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Original poster

How much would you be willing to lose per month to go back to work?

34 replies

Lachoux · 13/05/2016 21:39

I'm due back at work soon and have 2 DC of pre school age. After childcare costs (including savings from childcare vouchers and 15 free hours for the older one) our household income will be minus £100 if I go back to work versus if I were to look after the children myself. Either way money will be tight.
I don't enjoy my current role but I hate the idea of not working and not being financially independent. At the moment I don't have the skills or experience to earn the 40k plus I need to make the numbers add up.
What would you do?

OP posts:
NoBetterName · 13/05/2016 21:45

I would see it as an investment in your future earning potential, rather than a comparison of the figures right now iyswim.

If you give up work for several years now, when (and if) you can get back on the career ladder, your earning potential will have decreased massively in comparison to if you can keep your hand in now.

cheminotte · 13/05/2016 21:47

If the eldest is getting free hours, school can't be far off?

Original poster
Lachoux · 13/05/2016 22:02

Oldest starts school next year.
But if the job isn't the job I want to be doing for the rest of my career, is it still worth it do you think?

OP posts:
cheminotte · 13/05/2016 22:04

May not be your perfect job, but it's easier to find another job when you've already got one. Even a few months gap is a disadvantage. Also are you considering benefits like pension payments?

OneEpisode · 13/05/2016 22:06

If you can stretch to it, going back now could give you the chance to a flexible working request, which could reduce your childcare costs.

Diddlydokey · 13/05/2016 22:09

Can you condense hours to save on childcare? Both you and dp/h do ft over 4 days to pat for 3 days childcare?

Cheaper childminders?

Original poster
Lachoux · 14/05/2016 07:20

Thank you for all your replies.
I'll be working 4 days a week but can't do condensed hours.
Sounds like I should go back.

OP posts:
WhirlwindHugs · 14/05/2016 07:26

If you can manage financially it's probably worth it.

I have 3 kids so waiting for them all to be at school as I was a low earner previously and we can't afford that big a hit to finances. It does worry me.

jclm · 22/05/2016 17:27

I would also say return to work, but look at changing roles if you're not enjoying. I have been a sahm after redundancy three Yeats ago. I've had a terrible time trying to find pt work and after 10 interviews, am no nearer to a job...

chocolatebourbon · 24/05/2016 20:19

Definitely go back to work. I have had four years out and am horrified at the difficulty of getting back in. Being financially down overall is OK because long-term you are looking after your CV and your job prospects. My DH had a redundancy scare recently and it really opened my eyes to the fact that two income streams into the house are just a lot better than one...

poocatcherchampion · 09/06/2016 07:39

I am disagreeing.

Start looking for a different part time job. Go back but don't stay there.

BikeRunSki · 09/06/2016 08:53

I worked for 9 months where my income was about £100 less than childcare+commuting costs. As others have said, I considered this to be an investment in my future career, pension etc. 3 years later my youngest is about to start school and things are easing off finanically. The big difference between you and me though, is that I love my job, I have a good employer with a very easy going line manager and flexible working, all in a niche market. I knew that if I gave up my job, I'd never get back in. Not through lack of skills and experience, but because I have such a highly sought after role in my field.

FemaleDilbert · 09/06/2016 08:55

Personally I would look for another job to go back to. I wouldn't go back to a job I didn't like for a financial loss.

LouieLou2013 · 09/06/2016 09:04

Definitely play the long game. I was working for £-5 pound a day. After a year I got a £3k pay rise and a further year down the line I'm counting the months until the 15 free hours! There is a good chance I will be promoted at the end of June with a £7k rise. There is no way I'd have been able to go straight back in at this level after three/four years out. I do three days which I will increase to four in Sept.

Remember it will be 30 hours free for the youngest next year so definitely with sucking it up for a year.

Hiddenaspie1973 · 09/06/2016 15:21

Stay in work. It is sooooo difficult to get back in when you've been out. For me, I feel like shit as all my mates/family and partner go to work full time and I do 9.5 poxy hours in a poxy cleaning job whilst trying very hard to get back into work which uses my skill set. My confidence has been badly affected and I earn fuck all without a prospect of improving it until I can search for f.t jobs.
Now, you're thinking about a loss of £100. That's nothing compared to what you lose if you are stuck in p.t nmw jobs because you dared to jump off the treadmill.
It will feel better when the kids are older. Think of it as protecting YOUR future earning power plus pension.

MurphysChild · 09/06/2016 15:25

When mine were tiny and I went back to work, for years I literally worked full time for a couple of hundred quid and had a 30 mile round commute plus travel costs on top. However, I knew I was well paid for what I did, I knew I got good holidays and I also knew it would be unlikely I could get back into the company I worked for on those same terms and conditions. Not forgetting loss of pension contributions whilst not working etc. So I sucked it up, I don't regret it.

However, I enjoyed my job and I hated being a SAHM so was lad to go back for my sanity.

MurphysChild · 09/06/2016 15:27
  • couple of hundred quid per month after child care for 2.
CrazyDuchess · 09/06/2016 15:29

I went back to work at about a £100 deficit per month because of childcare- it was worth it in the long run

NewLife4Me · 09/06/2016 15:34

No way would I work for no profit. It's a mug's game.
Besides you can save so much money by not working.
If you put away this amount every month in a separate account then you aren't financially dependant.
So, you put away the childcare money, travel expenses, work clothes, etc and bingo, you have a wage for being a sahp

hazelnutlatte · 09/06/2016 15:36

I agree with everyone's points about it being an investment in your future career but personally I don't think I could go back to work in a job that I didn't even like and left me worse off! If I was you I would start looking for another job. If it's not possible to get a better paid job then at least one that you will enjoy more, and maybe for only 2 days a week then your losses would be less.

LC01 · 09/06/2016 15:46

I don't know how many days you use to work, but If you're going back to the same employer, but reducing your days by one, your salary will be prorated, which is likely to mean, you'll be on more money there, than if you got a new part time job somewhere new.

This isn't always the case, so you'll need to check the going rate for a similar role and company, but a lot of the time, you're better off staying put.

LongChalk · 09/06/2016 15:53

I've been working at a £200 loss for 2yrs and I'm about to give up because covering the school holidays for the older ones is a logistical impossibility. But I disagree with NewLife, as I think our utility and food bills are far lower with us all out the house. Plus I randomly spend £20 here and there in the week which I don't do at work.

LongChalk · 09/06/2016 15:54

Sorry, I didn't answer your question. If it's a investment in your future and 5yrs from now you'll all be so much better off then it's worth it. If it's a job you hate with very little prospects and it means stress for all if you then probably not.

Maursh · 09/06/2016 16:00

If you step away from you career it is incredibly hard to get back in again. I had a high flying career which I stepped away from and I regret it so much. If you value what you have worked towards so far then stick to it even if it costs you a bit in the short term. It will pay off in a very few years when your children are both at school.

In terms of your short term conundrum - and it is very short term if you eldest is soon to be a school - consider working full time rather than 4 days.

  • Everyone I know who has worked part time always says they do all the work of full time, over fewer days for less money.
  • If you can go back fulltime, full time childcare is normally cheaper per day like this.
NotCitrus · 09/06/2016 16:05

What would be the maths in a year's time when dc1 is at school and dc2 gets the free hours? Or 18 months or whenever?

I went from having a net income of about £200 to suddenly about £900 when it went from 2 in nursery to only 1 and that one getting half paid. I did 3 days, partly to reduce the expense and also everyone told me to work either 3 or 5 days, never 4.