Flexible working tips

[esunny]

Hello,

has anybody got any tips on how to write a part time request after maternity? I’m looking at going from 5 days to 3. I’m in a standard role not senior nor junior.

do I have to go into a lot of depth? Childcare costs, spending more time with my child etc?

thanks!

Yeah just that which is a valid reason! If in doubt run through AI 🤗

Childcare costs & spending time with your child is irrelevant. It has to be a business case. The key question is how will your work get done. This depends on your role - will there be a formal handover to someone doing the job for the other two days a week, will there be a team covering your or will your job just not get done on the days you’re not there?

Agree, it's not about your reasons, they are not relevant, it's about making a case for how it will work for their business.

You ask for flexibility due ot change in family circumstances (you have a young child).

Talk about work-life balance : you’ll be more productive if you’re focused on work for three full days (as opposed to another pattern eg part time 5 days a week).

This will be achievable because …. Eg you have no specific deadlines/meetings; fixed days W to F will give certainty about when you’re in the office; the other 2 days could be covered by …

One tip I was given is work Tuesday to Thursday or Wed to Fri, because part time on Monday is a pain due to bank holidays!

It needs to be a business case from the business team impact pov not to suit your childcare needs. What value do you bring? Your experience and expertise ie how easily can you be replaced v keeping you part time v replacing you with someone else full time? Will your work load go down or will you be squeezing more into your day? I’ve done various combinations of hours & days over the last 18years of p/t hours and a 3d week is the hardest as I still had to do the “givens” like H&S annual training which take a disproportionate amount of time out of the working week. If it’s a career job I’d think about “presence” four days that were shorter were easier to manage demands v responsiveness for the business.

It’s not about why you want it.

It’s about how it will work for the business and why it’s good for them (Youre aiming to avoid them being able to reject it on business need grounds).

Things to consider - how do you stay engaged. What happens with the work load. What happens on days you’re off. Eg. If you have two consecutive days off (including Friday & Monday) what happens with your work on those days. Do others have to pick it up, is your work of a nature that can wait til Youre back.

You need to demonstrate why it won’t have a negative impact on the business.

Great ideas here - could you suggest/find a jobshare?