Term time work

[Liketotalk]

Has anyone ever asked for term time working at work? I've asked and been told that it probably won't be agreed as my job doesn't really suit this kind of working pattern. I can't see why not tbh, but just wondered if anyone could give me some advice on how to handle this.

If your employer is open all year round, how do you expect them to cover the 13 weeks a year you dont want to work. You say you cant see why it wouldnt work but thats easy when its something you want - from an employers point of view finding a job share for just those weeks a year would be impossible and agency may cost too much.

It helps to work in an environment that has ebbs and flows to match term time working.

Where I've work - Professional Services / Banking - it actually works really well because the market dies in August and often over Christmas/Easter too, and everyone - from Partner/MD to Secretary ends up twiddling their thimbs and going on training courses and the like.

Retail and Leisure industries though have the exact opposite, so I imagine term time being impossible there.

What makes you think the workign pattern will work, and why do they say it won't?

I am a civil engineer and have worked with two people on term-time only contracts, both engineers in office based consultant roles. Civils consultancy does not tend to have seasonal ebbs and flows apart from Christmas break and a lot of people on hols in August much like the rest of the world. Both these girls got term time working by asking nicely and saying stuff along the lines of "not a lot happens in August anyway". It works for them, but their teams hate it, and really resent them.

I do have a friend who has a successful term time only job in a cafe, where the owner's teenager covers the school hols. If you can find a situation like that, it would be perfect.