DH is refused to go 4 days instead of 5 after his extended paternity leave

[charlottenina]

we are both working full time. my DH requested ( it is school) to go 4 days a week Mon - Thu due to child care issues ( 2 kids under 5) and they rejected it. what to do now - how can we appeal? do we have a chance to persuade them? My husband did not speak individually, just wrote a letter. would it make a difference if he spoke to the headteacher?

What reasons have they given for rejecting his request? There is no absolute right to go part time, it depends on it being something the business can reasonably accommodate, so it's about why they refused rather than just the fact that they have IYSWIM.

There should be a right of appeal explained in the letter if it was a formal request. Does he have his immediate manager on side, or is that who turned him down?

He would be better off asking for advice on the TES forum, this comes up loads. He can appeal but he needs to do it properly.

They have to give a business reason for rejecting him. If he has asked for one full day off a week, it might not be possible to accommodate that on the timetable, for example.

Did he apply formally outlining how he thought four days a week would work? Citing your childcare issues is not a reason for them to grant a reduction in hours, the business (or in this case school) still has to be able to operate on those reduced hours.

If he made a formal flexible working request they are obliged to hold a meeting to discuss it with him rather than just reject. I would certainly advise him to speak to the headteacher anyway.

Is he a teacher? Did he explain in his request how he thought 4 days could be accommodated?

It's a little unclear whether he made a formal Flexible working request, or has just written a letter
He needs to make a formal application, and should not state that he's looking for 4 days for childcare reasons, because that's not anything to do with his employer. He needs to frame it in terms of how he can work 4 days without it adversely affecting the employer financially or in any other way

A tip: in my experience of dealing with FW requests, it's often easier to accommodate 3 days not 4. With a 3/2 day split its easier to arrange a job share, whereas its not easy to arrange a 4/1 split. Very few people want the commitment and responsibility of work for just one day a week. I've had several employees requesting 4 days because it suits them (they often seem to ask for a convenient Wednesday off too so they never have to work more than 2 days consecutively!!) However, the employer is interested in how the job can be done without compromising quality, other employees, finance etc so it's worth your DH having another look at it from their perspective