How do you get a term time only job?

[chamaeleon]

Do you wait til you see an advert with it on or ask at the interview or in your application or wait til you are offered it and then ask? i know some places do them but i have never seen one and wondered if there is any point applying then asking. tia!

bump - relevant to quite a few mners I think!

the straightforward one is to apply for a job in an educational establishment. If this isn't your line of work (including all the stuff that fits around schools and colleges like admin, catering, libraries, IT support or whatever) then there is always the option to apply for flexible working arrangements to cover term-time working. A number of my colleagues (some in an unrelated field - such as the Finance department) have made successful applications for FW as they have children under 6 (AFAIK this is still the rule) on the grounds that the company is able to cover their work with Bank Staff and uni students on temporary contracts.
Flowerybeanbag is the queen of matters like this, if she hasn't wandered in then bump this evening and hope to catch her!

As gigglewitch says I would focus on educational establishments or jobs which clearly state that they have flexible working in their job adverts. If applying for the latter, personally I would apply first and then if you get an interview ask if term time working would be considered.

Other than obvious examples like educational establishments as gigglewitch says, it would have to be a case of a flexible working application made on a job currently worked in 'normal' hours.

If you are able to start work on a 'normal' basis, then apply down the line, it's more likely to be agreed. If you are fantastic at your job, and have been there a while, they are more likely to want to keep you and your expertise and also you will be in more of a position to be able to work out how the job could work on a term time only basis. It would be more difficult (depending on what the job is) to explain to an employer how a job could be done term time only if you've not worked in it iyswim?

If it's jobs not specifically advertised as term time only, as pinkteddy said, you should definitely focus on organisations who are very clear about being open to flexible working/family friendly stuff - local authorities are good for this. For these jobs get an interview first, be marvellous in the interview, get invited back for a second interview and consider raising it then.

good luck!

(thanks gigglew )

the local council will have school vacancies advertised on it's website and the jobcentre online lets you search for term time only.

Flowerybeanbag - sorry to hijack, but it's sort of related.

I'm an experienced teacher, and I'm looking for a part time teaching job, but all the jobs that are relevant are being advertised as full time.

Does the same thing apply? Can I apply for it, but then if they offer it to me, ask for part time working?

term time only means schools etc and if you are not a qualified teacher, the other school jobs are pretty prooly paid and then on top of low pay you only get paid for 42 weeks a year instead of 52 so it ends up even less

You can always ask for flexible working but whether you can negotiate successfully depends on the market for your skills. If, say, you were the best candidate for a post where suitable candidates were few and far between, you may well be successful in getting what you want.

IME successful flexible working applications are those that set out the business case and include a detailed set of proposals regarding how the objectives will be achieved on reduced hours.

Term time only contracts are very common in the education dept of the local authority, even in functions like finance, HR etc which provide services to schools. Would this be an option for you?

I would not agree that the other term time only contracts are poorly paid. The ones I mention below aren't.

littlefish exactly what llareggub said. Regardless of the job, it can't hurt to ask, but success will depend on all the things llareggub mentions.

If you see a full time job that you think, for example, could work as a job share, if you are fabulous and they are struggling to find candidates, they may be happy to consider it, or another proposal.

chocolatemummy term time only doesn't just mean schools - I've never worked in any education- related organisations and have come across senior, well-paid people doing term time working or similar arrangements. These have all been people starting off on a different basis then making an arrangement once in the job and doing well though. Finding a job that's actually advertised as term time would be a different matter.

Thanks fbb - I'll see if anything comes up that's advertised as part time, but if not, I might make a few extra enquiries.

Without wishing to sound boastful, I am good at what I do, and I have a few areas of extra specialism which should stand me in good stead.

Sorry - meant that message to be for llareggub too.

littlefish are you in a position to contact some schools directly and ask whether they have any fractional contracts / job share opportunities coming up, or to keep you in mind if anything should arise? A good friend of mine did exactly this and got just what she wanted, a 0.6 contract; another one (in ks1) grabbed a friend to do job-share with her when the Head initially refused
Tis all a bit odd methinks - but the other way of doing it is as fbb says and get a ft job, sit in it till they know you're good and can't do without you then apply for Flexible working

That's a good idea gigglewitch. I could phone round a few of the schools and send them my CV. Good to hear that it worked for your friend.

Funnily enough, I have friend lined up for when we're ready to do a job share deputy headship, but I need to do a year or so back in school first as my current job is in education, but not in school and I need to get some up to date teaching under my belt.

It's sometimes worth just asking, depending on what 'level' of job you're looking for. If you're happy doing retail then approach the HR department. Many companies would rather have a mature experienced p/time worker that they can rely on rather than a load of f/timers who don't care . Most stores do their own recruitment so different branches will have different attitudes - try all of them!

wow, thanks for all the answers! thats really helpful

Message withdrawn

If you go on your local council website you can search for tem time only jobs