What reasons do I give my boss for dropping to 4 days?

[andyrobo237]

Hope someone can assist me - I want to approach my boss and ask for 4 days work instead of 5 days work - mainly as dd starts school in Spetember. It would help out in childcare and I can afford to do it, but need to get my business case together before I go to see him. Any ideas that have worked? He can be a PIA when it comes to things like this!

work/life balance

write up a business plan of how you would expect this to work. try to show why this would be a good business arrangement. what sort of work do you do, and does anybody else pork part time in your arganisation?

AFAIK you don't need a sound business reason to apply if your dd is under 6. You just apply and the company has to have a sound business reason to refuse you.

Loads of info \link{http://www.dti.gov.uk/er/flexible.htm\here}

what do you do?

Can your job be done in 4 days? It is not a question of fitting a 5 day week into a 4 day week but more a question of whether the job can reasonably be cut by 1/5 eg giving you fewer projects. Some jobs cannot be cut so easily esp jobs that involve servicing client accounts, or jobs at professional or higher managerial levels.

How would you deal with emergencies on the day you are off - can someone else cover? Is there any one day of the week where work is reliably slower. What flexibility do you have (tip: don't volunteer too much).

Is there anyone else in your role who was given flexible working in the past? That would set a precedent. Bear in mind that although you can apply under the flexible working regulations and give all sorts of good reasons, the company can still reject your claim if they are business reasons to. The regulations have no teeth - it is just a box-ticking exercise.

You have a stronger legal case under sexual discrimination, but it is too early at this stage to go there. Just word your application to make it as difficult as possible for your boss to sound reasonable in rejecting you. There should also be internal appeal procedures.

Think everyone giving good advice. I done exact same after dd born as could not face working full time (but couldnt afford to give up either).

I just explained my work would not be affected and if need be I would work from home to meet any deadlines (although you might not want to volunteer this if you think they will take advantage) I just told truth and explained personal circumstances and luckily they agreed. I know it is not easy but just try be confident know what you want to say and dont let them put you off. Good luck

thanks all - I work for a local council as an Engineer (male dominatee environment) - corporately it is all about work / life balance and we have flexi-time, but my boss is a caveman - even though his wife worked evenings when the kids were little. There are others at a similar level who work 4 days - 1 in my section, but she is at a slightl lower level than me. I need to get my head around round it on paper so i can spak to him after easter- he is good at throwing things at you (verbally!) SO i need all my answers and arguments up front! Will find out if he really values my work or not LOL!!!

Hi everyone

Can I throw something in here on a similar subject.
I have a similar job to 'andyrobo237'.
I work for a local council as an Architect and although would love to do the 4 day thing I can't even afford that.

If your council is anything like mine (even with your caveman boss) they should grant you it. I know my dept would welcome the wage saving and they know deep down that they'll still get a similar level of work from you. I suspect having a day off will make your other days more efficient, as you'll be refreshed!

I am hoping to apply for working from home one day a week.

Has anyone else done that ?

I am trying to find someone so that I can chat to them about concerns my boss will have. I want to have solutions to all the negatives before I apply.

thanks
Marie

I don't work from home much, but it is quite common in my workplace (NHS), and I often give my team leave to work at home. The best arguments are that you will be more productive, and it is much easier to agree it on a case by case basis (ie one off) rather than on a regular basis, although people do that too (for example one of my team works alternate Fridays at home). You need to think of exactly what tasks you are proposing to do at home, and why that will work better both for you and your company. Then think of the possible downsides - how will your boss know you are working (not an issue if you are known to be efficient and productive) how can people contact you (if you normally have to provide advice) can you have your home PC hooked up to e-mail, if you have to read e-mail on a regular basis. Basically all the nuts and bolts of how, in practice things would work out. Mostly my team say that they prefer to write reports and do concentrated work at home away from interruptions, and this seems reasonable as they work in an open plan office. If I had any concerns about the productivity of one of the team, or if they really do need to be there in person, then I would say no, otherwise it seems to work out OK. One thing you could suggest is a trial period maybe.

Also, try and find someone who wants a one-day a week job (lots of people do) and put a job-share to him and see what he thinks.