Shift workers - what do you do for childcare?

[harryfan37]

Hello,

The days I work change every week and I sometimes don't know what days these are going to be until a week before.

For those in a similar position, what do you do for childcare? (Toddler under 2)?

I'm guessing nurserys can't be that flexible.

Thanks.

You have the right to request flexible working. In your case that could mean set shifts.

Childminders might be an option as they can be a bit more flexible depending on how many children they look after.

I know of some nurseries that let you book your days when you get your rota but not sure of cost or the detail. Just know a nurse who is able to do that.

Request flexible working for set days

I can't request that in my job, I'm afraid :-( so makes it really difficult.

One of our local nurseries was willing for me to tell them the days I wanted, which differed week on week. I was also licky to have some family locally who were able to help sporadically. My husband tweaked a few of his shifts so he could do drop off when I had come off of nights or was on earlies etc.

Oh that's so lucky @Desmondo2021 !! I might just ask around all the local nurseries

A friend of mine is a midwife. She is part time which means she works 2 (long) shifts per week. She books her child in to nursery 2 set days a week, so her work know she can work those 2 days and also Saturday and Sunday as her husband does a Monday-Friday job so can have the child at the weekend. I guess this is made easier by the fact she is part time. She does end up paying for some nursery time she doesn’t need ie if she works Saturday and Sunday she doesn’t need the midweek nursery but has to pay for it anyway. I think there is bound to be an element of this unfortunately.

Some hospitals have very flexible nurseries attached as lots of NHS jobs are shift based, have you got one near you?

In my area certain nurseries are renowned for certain things - I.e term time only for teachers, flexible for shift workers etc. For example, our hospital has a nursery on site which many shift workers use, even if they don’t work at the hospital, but they obviously cater for healthcare workers and their shifts. There are many shift workers who need childcare, so there must be some in your area that will cater to it.

My son is in reception now, but when he was in nursery I just gave them a months notice of my shifts (which was the amount of notice work gave me) so I could vary the days he was in. My husband is self employed so is more flexible and works around my shifts.