I stay put?

@Livingforfriday1985 the pension provision now is much better. Is that a contribution they make to a movable pot rather than you losing it?

Being in the office isn’t so bad as you could walk it but £4k won’t cover the pension difference assuming the pot goes with you.

Based on what you've said about annual leave and pension, I personally wouldn't take the new role.

I don't know anything about local government pensions, but assume it may be similar to a civil service one? I'm a civil servant and it would take a very good package to lure me away from my job because of the pension scheme.

Having said that, I'm happy in my role and whilst I would like to progress, it's not a massive ambition of mine. I like my job, I'm good at it and it doesn't cause me any stress and I never have to think about work when I'm not there. If I was looking to retrain then I might feel differently.

See my previous post - OP isn't building up a pension 'pot' as that's not how defined benefit pensions work. Every year, she is accruing 1/49th of her annual salary as a yearly pension payment, for an arbitrary sum paid by her and her local government employer.

Hi Ohnobackagain

Pensions are definitely not my area of expertise but as the LGPS is a defined benefit scheme and not an investment pot it doesnt travel with you. If I leave the benefits are either left or i think some can be transferred

Im assuming its still better to stay where I am based on the pension alone 🤔

Yes I am not an expert and I’d seek advice but I don’t think you’d want to give up a DB pension without checking what you might lose!

Would I do it for £4K more? No, absolutely not. But for the career move I wanted to make? Sure. It’s not all about salary (and that sounds clear in your post).

Personally I wouldnt

It would take a lot more than £4K to swap those pension and sickness benefits.

It’d be a no from me based holiday and the pension contributions

a mile is nothing and you’d be in a heated office rather than having to heat your home because your working

It does sound like financially overall the package is smaller. And less flex although sounds like minor commute.

However you should also consider the longer term position - if you are stagnating where you are without realistic growth, would moving into HR give you longer term much better prospects and pay and job satisfaction?

If your current job is not HR based and you are only part way through qualifications then taking essentially a more junior role might be necessary to get an HR career going, if the new job is paying the market rate for your realistic entry point.

So think about it carefully in the round but don’t just think about the immediate position.

In my job, no. But if it was a career change I was actively looking for, then probably yes.

Based on the change in pension contribution alone it would be a definite 'no' for me. You would be losing a lot. You also have to consider childcare because at 10 and 12 your kids can't stay by themselves all holidays - what would you do with them and would that cost? Plus if they have a sick day and you're not working from home what would you do? At the moment I imagine if one is poorly they can stay at home on the sofa and you can work. Looking at pension loss, childcare difficulties and the fact you have to go into the office I'd say no.