Timing of flexible working request

[Gangle]

I'm currently on maternity leave with DS2, 7 months. We also have DS1, 2 1/2. Planning to go back to work just before Christmas when DS2 is nearly 9 months old. As I have nearly a month of accrued holiday, I've decided to work a 4 day week in Jan and Feb so that I can ease back in gradually. I did this with DS1 and it worked out well. However, I am pretty sure that I will only want to do 4 days per week permanently and so will plan to make a flexible working request which may/may not be approved. I was planning on making the request in February or March so, if approved, it's effective in April (we're planning a holiday in March so would be off two weeks anyway so no sense in it starting then). The reasons for not making the application then are i) I can use my holiday to work a 4 day week until then and ii) I want a period of time back in the office to see how a 4 day week pans out and whether it's workable long term and (iii) it if goes well I can say, look, I've been working a 4 day week for 2 months and it's workable. It all made sense to me but now I'm starting to worry about what if they refuse the request and whether I would like the certainty of knowing I can do 4 days permanently. I also have concerns that my maternity cover is trying to steal my job so a frank discussion with my boss in the forum of a flexible working application could help air those issues and put my mind at rest, or not as the case may be! What would you do??

Do you know you can use your holiday to work a 4 day week? I mean have you had that agreed already? Most employers wouldn't agree that, they'd want holiday taken in the normal way and any change in working pattern to be done 'properly'.

Yes, they've agreed to me using holiday to do a 4 day week for the 1st 2 months. It works better for them otherwise I would probably be off the whole of December and they would have to get a temp to cover whereas one day per week is more manageable.

Well that's a good sign then.

In terms of the timing, you say you want the certainty of knowing you can do a 4 day week permanently (presumably meaning should you put in a request now rather than waiting?), but will it make any difference to anything? If you put in a request now, it's refused and you therefore know you will have to go back full time in April, what effect will that have on your plans as opposed to not knowing?

I suppose my point is that if you can make the request while you are (successfully) doing a 4 day week already, that can only help you. The only problem could be the timescale being tight. I certainly would do it in February rather than March especially as you are going away- you don't want to get to the end of your holiday entitlement without having it sorted.