Working P/T - what days are good for you and your LO?

[AlmondFrangipani]

I'm sorting out my return to work and just need some views on which days to work as I'm incapable of making a decision at the moment!!

So I'm going back 3 days a week when my DS will be 13 months. Work have insisted I work Mondays. Is it best to work Mon - Wed and get it out the way or do Mon, Tues and Thus and spread it over the week? Is it better for the baby to have a break between the days at nursery/childminders? Another factor is that my other Mummy friends are all working the end of the week so I won't be off with any of them if I do Mon - Wed. Any views gratefully received!

I used to work Tues, Weds Fri which was ideal for me as I was managing a team and needed to be around throughout the week. I also got to join in with any social stuff happening on Friday afternoons, or conversely got to stay in the office and catch up while others went to the pub.

Totally depends on what your job and role is what will suit you. Working Mon-Weds would have stressed me completely and left me constantly checking email on my 2 days off, whereas with non-consecutive days off I could largely ignore work when I wasn't in :)

Mon, Tuesday, Friday works well for me. Two weekends!

It means dc are never in childcare for more than 2 days in a row and they do get v tired on those days.

I work, mon, weds, thurs. As previous posters have said, I chose it so that dd would not be in nursery more than 2 days on the trot and same for me at work. I have been back at work since nov 13 and am finding this combo pretty good. I really notice how tired dd gets after her days at nursery, on a tues she has a long afternoon nap. I work in NHS in gp surgeries, and the surgeries all close on the bank holiday Mondays, so I can't do my job then anyway, so I don't mind 'having' to take the bank holidays.

Such mixed views here!! My job is very reactive so it's difficult to predict which days will be busier than others. Mon/Tues are reporting deadlines so I think that works being in then. Just can't decide whether to do Wed or Thus! We currently do swimming lessons on a Wed so could continue with those if I had the day off and that would mean I could hang out with one of my Mummy friends at least. But don't know if it will feel a bit on off! I'm sure work wouldn't mind me swapping it if I tried one combo and it didn't work but I don't think I'll get the childcare flexibility as places are fierce where I live and I'm all ready struggling to get him in somewhere!!

re the bank holiday thing, I thought it was illegal (discriminatory) for part timers to be out of pocket. Where I worked, the payroll did a calculation that meant that those part timers that worked Mondays had a deduction from their salary once a year to balance the fact that they got more days off pro rata than full timers or those who didn't work Mondays. Those that didn't work Mondays had a sum added to theirs to balance out the fact that they didn't get any extra time off. It varied yearly depending what days Christmas and New Year fell on. It was all written into the terms of the contracts.

x-posted. Really, don't base it on swimming lessons or friends, those things can and do change rapidly. I felt exactly the same, but with hindsight, your contract is permanent, swimming lessons are for a year or so then you inevitably change group, friends hopefully stick around but they change jobs, change their days. You have to do what is best for your job and best for your childcare because it may not be easy to change later.

Before i went back to work my friend advised me to work 3 days in a row. Any combination of three days in a row would have suited me but my boss wanted wanted w-f. I also get pro rata bank holidays for not working a monday but some employers dont give you this .