Flexible working question

onlyroz

I have just had a meeting with HR about my flexible working arrangement. Essentially, I have to do 36.25 hours a week. On Mon-Wed I work in the office from 9:45-14:15 (total 13.5 hours with no lunch breaks). On Thurs-Fri I work in the office from 9:45-17:00 (total 12.5 hours including an hour a day lunch break). This leaves me with 10.25 hours to make up at home at some point during the week.

On Mon-Wed I pick up my son from school at 15:10, and my husband arrives back from work at around 18:30. So ideally I would like to be able to do my 10.25 hours of home working during this time. The trouble is that HR won't let me, citing "health and safety" reasons - because I would be combining working and childcare, and this apparently isn't allowed. They also say that I can't work at weekends, because the company is a Mon-Fri company and so employees are expected to do their work between Mon-Fri.

Is this correct? Can the company forbid me from working when I'm at home alone with my child? If this is the case then my only options are to either get up early and work in the mornings, or work in the evenings (which does not leave me with much time to spend with my husband).

Any thoughts?

moneysaver599

I think HR may be right, I'm sure there was something similar at work where someone went to a Union Rep to check. I think it's something to do with Health and Safety and Insurance reasons with childcare and working. I'm not sure about the weekend though, I think they only have to give any requests for flexible working "serious consideration" but don't think that you are automatically entitled to it. Someone who knows more about this will post soon.

How about Mon - Wed 2 hours in the morning = 6 hours
Thurs and Fri 2 hours after work = 4 hours

Sorry if that's not much help!

mummy_Jay

Could you reduce your hour lunch break to half an hour on thursdays and fridays, that will give you an hour less to find.

When do you drop little one off at school? how long is your commute to work? could you find an extra 15 minute or 1/2 in the morning by turning up earlier? every little helps.

Spendless

What childcare do you use on Thurs/Friday when you work till 5pm? Would it be possible to start earlier on some of your days using a breakfast club for example?

onlyroz

I can't arrive at work any earlier - I drop off my son at school at 8:40 and my daughter at nursery at 9:00. It's a 20 mile journey to work, which takes 30-45 mins depending on traffic. I pick up my son at 3:15 and my daughter at 4pm Mon-Wed and 6pm on Thurs-Fri.

It's looking like I'm going to have to start getting up very early in the mornings then. And if I've been forbidden from working in the afternoons then I'm going to make sure that I don't - I'll take the kids swimming instead, or something.

It's particularly annoying because I've been allowed to work with this arrangement for over a year now - but the company is clamping down on the working from home arrangements because people have been abusing the system.

Ho hum...

onlyroz

Spendless wrote: »

What childcare do you use on Thurs/Friday when you work till 5pm? Would it be possible to start earlier on some of your days using a breakfast club for example?

On Thurs-Fri my husband picks my son up from school. He's only 4 (nearly 5) so he's a bit young for after school clubs. When he's a bit older I might be able to get him into playing football, or something. There isn't a breakfast club at this school, and I'd rather not pay a child-minder to do the school run because I pay enough in nursery fees for my daughter.

Spendless

Can you work later on Thurs & Friday when your husband picks up either in office or at home? My other thought was about having a babysitter/mother's help at your house so they mind the kids whilst you work.

floss2

Don't forget that your local Council's Environmental Health department has a statutory responsibility to ensure that your home working conditions adhere to current health & safety legislation......maybe worth contacting them to check if HR are correct.

onlyroz

Spendless wrote: »

Can you work later on Thurs & Friday when your husband picks up either in office or at home? My other thought was about having a babysitter/mother's help at your house so they mind the kids whilst you work.

I can, but the company wants me to specify specific times when I'll always be available so that they know when I can be contacted. Otherwise I could just do the 10 hours whenever was suitable at the time.

My parents currently live 200 miles away - however they're planning on moving down this end of the country later on in the year. They're happy to help out with school holidays etc, but I don't like imposing on them and I don't like *having* to rely on them because I don't think it's fair on them.

Lilacblue

Hi onlyroz

You have my sympathies...I have a 4 and a 7 year old and childcare arrangements are always on my mind; sometimes it's just an endless juggle.

However, I can actually fully see why your employer wants this arrangement formalising, for all sorts of reasons, including...

1. It's completely acceptable that they know your working times and when you are legitimately contactable (and they are responsible for you at those times)

2. Don't strike me down, but I do think it's hard to fully engage with work when you are also in parenting mode, although this depends on your job. I am a manager and I'm really flexible (as my manager is with me) but at the end of the day if I am parenting/looking after the kids then they are uppermost in my mind and I'm not really concentrating as well as I could be.

Try and make it work for you. What does your little boy do whilst you are working but at home? Is he in front of the telly or does he get your attention. Because if it's the former then don't dismiss school clubs or childminders...mine go twice a week and enjoy it (and the little one is only 4). It sounds like your HR are open to your suggestions, so maybe you could go back in with some firm suggestions, and point out why they are good for the company as well as for you.

Good luck x

onlyroz

I have always viewed the time between 4pm and 6pm as my son's TV and game time - so he's usually watching a film, tv or playing on daddy's playstation and leaves me well alone. Some might say that makes me a bad parent, but I don't think two hours tv a day is going to turn him into a monster.

I can understand where the company is coming from, but I think to a greater extent it depends on the child as to how clingy and needy they are - some kids demand attention 24/7 whereas others are happy to get on with their own thing for a bit.

When I was a child my dad was self employed and so that I knew when I got back from nursery in the afternoons I had to leave him alone to work. I don't remember it ever being a problem, and I still got my "daddy time" later on in the day when he'd read me stories etc. But it seems like my company (and possibly the law) doesn't view this as an acceptable arrangement.

Tomorrow I'm going to try getting up at 6:15, to see how working at that time suits me...