Ive been offered a job - dont know whether to take it

[jampot]

I went for an interview several weeks ago for a legal PA role within a firm of solicitors in town. They wanted someone to start at end of February and if necessary could have offered me school hours. I havent heard a thing until Friday when the agency rang me to say they filled that role internally but it had left a vacancy in the private client department. They really wanted me to join the team and are happy to offer me school hours for that role working for 2 full time solicitors. The problem is they offer 4 weeks holiday per year and take however many days off that in order to close the business all over xmas and new year leaving me only the pro rata equivalent of 3 weeks for the entire 12 months. They want me to start next week on a temp to perm basis to make sure we work well together. Taking out the holiday i have booked for end of may it would leave me only 5 days for the whole year. The cost of taking the job would include parking at £7 per day = 35 per week and then childcare for about 9-10 weeks remaining this year for 2 children plus the added issue that they wont want to be in childcare for all their holidays. What does everyone else do?

Bumping for you jampot.
That is not many days holiday is it? Also, the parking costs are high. It will be a stuggle WRT childcare I reckon.

Could you not try it if they are taking it as trial thing at first. Thne if it doesn't work out....leave

How desperate are they for you to start? Could you arrange a start date of 1st June, ie. after your booked hol?

For school hols we use a mixture of kids club (we pay £16 per 'school length' day for this), granny, and me OR dh taking hol, very rarely dh and I together, just wouldn't add up to enough days.

we have no family locally so would have to rely solely on kids clubs. Dh has crap holidays too.

They want me to start next Monday.

Could you ask about term time working? I've just started a new job that's perfect in every way apart from the fact that I only get 4 weeks hol, and pro rata for public hols. I was in a similar dilemma, in that I started at the end of jan and I'd booked 2 weeks in Italy at Easter. I work part-time, but I do three whole days (I share after school care with a friend). This means that I can build up extra time and "bank" it by going in on my days off and working between 9 and 3. Now, I have enough time off in lieu due to take Easter, leaving me my full allocation to take some time off in the summer and Xmas. Could you do fewer hours "officially" (say mon-thu,) but work the Fridays to build up time owed? Good luck, whatever you decide. It's not easy, is it?

Could you take unpaid parental leave for some of the hols (or is that not financially possible?)

i dont think i could take unpaid parental leave as there are other working mums there and of course when you do for one etc.....

Ummm....Could you bear to cancel your May holiday and rebook for school hol time

we're going away whitsun week so it is school hols

i telephoned them and turned the job down explaining my reasons. althouggh am happy to tempt term time if i get ds a child minder for each day

I think you have a right to unpaid parental leave though, Jammy - it's not a perk.

oh good news here - a lawyer I used to know has just called me up to ask if I can freelance for them school hours

Perfect