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Original poster

Going back to work 4 days a week - which day to have off?

43 replies

catstar · 12/01/2008 09:26

I am returning to work in March for 4 days a week and am lucky enough to be able to choose which day I have off. DD will be going to nursery and will be aged 8 months. I am thinking that a Wednesday would be nice for me, as it would break the week in half, but was wondering if this might be confusing for DD i.e. weekend at home, 2 days at nursery, one day with me, 2 days at nursery, weekend etc. Woudl she benefit more from 3 days in a row at home with me taking a Monday or Friday off?

Just wondered what other people's experiences are with 4 days a week. Thanks .

OP posts:
Sobernow · 12/01/2008 09:28

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

beansprout · 12/01/2008 09:28

Friday, Friday, Friday!

No part-time mum works on Friday so that will be the day where you get to meet up with people and do stuff!!

PerkinWarbeck · 12/01/2008 09:32

I love working Fridays. Everyone's Dmob happy and a wee bit of skiving is perfectly in order.

MrsDandOllie · 12/01/2008 09:37

Dont have Mondays off as you'll miss out on all the bank holidays!!

MrsDandOllie · 12/01/2008 09:38

I'd also agree on the Friday as well. I think it will be easier for you both to hvae the 3 days together in a row and ditto the 4 working days... I found this when I worked part time.

Carnival · 12/01/2008 09:39

From an annual leave point of view, you might be best with Mondays. Depending on the policy of your organisation, you might get pro rata Public Hols as well as annual leave. Which could mean that if you are working on Mondays and get all of the Monday Public Hols you could be asked to 'pay back' some of that with your annual leave i.e. if you get 6 Monday PHs and you are only entitled to 4 pro rata, you'd need to sacrifice 2 of your annual leave days. That's the way it works in the organisation I work for.

Something to look out for, it might not work like that in your organisation, could be worth a phone call to HR?

I might not have explained that very well - happy to clarify.

milge · 12/01/2008 09:40

I have wednesdays off, and its great - only 2 days in a row at work - it really breaks the week up. I used to have Fridays off, but didn't like it- just formed part of the weekend and didn't really feel like I had had a day off, isywim. also tempted to take dc out of nursery/school as was missing them by then! Don't have Mondays off, you will miss out on all the bank holidays!

PerkinWarbeck · 12/01/2008 09:49

We get pro-rata bank holidays. By the time you factor in Xmas, Boxing Day, Good Friday and New Year's day the bias towards Mondays is only slight, but any bias at all is removed if your work pro-ratas bank holidays.

What happens then is you get a pro-rata BH entitlement added to your leave (eg I get 20 days A/L pro-rata PLUS 6 BHs = 26 days). Then on a BH, if you are due to work, you take a/l and it all balances out.

SlartyBartFast · 12/01/2008 09:56

i go for wednesdays.
feel refreshed again by thursday.,

DumbledoresGirl · 12/01/2008 09:59

I briefly worked parttime and had Wednesdays off. Personally, I would prefer to have a day off at one end of the week as I found my Wednesday got sucked into the void of the working week and I hardly noticed it.

I hate the Monday morning feeling, and I like the Thank God its Friday feeling, so personally, I would try having Monday off.

nooka · 12/01/2008 10:01

I used to have study leave on a Wednesday and it was lovely. I work at home on Thursday at the moment and that is quite nice, but not as good. No-one in my team is allowed to take Fridays off any more because it turns into ghost town otherwise! I think if you are worried about missing your dd then Wednesday is the best. She won't get confused, honest - our children did nursery like that (think it was Mon/Tue and Thur) and it was never an issue. They were older and dd still reminisces about "Daddy days" (dh went part time). From a work perspective I think two days on two days off works well, somehow it's less noticable when you aren't there I think.

foxinsocks · 12/01/2008 10:03

I would say, as your baby is so little, that the middle of the week might be nice but it also depends on your job. I always found, when I worked part time and mine were babies, that doing 4 days in a row was easier for work continuity purposes.

Also, I don't know what the situation is with your nursery but i had to pay for 5 days to get 4 days in the nursery as so many people opted for 4 days and that meant I could be flexible with the day off which was handy.

As your baby gets older, if you're still in the same position (!), Fridays off are nice because most mothers/fathers who work part time have that day off so you will find it easier to meet up with people/go for coffee etc.

Original poster
catstar · 12/01/2008 10:15

Thanks for all the messages! Carnival - i think my company has the same policy as yours re Bank Hols.

