Which job do I choose?!

[SmooSmed]

I've had a few interviews over the past couple of weeks and I've been offered three of them. There's two that I'm stuck between. I currently have a job where I earn £25k pro rata (22.5 hours)

Job A:
£22k pro rata (25 hours)
Hybrid working, I choose between working from home or from an office a 5 minute drive from my house
Very flexible, I'd be available for every school run, sports day, sick day etc.
A more basic role than my current role

Job B:
Same organisation I currently work for and have done for 6 years
£28k pro rata (22.5 hours)
Must work on site, 30 minute drive from home, will have to use breakfast club and after school club
A promotion on my current role with more responsibility

Job B feels like the obvious choice because it's a promotion, it would help me get better jobs in the long run and it's better paid. But the flexibility of job A is so tempting.

How old are your children?

I have a 4 year old and a 9 month old.

With your children being so young definitely job A. You need the flexibility.

Ooh that's good to hear. I thought I was being stupid considering it given the pay difference!

I'd take job B. At 22.5 hours you are likely doing 3 days a week? So won't need the extended childcare every day.

Do you have a partner?

I'd go for progression every time. The best path to flexibility is often seniority (most likely to have a role where you can pop to the nativity), and when you have young children, security and confidence are hugely important too.

Definitely job A with children so young. The flexibility is worth it’s weight in gold.

You can look for something else when they’re a bit older, plus you save the cost of after school/breakfast clubs.

Job A - for the flexibility

definitely Job A
I made a sideways move to a job with more flexibility and less responsibility about 12 years ago. I was also unsure if it was the right thing to do, but looking back it was the best decision I ever made. I did that job for 9 years, gradually taking on some extra roles within the last 2 years of my time there. It worked brilliantly for my nursery/primary school aged children and I was so so grateful for the flxibility on so many occassions.
My children are teenagers now and for the last 3 years Ive moved into a more senior/more demaing/better paid job. It feels for me this is the right time to do this. I dont regret having a slightly less demanding/rigid job for a few years as it cretainly fitted my lifestyle, and I am now progressing quite rapidly.

Agreed: job B. It's much better in the mid to long term, it's fewer hours (albeit with travel), so still flexibility in terms of not a part time role, and I agree it gets easier to negotiate flexibility as you progress and become more senior.
I've taken a sideways/back step before and while it was fine for the flexibility, I found myself getting frustrated in the role. And when I wanted to progress, I found employers questioned why I'd taken that role (and were not as a whole understanding when I explained).

Sorry I mean job B still has flexibility in that it's not a FULL time role

100% job A with the young kids. It’ll be worth it, you’ll all be much happier and yes less pay but you won’t need breakfast club!

Job B. Agree.

You'd be mad to take a demotion working more hours for less money.

There's value in working for an employer who knows your track record and where you've proven yourself.

Also agree that you'll get more flexibility from progressing upwards.

Any possibility to negotiate a wage increase with job A?
I think I'd choose job A for the flexibility and reduced commute- take into account petrol and parking costs of job B as well

This

You'll regret turning down a promotion for a demotion.

It's not just the lost wages now, it's the lost salary and pension growth.

It can also be extremely stressful working in a job that's less challenging or autonomous than you had before.

How expensive is this breakfast club that it costs more than the lost pension growth over the next 20 odd years if you take a pay cut and derail your progression?

If you haven't already, put it into a pension calculator so you can see how many tens of thousands of pounds you'll lose in pension growth if you take A instead of B.

The sums do not stack up for people saying the commute/breakfast club equate to the lost earnings.

Especially considering you'll actually be working more hours.

I wouldn't want to take a demotion at this stage in your life/career. I would take job B and request flexible working if and when needed, plus it's not full time anyway.

Unless - you really don't give a toss about your career/long term prospects and you're only working to pay bills. In which case, if you can manage on the money of job a, take job a.

Relieved to see some Team Bs join the conversation as was really surprised to be the only one.