advice needed

[hazlinh]

i went back to work when dd was 6 weeks rather reluctantly, (now 24 weeks) but have gritted my teeth as becoming a sahm is not an option (yet!)mum takes care of dd, but her health hasn't been that great lately and we have hired a helper but she's a bit useless, and dd much prefers my mum but i hate to depend on my mum all the time, and she doesnt have time to go out and do the things she'd like to do now, with baby in tow. plus dd is quite a "challenging little handful" and likes to be held all the time and is quite a "demanding" little miss.

Am getting increasingly weary and disillusioned with job too, am not going anywhere, no pay rise, bonus, or benefits..am working on a freelancing contract basis but made to do same amount of work and made to carry same amount of responsibilities as other full-time permanent staff. have had it up to here, and would quit if i could, but financially, it is just not possible. am planning to ask boss for a shorter working week or shorter working days (possibly week is better cos in my line of work, anything can pop up and then I'd have to stay late anyway regardless of official clock-out time).does anyone have any ideas on how i should broach the issue with my boss? he's a great, sympathetic guy but at the end of the day, he doesnt make the decisions. Our headquarters in Paris would do that I think, he would just make recommendations.i suppose i'd receive a cut in my salary but at this point i dont care. I feel like I'm wasting too much of my precious time either at work or commuting which could have been better spent with dd or dh.am i asking for too much?????anyone ever done this before?

bump

anyone???

The law is now on your side because of the flexible working laws for families. Do a search for these and you should get lots of information.

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Hazlinh,
I know that there is an EU law, which says that every mother and father is entitled to 14 weeks parental leave each. I found the following on an Irish website, but it is the same in every EU country.

"Parental leave is available for each child and amounts to 14 weeks per child. Leave is limited to 14 weeks where an individual has more than one child but can be longer if the employer agrees.

The 14 weeks per child may be taken in one continuous period, or following agreement with your employer you can separate your leave into periods of days or even hours.

Both parents have an equal separate entitlement to parental leave but entitlements cannot be combined. In other words, you can only claim your own parental leave entitlement (14 weeks per child) and not your partner's leave entitlement also.

You are not entitled to pay from your employer while you are on parental leave nor are you entitled to any social welfare payment equivalent to Maternity or Adoptive Benefit.

Taking parental leave does not affect other employment rights you have. Apart from the loss of wages, your position remains as if no parental leave had been taken."

Hazlinh, the first thing to sort out is whether you are really self employed or whether the freelance bit is just a convenient lable for them to use. Have you ever been employed by the same company? if your resposibilities are the same as the employees, it may well be that you are an employee of the company (and have to pay tax and NIC as an employee) and could benefit from the right to request flexible working regulations.