Jobs with very little commitment

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I think I'm ready to go back to work after an illness.

I need to take it really slowly though, and I also have one child in school and a tinier one in part time nursery, as well as an OU course, so I think something really casual would be a good idea - the kind of thing where I can do a couple of shifts a week if well, but not get in trouble if I need time off to stop myself getting ill again or to do an essay etc.

I've done 5 years care work (elderly and learning disabilities - I can do lifting, basic sign language, personal hygiene, toiletting etc - or at least I could do them 4 years ago) as well as 4 years admin style stuff and 3 years customer facing, with tills, phone, complaints etc. I have run teams of up to 20 people doing sales for about a year, and am excellent at sales, although I have to be careful with that as I need to avoid stress and I tend to get a bit too excited. I have done 1 year bar and waiting on, as well as six months bar in a nightclub. I have also run my own small business, and have done activities with the elderly, public libraries and things like storytime etc. I am studying social sciences and do quite a lot of arts, crafts and writing on the side, as well as running a pretty successful website, including managing over 30 volunteer writers. (some of these things overlap - they sound exciting but were all minimum wage unqualified type things. Said sales experience does mean that I am shit hot at interviews though)

Now, given that I really have to avoid stress, night shifts, getting too tired, etc, until I get stronger, but I need to ease myself back into work to get stronger (as well as to stop us being quite so damn skint) what would you say is a good plan of action? How do I explain my reluctance to do more shifts - I don't want to reveal my health issues if I don't have to as mental health discrimination is a big deal.

Ideally, anything would fit in either school time or after DH is home from work (he works pretty much any day of the week he is needed, getting home between 5.30 and 6pm) but the ILs are amazing and could help out if really needed.

Supply work either in nurseries or care homes? Then you could pick and choose which days you want to work - wouldn't necessarily fit into school hours though.

BeerTricks - I worked as a Library Assistant for two years. It was ace. I will be doing a postgrad in Librarianship if public libraries still exist when I graduate. My MIL is a qualified Librarian. :) I think all the jobs are being cut now :(

Rita - don't I have to be qualified to work in a nursery. Will look t care agencies though :)

No, you don't have to be qualified, but it'll be minimum wage-ish work. You'll need childcare/care experience though.

Rita - I don't think I have a chance at anything more than minimum wage tbh :-) I don't have childcare experience, unless you count my own kids and running storytime etc. Do you think they would be happy that I've done care and activites with adults?

Hmmm, how about cleaning? Can adults be babysitters, or does that require complex insurance? Keeping old people company/doing shopping?

Anyone can be a babysitter, try advertising on netmums. You don't need insurance.

I would try calling a few nursery supply agencies and seeing if they would accept you experience - focus on the storytime sessions and any paid babysitting rather than your own children, plus adult care.

Would I count myself as self employed? I know I wouldn't earn enough for tax, but I don't want to do benefit fraud. I'm pretty certain that it wouldn't affect my benefits unless I earned over about £50 a week regularly, but you can still get in trouble for not keeping records.

I don't mind doing self emplyed, btw - I've done it before and the tax etc is really simple

What do people charge for babysitting these days? I can do crafts, activites etc if need be as well. We are right up north so things are really cheap round here.

Do I not need a CRB? I would pass one, obviously, but you can't do them on yourself. Hmm, but school do them on volunteers...

If you work for an agency (babysitting or supply work) they will do a CRB and reference check. If you just advertise yourself for babysitting then you don't need one.

Brill. I thought it was legally required if you were looking after any children that you don't know.

No, it isn't.

I'd think that cleaning/ironing/babysitting (in their home)/pet sitting would all be good things to offer as then you can take on as much as you like. My cleaner does all of those things for me, and she combines stuff together - so would iron while babysitting.

When you felt more confident in yourself, you might also offer light care in addition to the others - for instance what I really need for my parents is a cleaner who would keep an eye on them, turn the fridge out, maybe pick up prescriptions etc

No experince of it myself but, what about Avon or kleeeze or Anne Summers? Either just delivering catalogues or, given your sales experience, parties to sell stuff.

Totally up to you how much/little you work.

Puddle Jumper - I used to do Usborne, and I kicked ass :) I think they have changed it now, but you used to get a bonus if you promoted to team leader within three months of joining, I did it in two, and then one of my recruits got the award the month after. I was looking at group leader within a year of joining, but then I got ill and had to quit :( I found that it took over my life a bit though - I tend to get over enthusiastic about things like that. I was the same when I did Ann Summers (not quite as successful, but I certainly wasn't bad it it)

I like the idea of combining care/housework type things. Will definitely look into that.