Reducing my working hours.

tizerbelle

pizzle84, out of interest have you spoken to your employer about reducing your hours yet? As I understand it you are currently employed full time (37.5 hours) and want to reduce those to part-time (16 hours).

You don't say what type of job you are in so I can't guess as to the size of your employer or how flexible they are with work patterns. However in my mind you are employed full time because the employer needed a full time worker in that role and are unlikely to accomodate such a huge drop in hours as the work you are meant to do in the 21.5 hours you now don't want to work, will still need doing.

It all depends on your employers policies, the statutory minimum the employer has to offer is the right to request flexible working for employees who have been with the company for a minimum of 6 months and want flexible working to care for a child (not to go to college).

It might be your employer has a more generous flexible working policy. Even so, although you have the right to request reduced hours, the employer does not have to grant that request if there are business reasons not to do so, so your questions on benefits may well be moot.

Be warned though, if they do reduce your hours, this becomes a permanent change to your employment terms and if your situation changed later, say your OH loses his job, you won't just be able to say to your employer that you need to go back to full time work again to increase your income. Again you would have to request it and again the employer can refuse it.

I do have to add however that I think your reasons for reducing your hours and your excuses are not acceptable/reasonable. You can not say that you can't cope with full time work for medical reasons and then say that if the tax payer will cover your living costs so you can manage your debts (debts that you and OH accrued) you'll go to college on the tax payer's dime because you want a different job.

I know you don't like the answers you have been given but you brought that on yourself. Your op basically said, I don't want to work full time and I want everyone else to pay for me so I don't have to - yeah, we'd all like that but it is not appropriate especially in the current climate. If your query had been a genuine one e.g. due to medical reasons I can no longer work full time however OH and I have debts, what can I do to reduce those debts and what assistance is there for me (without the money grabbing sense of entitlement to tax payers money in your op), you would likely have had a much better response.

Metranil_Vavin

pizzle84 wrote: »

Yes i want to sit back on my fat !!!! while everyone else pays to me to live happily! I dont know how i can make it any clearer i DONT want to leave work, i WANT to apply for better jobs, i WANT to improve my career and actually put something back into this country. I DONT want others to pay for my drugs or alcohol like most people do. All i wanted was for some advice on any help out there for "benefits" to help me go back to college and try to sort my finances out which in turn will help my depression etc. I give up on all of you, so much for being a helpful forum, you guys might as well put a gun to my head for all the help youv given me and for making me feel like my life is !!!!. So thankyou.

I think as several posters have already said, there are ways you can study, even whilst doing a full time job. You just need to work to fit study around your life, be it evenings, weekends etc.

Surely your OH will want to support you, so maybe if he is doing 50 hours a week it would be better for him to look at maybe reducing his hours so he can support your study. As you say it is all for the good of your family.

madjay

Instent of reducing your hours so that you can study to get a better job, this is only going to get you in more debt, you need to sort out your debts head on and not keep hinding away from it. There is light at the end of the tunnel.

SandC

Usually, if someone wants to go back to study to get a better job they either do it part time on top of a full time job and suffer the stress for however long it takes, or they leave their jobs or reduce their hours and change their lifestyles to suit. This is a choice and therefore not one that is going to be topped up by benefits. Thousands of couples struggle on 1x or 1.5x wages for a couple of years to secure a better future. It's hard but they manage. This, I think, is what you are really wanting. Right now, you might find that tax credits help if you do go down this route. I rather suspect you'll find it just as stressful as when you were studying at OU with a full time job.

You seemed to bring the health issues in at a later time. You think a college course and 'maybe' a better job with more money will help your depression? Reduced hours might ease your back problems but as you seem to have been told this is bad enough for a six month sign off then surely this is not the case - maybe you just have GP who is willing to sign people off who are obviously capable of working. Again, doing this but attending college as well is going to be the same as having a full time job.

Maybe it's just a change of scenery you need - the same sort of work but a different company can make the world of difference. Why not see what else is about and make a change?

You have had negative responses because you posted that you wanted benefit top ups to fund a lifestyle change choice. You got further negative responses when you changed your mind and brought health issues into it. It has to be one or the other or if the health problems are work related you need to change firms.

KiKi

Hi OP

I'm sorry if you feel that people have been harsh on here. I think perhaps if you had come on here and said:

"Hi there, I really need to undertake a further qualification to support my career and get a better job. To do this, I need to work less hours so that I can still fulfil family commitments and study for the qualification. How do I go about doing this?"

...you would have had a good response. But what you said was:

"Hi there, I'd like to stop working full time and only work 16 hours a week. If I stop working full time will I get enough benefits to cover my wage?"


Can you understand why people reacted to that?

It sounded like you just wanted to stop working and live off the state. People did make assumptions, but they made assumptions because you provided no other information and very specifically asked if you would get enough in benefits to cover a salary - that really, really makes it sound like you're looking for a way of earning a wage without working.

If that's not the case, then good. But people reacted because you perhaps didn't make it sound like you were trying to do something constructive! Can I please suggest you go over to the Debt-Free Wannabe board (as someone else has already said) where they might be able to help you sort out your debts? This will also help you in the long-term financially.


KiKi

SandC

One thing that has just occurred to me on the stress issue. If you manage to go part time at work they may not necessarily reduce the workload accordingly. You may find that in those 16 hours you are having to do far more work than you are used to in the 37.5 you are working now. If your employer takes someone else on in a job share then all well and good but if the job is to be shared out between existing staff and yourself I would expect to be still doing the lion's share only in a far reduced working week.

Almo

Googlewhacker wrote: »

This is my view but if it is for a short period for long term gain then I have no problem with people reducing their hours as in the long run they should benefit everyone else as well. The problem is is that you get accustomed to the money you are on via benefits and then are unable to get a job that pays as much and thus refuse to come of benefits....which I think you would agree is not the point of benefits.

As I said before www.entitledto.co.uk

This would essentially be a student grant then, is that what you're saying? They went out a while ago...

miss_duke

Hi I have to agree with a pp about the stress issue.

After I had my 2nd, I returned to work pt. I do 3 full days. However I am still doing exactly the same job, I end up taking work home every week, yet only getpaid for the 3 days. I love the job, and am very grateful to have it, so don't resent doing it and manage to fit in the work when the kids are in bed, but its def something to think about.

To answer your original q, when I went pt, I got no extra benefits or anything, just the usual child benefit and tax credits.

FBaby

pizzle84 wrote: »

i WANT to apply for better jobsQUOTE]

Have you actually tried to apply for better jobs? You might find that your experience makes you a good candidate anyway. Are you totally confident that with your college course, you will definitely get a better paid job? I suppose it depends on the course/field of work, but I'v never heard of a college course that guarantees you a better salary at the end of it. It seems like a big gamble for little guarantee in the end.

rhodesRocks

allconnected wrote: »

hi pizzle 84, i'm the taxpayer who will, as well as supporting my disabled husband and two children with my wages, be paying from my taxes your benefits to enable you not to have to go to the effort of going to work quite so often.

If it wouldn't be too much trouble, perhaps you could let me know why you think i should be paying you not to work, as you obviously you feel you should be as well off working as not?

It's a genuine question - i'm really at a loss to understand why some people think the working population should pay for them to sit at home by choice.

I'd love to reduce my hours - but can't because i have responsibilities. I'd prefer those responsibilities not to include you - can you help?

Allconnected

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