Potential Job Offer - Tips Please to negotiate child friendly(ish) hours.

[Treadmillmom]

Hello, this was my last post www.mumsnet.com/Talk/going_back_to_work/a1382499-Terrified-of-the-stress-being-terrified-is-making-me-stressed#29576028.
My first interview went fantastically well and on arriving home they'd already sent an email to arrange a second interview and to spend the day.
I'm feeling allot more positive about the working/parenting balancing act. Its a job within an industry I'm desperate to get back into and I think I've sold myself sufficiently to get paid a good package.
The 2 interviewers men, asked me the unforgivable sexist questions regarding childcare etc.
Anyway, 2nd interview and a day with the team on Thurs and I'm optimistic I'll be offered the role.
The hours are 9am - 5.30pm.
Getting to work for 9am will cost me an additional £15 a day in childcare and stress. Leaving at 5.30pm will give me only 30 minutes to race to pick up kids from 2 different locations (2 in school, 1 not), battling with rush hour traffic etc.
I'd like to work 9.30am - 5pm.
Can you offer me tips please on how to negotiate this?

Do you have a partner - could they do any drop off of pick ups? Whatever hours you work its much better to split it if at all possible.
However from my experience - I didn't want to work full time - I waited until the job offer to raise it - I said I was looking for less full time - they said what was I looking for and we went from there - I got 0.8 shorter days. 8.30-3.30 Also it depends on the company - if its a place that everyone leaves dead on 5.30 leaving 30 mins early probably not a bit thing but if everyone else leaves at 6 or later might more difficult.

May I have some advice please on negotiating techniques to get my desired hours please?

erm, say "I'd like to ask if it would be possible to work from 9:30 to 5"

or do you want to bargain them down? - start by asking for 9:30 to 4 and then see if they settle for 5pm.

I'm thinking one of their objections may be that I'm expecting my colleagues to cover my work, how do I overcome that?

It's not really so much a negotiation as a request, so as you've identified, it's about framing that request in such a way as to make it easier for them to say yes, addressing their concerns and providing them with solutions.

No one here can tell you how you can overcome specific objections with the role in question because we don't know anything about the job.

In terms of the one about them thinking you are expecting colleague to cover your work, assuming you are not expecting that to happen, what are you expecting to happen? Do you have a specific proposal as to how you will be able to do the job in fewer hours?

All I would say is the best time to ask is after the job offer and decide whether its a deal breaker for you taking the job or not

From what I remember, when applying for flexible working (which you're effectively doing), I had to explain what the impact would be on my colleagues & on my clients and how I'd mitigate that. What can you do to mitigate the fact you'll be working an hour less than everyone else? Do you have to work the reduced hours every day or just 2 or 3 times a week perhaps? What actually happens in the office first thing in the morning? Does everyone go & get a coffee, have a quick chat and gradually get up to speed or are there team meetings or training or something. If the latter, its going to be harder for you to turn up late on those days.
Have you worked out your salary on an hourly basis? Will you be earning more or less than the £15 its going to cost you in childcare. Bear in mind that if you're doing reduced hours, your holiday allowance will probably be reduced pro rata too.
How fixed are your childcare arrangements? Could your non-school age DC go to a childminder who does pick up for your school age children so you only have one pick up to do?
I agree that you should get the job in the bag and then raise this. Have you actually tried the journey in rush hour to see if you can do it or not? If you haven't, do it & see how much of a stress it will be.

I agree that you just need to ask directly. This isn't really a negotiation so much as a request. I also agree that you need to think about the impact on colleagues. Personally I would imagine it may be easier to leave earlier than start later, as in many jobs, the start of the day is busy with a lot happening. 9am isn't an early start anyway, so I think it may be difficult to persuade them that you want to start even later. Also, the childcare expenses are not your employers problem. If you can convince them it will work well for business reasons they may buy it. But I have never come across an employer who simply changes someone's hours just to save them childcare expenses.

The other thing you might consider is sticking with the required hours but maybe trying for 4 days not 5? That may seem fairer and better all round, because your colleagues won't be doing more hours than you on any specific day- you'll simply work one less day, and the employer could find someone else to cover that day (though bear in mind it's hard to find someone to work one day a week and the employer might prefer you to drop to 3 days and job share )

I don't think it will bode well for you if you start asking for an arrangement on both sides of the day as it will give the impression that all the childcare is down to you and they will fear there is more to come AFTER the job offer.

Sorry if that's not what you want to hear.

Like others suggested, and from my own experience, it would look much better if you could just shift the hours so say "could I come in later and stay later" or "come in earlier and stay earlier" as otherwise it will be viewed that you want them to shrink your hours.

Do you get given a lunch hour? Can you agree only to take half an hour and work the other half hour?