Variable hours

[fufulina]

I am thinking about when my smallest goes to school and we no longer have a nanny.
I currently work 4 days a week.
What I would like is to maintain my 80% of FTE salary for a 4 day a week, but during school term time, work full time, and then take all school holidays off - using a mix of annual leave and accumulated days in lieu for the Wednesdays worked.
Would it work like that? At the moment, I work, in effect, 10 days to accure one day of annual leave. But with the scenario above, it would be a mix of annual leave and lieu days. Just interested if anyone has done it, or something similar, or if I am missing something about how these things work.

Have a read up about annualised hours.

I know someone who had an 80% arrangement a bit like you describe. She worked full time but got 4 weeks extra holiday (on top of standard 5 weeks), which she always used in August.

I think if you wanted all school hols off that would work out at less than 80%? Haven't done the maths though.

I think it worked ok, and she was glad to have the extra time off - but:

1. she got pretty knackered during the full time months (she has now stopped working to be at home with DC), and
2. she also ended up working a lot more than 80% but only getting paid for 80%, and
3. she was pretty senior, so it was easier for her to delegate things to the next level down during August.

Thanks both - will explore annualised hours. Am on 80% now and definitely work more, but a) it's the price I pay for the flexibility and b) full time people work more than full time
hours... I've done the maths and I would work out that I work 27 Wednesdays giving me the extra nearly 8 weeks off (on a 4 day week), so just getting the 13 weeks I would need. I think the Easter, Christmas and half terms wouldn't be an issue, but the long break at summer would be, so could maybe look at 3 or 4 weeks in summer... Will mull on!

It's worth thinking about how your work load would be covered during school holidays. As an employer my concern would be could your work really wait 6 to 7 weeks over the summer holidays.