To leave good job because I want the summer off

[SunnySuze]

Have been employed now for 18 months, on a fixed term. Employer has offered me a new contract for two years but I really want the summer off to have freedom and to not do much frankly. I’ve saved a bit of my salary £5000, and all bills would be covered fine but it does mean we’d loose the extra nice bits like impromptu takeaways and whatnots.
I’ve dreams of getting the kids after school and heading to the park rather than the usual after school club pick ups, rush tea, then bed.
Am I mad? DH is supportive of whatever I choose.

Yeah I think you're both mad really.

Plus what are you doing to do if DH wants next Summer off?

I guess it depends on how readily you think you can find another job after the summer?

Not unreasonable if your finances are solid and you think you could pick something up easily but its not a jobseekers market at the moment.

I wouldn’t at the minute. Most job positions have hundreds of applicants for one role.

Also if you want to take the kids to the park, you can do that. You’ve said instead of the usual rush to after school clubs, so surely the issue isn’t working but the clubs?

But if you have some savings and your DH is happy, it doesn’t really matter what anyone else would do does it?

Personally, I wouldn't. The financial and re-employment issues aside, what if the weather turns vile and we have rain, wind and sleet all "summer"?

Surely negotiating for part time or a delayed start to the new contract is a better option to try first?

Yes, giving up a stable well paid job with nothing else lined up is mad. That’s not the financial world we live in.

Ask for a 9 day fortnight and live your park going dreams on day 10, with the financial security to throw in a Mr Whippy.

If you are covered financially and highly employable, then do what you want

I think it depends on what kind of work you do and how easily you can get a job in September. IMO £5k isn't the type of savings to be giving up work but perhaps your husband earns well?

can't vote without knowing how easy or hard it would for you to pick up a new contract from September?

Atrocious job market at the moment. Its certainly a risk.

I'd love to do it. Been working 25 years without more than 27 days a year off

You'll need to be very sure you can get another job and the market currently is difficult. If you don't need your salary then that's different. You may end up being off work for months.

I once gave notice to a job as I wanted the summer off with my kids (aged 6 and 8) . My employer then said just come back when kids back at school. This was a permanent contract. To be honest I kind of guessed this would happen as I was a very hard worker and hardly any sick leave. Go for it if you can afford it,

It all sounds lovely, in reality, it'll probably be two or three weeks of nice weather when you can actually take kids to the park after school. And you have all day by yourself when you would be doing what? Cooking and cleaning, I assume.
My friend took a whole year off and had great plans for it - going to the gym, learning a new language, doing some re-qualification courses. Nope. Spent the whole year cooking and cleaning and has now been out of work for three years because the job market is in the toilet.
Take a sabbatical, delay new contract for six weeks of summer holiday or something. Go part time even.

How's the job market on your field looking? How secure is your husband's job?

Honestly, £5k is not even close to the emergency savings I would want to be sitting on before I left a job in this job market.

It depends on your family financial situation.
For me (lone parent) obviously I can’t just give up work.
For a double income household where a single income can support the household (including savings etc) then it will be fine.
For a double income household where either or both earners can easily take time off and then resume work (eg supply/bank staff) then it should also be fine.
Life is short, if a family can support the adults talking a sabbatical then I say go for it.

DH does earn well and gets passive income too. I’m 45 and never not worked, although I’m not qualified in anything, I’ve done various admin/service based roles so guess I’m employable but who knows. I keep hearing the job market is bad but I’m dreaming of getting out of the run of it all. And sorry yes I meant NOT having to put the kids in after school club.
Perhaps I’m a little burnt out by life?

I think the ideal would be for them to postpone the start date of a new contract until after the summer. Is that an option?

I think it also depends on your role. As pp have said, the job market isn’t great at the moment but if you have particular skills or experience that are in high demand, it might be okay. For what it’s worth, I left my job in mid-December wanting to have Christmas off but I knew I’d find it relatively easy to find another role which it was.

Can you take a good chunk of your AL in the summer, say 3 or 4 weeks? Or perhaps work mornings only and AL in the afternoon?

Without knowing how easily it would be for you to secure another job, or if your DH earns a ridiculously high salary, it’s hard to say.

Is there an option of working part time?

You sound pretty chilled and that you're confident you'd get another job.
Are you a contractor/freelance?
If so, yes do it! I doubt you'll regret it.

Disclaimer I have ADHD and have high tolerance to risk and always used to do this, sometimes only working a few months per year and it was always fine, (user interface design)

I can vouch for the job market being dire at the moment so only do it if you really want to and can afford it.

Ask for unpaid leave? Cloud cuckoo land otherwise.

I mean, fantasing about not having to work and having a summer lazing around just sounds completely normal for everyone rather than being "burnt out by life!"

I agree with the majority - job market is shocking atm and unless you have some incredibly niche or in demand skills, which does not sound to be the case, you'd be mad to turn down a permanent job. The type of work you say you do normally sounds like the exact sectors that will be hit hardest by AI in the next year or two so you might have many summers free in the future! By all means explore opportunities with them that aren't full time - flexible, part time or condensed working, school term only, unpaid leave - but I'd grab the job in both hands.

I took a year out to go travelling in my 30s BTW so am not one of those "you must work 9-5 from 18-65 or you are a drain on society" types. But we're in an unprecedented situation with emerging tech and the general world issues atm.

Read the summer holidays threads on here - it’s not easy getting through all those weeks!

That's exactly what I'm doing! I finish work on 1 May. I have signed a contract for a new job that starts on 1 September so I have something to go back to but that was luck, I didn't plan to start job hunting until September.

I went back to work when my DS was 6 months and it was so awful. I went into a deep depression, got really fat, I'm a shell of my former self. I can't wait to have some time off. Toddler will still go to nursery (which he absolutely loves) and I'm going to enjoy myself for a while.