How does this working pattern sound?

[allabitmuch45]

I currently work full time hours (37.5) across a nine day fortnight so I have a Monday off every other week for childcare reasons. DH works 2 days part time at the moment, home for childcare the rest of the time.

Our youngest starts school this year and so DH will go back to full time. He works shifts which can vary wildly in timings.

Financially we can't afford for me to reduce my hours by much (I'm the higher earner by far) but with DH being full time, I could reduce a bit to something like 0.9 or 0.85 WTE.

I'm wondering about submitting a flexible working request to reduce to 0.9 WTE and work core hours of 9-3 Mon-Fri and then work 3.75 hours flexibly across the week which I can fit in around DH's shifts and means I can often still be available for meetings after 3pm.

Other option would be to work out set hours something like three days 9-3 and two days 9-5 This would add up to 0.88WTE so hardly any difference.

DC would have to attend after school club on the longer days in the second option. They will be 6 and 4 at the start of next academic year if that makes a difference to people's thoughts?

I'm pretty sure my work will be able to support either of these options.

What would you do please?

I used to work the exact hours you're proposing as option 2 - 2 days of 9-5 and 3 of 9-3 and it worked really well for us. Meant I was a round to pick the kids up at least 3 times a week (would also have my lunch at 3 on the 9-5 days sometimes).

I would go for a set working pattern so your colleagues know when you're working and when you're not: easier for you and easier for them.
So not this I'm wondering about submitting a flexible working request to reduce to 0.9 WTE and work core hours of 9-3 Mon-Fri and then work 3.75 hours flexibly across the week which I can fit in around DH's shifts and means I can often still be available for meetings after 3pm.

It wouldn't work well in practice.

Thank you for your thoughts. I think it probably does make more sense to have set hours even though in theory the flexibility sounds great.

If you work until 3, are you leaving enough time to be there to collect your little one at the end of school ?
Some schools finish at 3pm
Even those that finish at 3.15 or 3.30 - how long will it take you to put your coat and shoes on (if wfh) and walk there? Or to drive there if you are leaving work ?
What about if you are in the middle of a call or meeting, or just a paragraph away from finishing that report ?
REmember you'll need time between the time you stop work and the time you are standing on the playground if your aim is to meet them coming out of school.

People will start treating you like you always finish at 3 because they won't be able to cope with you chopping and changing. Or they'll always assume you're available on a Thursday until 6pm because you have been for the last 3 weeks. It'll be an absolute nightmare unless you work alone a lot.

How about 3 days of school hours and 2 long days with after school club, probably 32 hours in total?

@allabitmuch45 the 9 to 3 x 3 days is a good option because you are required to take a break after 6 hours so you are maximising the number of hours without a break.

Have you asked for flexi time? With core hours e.g. 10 to 1 or 2? This would allow you to opt for the same hours each day (6:45) but use flexi to do 6 hours x 3 days and 2 longer days. It gives you more flexibility as you can switch which days are the longer days if necessary.

They usually prefer you to have set hours on set days as it makes your holiday entitlement much easier to work out and colleagues know what you're doing.

Definitely do two long and two short days, that means you can do pick up three days a week and have a day to catch up on stuff too

I have a pattern more similar to your flexible pattern and thinks it very much depends on the job. I have core hours 9-3 (4 days a week) and make up 2 hours flexibly over the week. It works very well for me and my team. I'm usually pretty solidly in meetings for my core hours, the 2 hours people can't book meetings in with me means I have time colleagues know they can get me to read / respond to things in. Doing the hours in the evenings also means that I can pick up any emails that have come in between when I finish (at 3) and everyone else does. I also find that having had a few hours off means I'm fresher. I used to work 3 long days, and I'm definitely a lot more productive over 4 shorter days with a bit of flexible time.

Thanks so much everyone for your thoughts.

To clarify a couple of things. I can definitely finish at 3pm and be there on time for school pick up. I've done this many times using my annual leave to finish early and I know it can work.

I have a lot of admin/report writing in my job so I definitely have plenty to fill the flexi hours and it shouldn't be an issue if I'm not around past 3pm. The comment about meetings is more for people outside my organisation where there might be occasions when meetings need to happen later in the day for various reasons.

Thanks again. It's really helpful to hear different perspectives.