Strong case for home working for childcare

[SillyRubyPeer]

I'm after some advice from those who have successfully gained home working contracts due to caring responsibilities (childcare).

I'm a civil servant and work in HR. Our policy states anyone can apply for homeworking however its more likely in my area of work to gain HW if you have disability. I want to request it as we are required to go into the office three days a week and it's just difficult with trying to drop off and pick up - drop off 8am and pick up 4pm so I'm leaving office at 3pm. I'm full time (can't drop hours) and already have flexible working in place. Home working would just make life A LOT easier... which is not an excuse they will support.

For this to be granted I need a super strong case to explain how child care impacts (as I know loads of parents make this work!) and wondered if anyone has a strong example of wording?

Working from home definitely won't impact the business negatively however given I'm in HR.. we see so many requests so I feel we have a stricter line.

Any help/advice would be appreciated.

A lot of exceptions were made during covid and people working with children at home was tolerated because everyone knew they had no choice.

Everyone knew nobody was able to work at full steam whilst caring for children alongside but there was no other choice at that time.

You haven't answered OP, why you can't use childcare til half 5 instead of until 4?

My sympathies with you OP. I think the attitude towards childcare being the norm to accommodate work hours is now changing. Especially given people got a taste for more family time during lockdown. I was in a similar position and when a group of young mums expressed concerns regarding childcare/not seeing enough of their children due to being forced back into the office they were met with complete disdain by senior staff who happened to be women.

My advice would be to request it on the grounds that you do not have available childcare past a certain time. Make a clear and concise case as to why you do not need to be in the office and how it won’t impact your work. Ask for the full wfh they may come back with a compromise of 1 day in the office.

I ended up applying for a promotion for a full time wfh role because I didn’t want the kids to be in childcare till 6pm. The promotion meant better salary so I could afford to go part time. So I would advise you start job hunting too within the CS x

As a civil servant myself I don’t agree with the return to office policy but you’re being unreasonable OP. Your reasons aren’t any better than any one else’s I’m afraid and having children isn’t an excuse to wfh. I expect whatever childcare grounds you make your request on it will be denied as it sets a precedent for others and undermines the whole policy.

I wouldn’t mention childcare. I would request a work pattern that covers your contracted hours and be prepared to demonstrate why this won’t have a negative impact on the business. Write a business case for yourself and try to leave childcare out of it.

Ok, starts at 8:05, finishes at 15:55, 20 mins break.

You can also opt out of the EWTD. Most resident doctors do - you can’t put the crash bleep down and announce nobody is allowed to arrest for 60 mins in the middle of a 13.5 hour on call.

OP says the childminder is 5 mins away in her post.

DS’s primary school is 8 mins walk away and lots of his friends live even closer (we’re in a city), so I see no reason to doubt her.

It's this OP. You are a civil servant so bound to policies. People saying ask to wfh don't appreciate that to do that you need to change contracts to a permanent home working contract and that these are allowed via specific criteria that are applied by HR. I can't see how you will meet the criteria OP but you can try - do some digging at work as to what this might be. Though well-intentioned unless posters have civil service experience this won't be particularly helpful.

Most (all?) companies have policies, not just the CS.

Our policy states anyone can apply for homeworking however it’s more likely in my area of work to gain HW if you have disability.

Posters are just answering the OP.

Sounds you need a childminder to drop and collect?

If you are not in an employee facing HR role, you need to present your case for home working to cover all the issues your employer would need to consider if they were going to refuse it. A requirement to work from home is potentially indirect sec discrimination. To defend this case your employer will have to show that they have a legitimate aim in applying the requirement and requiring you to work from the office is a proportionate means of achieving that aim.
if you are back office and you communicate with people predominantly online then explain how office working has no specific benefit in your role. Set out how you have previously shown you can work from home successfully and what other measures you have thought of to maintain communication.
consider a compromise and ask for 4 days a week at home.

Exactly, when it suited them. And it is optimum for some people (careers etc). Read something about it. Why are they bringing us back? In CS because the Daily Mail readers were told lies civil servants slacking off. Private companies mainly because they can't trust us and fear loss of control.
There are some benefits to face to face but also benefits of wfh.

And lots of workplaces aren’t bringing people back in. I’ve heard of lots who have reduced office space or given up office space entirely as people WFH. My NHS role is mostly WFH (except visits/appointments). My social worker friends do a lot of WFH (usually travelling to visits and meetings from home, not based in the office any more). Even my education friends have more flexibility now and have some WFH (although much less due to nature of the job). Another friend in civil service works between different offices and WFH.

I don’t actually know many people who work 9-5 in an office any more. Many of them find it really beneficial to work life balance including balancing childcare and keeping on top of everything else, putting them in a better headspace for work.

Oh I so need a wfh job. I would love that flexibility. I am leaving it late to retrain though!

Ideally you need a childminder who works until 6, 4pm is very early. We’d probably refuse it, or reduce your office attendance a bit, or agree you work shorter days in office than home working days

It is never too late and you’re never too old. Remember you only get a limited time especially with loved ones. If something isn’t working for you try and find a way to make the changes needed to suit your needs and wants.

I agree with this...could you also make sure you're on the waiting lists for nurseries that offer longer hours of childcare, or other childminders. And also suggest a review period for wfh with a performance review linked to this?

@SillyRubyPeer having been a senior leader in the CS, the reality is you don't have a good reason for additional flexibility. You just need to ask for it and then see if it is granted. I get that it is tough, and being a single mum must be hard, but you either need to find a childcare solution or consider reducing hours to accommodate. Leaving at 3pm would be a no from me. Many meetings etc run way past this and core hours in most organisations run to 4pm/4.30pm at least.

@GreenSpeckledFrog Consider becoming a Parish Clerk? I am employed for 30 hours a week, and work entirely from home.

I am kept pretty much up to speed so I doubt it tbf.