only want to return to work 2 days but am sure they want me to do 3

[joorla]

i'm due to return to work in july and really only want to go back for 2 full days.
the company i work for do not take on part time staff, the only other part time roles are taken by others that have returned from maternity leave. the others work 3 days a week but i only want to do 2, does anyone know where i stand in this - can they insist i do 3 or no job at all?

They have to consider your request for part-time working but they are not obliged to agree. Try to talk to them about ways that you could make this work (compressed hours? could you work 2 quite long days?). They will need to present the business case for it not working. Unfortunately, if they do not have a lot of part-time workers they are not likely to see some of the benefits but best of luck. Let us know how you get on.

Do you work full time already or just 3 days?

You need to sell it to them - demonstrate how the job can be done in the time you wish to work and how everything can be covered whilst you are not there. Look up flexible working on dti or acas and put a case together. They have 8 reasons they can use to turn you down, all of which can be fairly easily manipulated I think. You need to look at those and see how you can cover it.

You also need to put in the application asap as it can take up to 12 weeks for the whole process. This is the maximum time based on 28 days to have a meeting, 14 days to let you know answer, 14 days to appeal and so on

Theres nothing to say that just becuase others work 3 days they can't let you work 2, that wouldn't come under one of the 8 headings. All depends on duties.