There are so many different reasons for taking any day off! One thing the nursery did mention is that they are fullest on a Weds, and emptiest on a Mon and Fri. I was thinking that it would be nice for DD to not be there on the busiest day and to benefit from more attention on the quieter days.

Then again, my two favourite baby groups are on a Monday and a Friday!! I have always hated Mondays so perhaps it would be good to make Tuesdays the new Monday!

Also, having a "long weekend" will make it easier if I want to go and stay at my Mum's etc.... I think I am talking myself into having Mondays off .

Ideally I'd love to be at home every day, but can't find a way of paying the mortgage that way!

OP posts:
amidaiwish · 12/01/2008 10:37

not Fridays, Friday is a "non day" and you'll feel ripped off taking a 20% drop in salary for not being there on the day people have long lunches and never stay late.

or maybe that was just my experience?

have you tried asking for full pay on a 4 day week? start and finish 1/2 hour later, 1/2 hour lunch, or commit to say 1 hour a night in the evening or 1-2 hours on your "day off" (which you'll probably end up doing anyway as people still call you!)
I never asked for this and so wish i had! Working 4 days means people see you as a full timer (and you'll have a full time job) but on Fridays "you're off again"...

perpetualworrier · 12/01/2008 10:38

Just be careful re Bank hols. I used to do a job share where she worked m-w & I did th & Fri. She got all the hols!!!

My new arrangements are that I get a certain no of days inc BH's, so if they fall on my days that's OK, if not I get extra leave, but it did bother me for a while. You need to check what you're contract will say.

dramaqueen · 12/01/2008 10:40

When I worked part time I found it was essential to be in Mondays. All the decisions and notices and stuff happened on mondays, and if you missed that you were a bit clueless about what was happening.

stepfordwife · 12/01/2008 10:46

another vote for mondays here...

avoids that 'monday morning' feeling, makes sundays nights fun, as you said, can go away for long weekends.

good luck with goig back to work

bookwormmum · 12/01/2008 10:46

Is it the sort of job where it goes on regardless of BHs and holidays or are they sancrosanct?

Where I work, the people who work BHs do very well since they get double pay plus a Lieu Day to be taken later on (within about 6 weeks though - you can't stockpile them for one big holiday). So they get effectively get triple pay for working slightly reduced hours. Not a family-friendly option though.

bookwormmum · 12/01/2008 10:49

FWIW, working 4 days is easier for employers to monitor than working the equivalent amount of hours spread over one week. I worked about 25-30 hours a week in one job, starting about 9.30 and leaving at 2.30pm ti pick my DD up from school but I think my employer would have preferred me there on definite days each week rather than scoot in, work and scoot out again. She worked 4 days a week and her colleague worked 3 days a week so it was well-geared up for flexible working.

gr1973 · 12/01/2008 10:50

If you work part-time and full-time workers get bank holidays seperately from their annual leave then I'm sure you are entitled to a pro-rata allocation of them (whether you work mondays or not.

My annual holiday entitlement includes days for bank hols etc. My office opens all the bank hols (except for Christmas/New Year) so its up to us whether we take them or save the days for another time in the year.

I'm also hoping to work 4 days a week when the time comes and plan to ask for Mondays off. My DH gets all the bank holidays off anyway, so it means we can have extra days together as a 'family' without me having to waste annual leave.

Got to have the baby first before I think about that anymore though...

bookwormmum · 12/01/2008 10:53

Your HR dept should be able to explain your options - it looks like loads of different companies have different policies re BHs.

oooggs · 12/01/2008 11:01

I would have Monday off as you get all bank holidays off and then leave added in lieu - well we do

MarshaBrady · 12/01/2008 11:12

Wednesday.
Nearly finished doing a freelance project and the Wed off mid week is sanity saving. Although I admit the job is very tiring so depends on whar your work is like.

Only thing is ds 2.8 understands its mid week, I'm pretty sure your dd would learn the routine of 1 day with mummy, 2 days with you etc.

I

gr1973 · 12/01/2008 11:19

i agree with bookwormmum - you should check what your company policy is re BHs for part-time workers and whether or not the enhance the legal minimum for pt workers. e.g. my company doesn't do what oooggs company do, it's all pro-rata.

Surfermum · 12/01/2008 11:38

I opted for Mondays too. It meant I had nearly an extra week's leave each year and I already get 6 weeks !

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