Have you successfully negotiated part-time hours when applying for a new job? (public sector)

[Wigeon]

I have an interview on Monday for a senior management position in a public sector body (essentially a quango). It was advertised as full-time, but I would want to do 3 days a week.

Have you managed to negotiate part-time hours for a job advertised as full-time? I would be very happy to jobshare (in fact my most recent role just before my current mat leave was a successful jobshare which had many more benefits for the organisation than drawbacks).

When did you raise the issue? I haven't mentioned it in my application and am rather reluctant to raise it at interview as it surely will not be a factor in my favour. And if I don't get the job and I hadn't mentioned being part-time, then at least I'll know it'll be on my abilities rather than working hours.

I'd be very interested to hear your good / bad stories.

Frankly you're unlikely to get the job. They've advertised it as fulltime. They want someone fulltime. If I were interviewing you I'd be pissed off that you were wasting my time (and someone else's chance to be on the shortlist).

I work for the main civil service and am not in a senior mgment position but in the department I'm in there was no job share register. If you wanted to job share when you returned from maternity leave you had to find someone yourself which is frankly impossible unless you know someone who wants a job share partner for the days you need etc. I was lucky in that a girl in my area of work came back from mat leave at the same time as me and we set up our own job share arrangement with our manager's support. I think in the olden days HR were more proactive in finding job sharers but it is not the case in my department now.

Can't comment about quangos as I have no experience of them.

Don - Thanks for your reply. I know what you mean from the employer's point of view, but there are literally no jobs advertised part-time IME. And workers have a right to request flexible working, but somehow it feels a bit different requesting it before you've even started (or been offered the job). So if you want to work part-time, it feels like I have to piss someone off?

Melfish - I sympathise! My post before mat leave was main civil service. There did use to be a job share noticeboard on Civil Service Jobs but it was taken down and is apparently possibly going to be relaunched. I've been told my department has a jobshare noticeboard, accessible on the intranet, which obviously I can't access while on mat leave. My most recent jobshare came about through chance too. Gr!

I agree with don. Much better to be up front. It's very annoying to go through a recruitment process and find out at the end that the successful candidate wants different terms.

Also you have the right to request FW after 26 weeks in employment so it's not relevant to a new job.

hairytale - thank you. I agree that from a recruiter's point of view, you would rather the candidate lay her cards on the table straight away. But from the candidate's point of view, is this in my best interests and the best way of achieving what I want?

Also I hadn't found out about the statutory position, so that's helpful. On the other hand, employers may choose to consider a flexi working request even if they statutorily don't have to.

Hm. Still very unsure about what to do for the best.

Yes it's in your best interests and your best chance of getting what you want.

I would be so annoyed that a candidate had left it til last to disclose they wanted different terms that frankly I wouldn't be inclined to accommodate their request ... I would see it on a par with dishonesty.

If an employer has advertised a full time post - and goes through a recruitment process in that basis then an applicant should assume thats what they want and need on the basis of a proper assessment prior to making the post available - to be asked to go through the additional hassle of considering job share at the end of the process is really inconvenient.

If you are up front, the emPloyer is more likely to be inclined to go through the process - and ssse if other candidates would consider job share.

I do see what you mean. Perhaps it would depend on whether they had a very attractive second-place candidate (willing to work full-time) or whether the winning candidate (me, theoretically) was streaks ahead of the rest of the field...

Almost no jobs IME are advertised part-time. I have been actively looking since the end of December, casting my net fairly wide across the public sector, and I have seen a grand total of 1 job advertised as part-time. It feels like if employees want to work part-time, they have to always work full-time first, then request to work part-time? It is not realistic (or fair) to put young children in temporary child care in order to work full-time for a bit then request to work part-time.

The employer's website does say "All roles will state whether they are full-time or part-time. Full time roles may be suitable for applicants applying on a job share basis." so at least I know that it's not completely impossible.

There is of course the very real possibility that I won't be offered the job (especially as it'd be a promotion) and at least I wouldn't have to worry about all this!

not sure I agree with the advice here. I work for a LA and was advised to do this: went for a full time job, got it and accepted but said I wanted to be part time. I don't think they were pleased but had to consider it due to their work/life balance rules. Anyway, it all worked out and 8 years later am still in the same job working part time. I was very uncomfortable doing this (not mentioning it when applying/at interview but was told that it was standard practise in LA/civil service.

Thanks wantanewname, that's reassuring. I think I am going to say at the end of the interview "can you tell me about your policies towards flexible working, part time, job share, that kind of thing" in a vague kind of way (rather than "I only want this job if you will let me do it Wed-Fri or else"). Although I am planning an intelligent question about the job itself before the part-time question too, so that I'm not just asking about part-time stuff.

No! I applied for a full-time public sector admin job in January. I contacted the recruiter beforehand to let them know I would be wanting 4 days if successful. I also put it on my application form. I was invited to an interview, got the job, asked about part-time hours upon offer.... then was told it was 5 days or nothing.

I would advise checking beforehand whether part-time is feasible or not. Despite knowing I wanted four days, my recruiter failed to mention that they would be basically inflexible.

However, the inflexibility was apparently role specific, and I know someone who successfully negotiated three days for a full-time position in local government, before starting the job.

can you find out through contacts maybe who flixiable they are likely to be really depends if it a deal breaker I think - having raised it at one interview and not got the job - I waited until I was offered my current job being asking about part time - got offered 4 days a week which was ok with me

Sorry not to acknowledge the other replies - thank you!

Well, I did ask at interview about their flexible working policies in a general sort of way, but didn't say right out "I want to work 3 days a week", and I didn't get the job. But at least I can be sure it's not because they didn't want to give it to a part-timer and it was because someone else performed better at interview!

Thanks for all your thoughts.

Should have added though: all is not lost because I have had two more interviews since, and been offered one of them - horray! (Haven't heard back about the other, which was only this week) For various complicated reasons they knew from the start that I'm part-time and so there was no need to negotiate that.