Flexible working for study?

Zelazny

My wife works for a popular retail brand, and has fixed hours that she has to work. She is interested in doing a course at a local college that runs on Wednesdays, but currently is required to work two Wednesdays in three, and when she asked if it would be possible to change her shifts she was simply told no.

Given that the company recently asked her to work more weekends, which she agreed to do; and given that there would be no trouble at all covering her shifts if she did have every Wednesday off; and given that the course runs for only 20 weeks; and given that the company claims that "... valuing people is part of who we are" and that "we want everyone who works for [company] to feel valued"; would it be worth putting in a written request to her superior?

More to the point, what would be the best way to phrase such a request, so that it has a chance of being listened to?

Thanks in advance for any help you can give :-)

p.s. she's not pregnant, and we don't have any kids, so I know that they don't have any obligation to give any sort of concessions, but I would hope that they would at least think about it...

KiKi

I think it's worth a shot, why not?

Present them with solutions, though, not the problem. Tell them what she's looking for (which hours off) and explain how current staff can cover that without detriment to the company. Offer flexibility outside of the Wednesdays, and mention the weekends she's already doing (eg, "I would be more than happy to take on the Thursday hours which the department currently struggles to cover, and be flexible in other hours that are required of me - proof of my willingness to do this is demonstrated in picking up the additional weekends for the department in the last three months.")

Definitely talk about the values - but not in a way that throws it back in their face! I'd say something like "I hope that my work and customer service has been shown to value other people, in line with the company's ethos. And I hope that the company can see the benefit of valuing my personal development outside of work which will help me to learn new skills." You should put that onto the end of a short paragraph about what this learning will do for her (increased commitment to learning, transferable skills, increase in ability to learn new concepts - all of which can then be applied to her work). Don't bore them with information, though.

I'd also stress that it's only for 20 weeks.

Best of luck.
KiKi

KiKi

Just want to add that if, of course, she has under a year's service and if this would be seen as rocking the boat, she may not want to risk them turning round and telling her to leave.

KiKi

Emmzi

Is the course related to her job?

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/Employees/Timeoffandholidays/DG_183635

Zelazny

Thanks both of you for your great suggestions. Unfortunately the course is not related to her job, but it's very useful to know about the right to train for mine - I have a particular qualification in mind, so may be making use of it later this year :-)

I'll see if I can help write a suitable letter this evening, and hope that they listen.

Emmzi

it's not a right to train - it's a right to request time - same as flexible working. but they do have do give it due consideration.

just managing expectations

miss_duke

Is she trying to retrain for a new career? I can imagine they may view it this way and not be so keen. Also if they set a precedence by letting her have a regular days leave, then it would be hard for them to say no to others, which could also put them off agreeing.

I really hope she gets it sorted though. If not perhaps she could see if theres any alternate way in which the course can be delivered, in the evening or long distance? Perhaps with an alternative college.

I do hope they allow her given how willing she has been to suit them with her hours.

Zelazny

Actually, the course that she wants to do is all about cake decorating. My wife loves making beautiful cakes, and she's already amazing at it but wants to learn more about how the professionals do it. There's basically no chance that it would lead to a career, but it would make her happy...

If it was training for another job, then I could understand their reluctance, but currently their complaint is that they need to stick to the "template" which specifies which hours each person has to do, except that there has not been more than a couple of weeks so far this year that the template has been stuck to as they have always had people off sick and needed cover, or needed people to be on conference call, or needed to do a shop move. So it seems that it's fine for the schedule to change when it suits the company, but not so much when it would help the staff...

She's been quite put off (and is rather unhappy) by the abrupt no that she received when she asked - I'm half tempted to find her manager and ask if it could be arranged on the sly, so that I can get her the course as a birthday present.

Emmzi

um, there is every chance it could lead to a career! go look up how much wedding cakes cost!!!

smileylondongal

I think it might be trickier to convince an employer when there isn't a direct link to the role or a potential career in the organisation you work for. If so, it would be easier to convince but as it is your wife needs to 'sell' the idea to them and as Kiki says, find solutions to the problem by making suggestions of what could happen potentially. Twenty weeks is still rather a lot of time and that might be the decider for them. There's no harm in trying at all.

smileylondongal

Ps please don't approach her manager separately as it would be completely inappropriate as you are not the employee.