Do I have to accept this flexible working arrangement?

[PurlyQueen]

I'm due to return to work in February. I'll be working three days a week, which is great.

My employers want me to work one day every weekend.

I don't want to do this because full-time workers get alternate weekends off and as a part-time employee I will end up doing more than my fair share of weekends.

If I appeal this decision, do I have a leg to stand on?

Hi, is the one day at the weekend included in your three days a week, or will you essentially be working 4 days a week, with one of those days being a Sat/Sun?

Yes, the one weekend day will be included in my three days a week.

mmmmm, my hours are a bit like this, ie. I work a day every weekend and full-timers have some off every rota

will watch with interest

I've always felt it was a case of "you scratch my back" etc - if you are allowed felxible working you have to do unpopular shifts..... be nice if I was wrong!

What do you do for a living, dinny?

There is a freelancer who works every other weekend, so it's not as if I am asking for anything new.

PQ - media...do you?

am off on mat leave soon though - huzzah

if someone already doesn't work every weekend on part-time basis I think you should be ok as there is a precedent

I'm a sub on a national newspaper. I'm due to return in Feb but I have mixed feelings about going back.

Why do they want you to do that? Is it a case of not enough cover at the weekend or something similar? What reason have they given you?

Might doing that reduce your childcare costs anyway? Just a thought.

In terms of your rights, part timer workers have the right not to be treated less favourably than full time workers. So if you were working part time and you were asked to do more weekends but no full timer was, you'd potentially have a legitimate complaint.

Your problem is you don't have your arrangement in place yet. So regardless of how fair it is, it might be that if you don't agree, they won't agree your request.

I am assuming you asked for a three day arrangement working every other weekend, and this is the compromise they are suggesting. As such you don't have to accept it, you could stick with your original request and they may or may not refuse it. If they refuse it you can appeal that decision.

I strongly suspect that they want to have me in every weekend so that full-time staff can have that time off.

My childcare costs will be pretty low anyway because I start work in the afternoon and my DH can pick up my son from the childminder when I am at work.

I'm happy to have my fair share of weekend working, which is why I offered to work alternate weekends.

I'm going to get a copy of the staff rota this weekend so I can see exactly how the staffing patterns work - forwarned is forearmed!