Working a part-time annualised hours contract - anyone have any experience?

JodyBPM

I currently work 0.5 fte on a standard part time contract, working 2 days one week, three days the next. My job is fairly involved, with lots of project work, and I frequently get frustrated at the stop-start disjointed working that this work pattern creates. I don't want to (nor is there money in the budget for me to) work full-time.

Originally I went part time after mat leave, my children are now school age, and I was thinking a bit creatively about how I could get round the disjointed working that my pattern creates.

I wondered about doing an annualised working pattern, where I worked (for example) 3 blocks of 5 weeks and 2 blocks of 4 weeks full time across the year - this would equate to 0.5fte (26 wks - 3 wks annual leave) - around the school holidays, so that I don't need holiday care.

The advantages for work would be that I could effectively come in to work on a "special project" for 4/5 weeks, which would be a better and more effective use of my time that having to pass over stuff on my non-working days, I could (outside school holidays) be fairly flexible about the weeks worked as long as I had sufficient notice for childcare so that I could be brought in when we had peak workloads or when my skill set is specifically required, and I could have more "ownership" for my projects rather than having to split my workload out with others having to cover my non-working days.

The advantages for me would be a better, more effective working pattern and better job satisfaction (nothing more frustrating than not being able to "own" or see through to the end a piece of work) and having long breaks off work, especially in the school holidays which would make it financially more viable to relieve our aged parents of the childcare responsibilities they do - specifically I think the whole days in the school hols are too much for them although they'd never say, and I'd use an afterschool club during my full time periods so their part in the childcare would be massively reduced or even completely removed. Sort of a nice way of reducing the need for them to do childcare without actually telling them that I think they're too old to do it now! We also have a holiday caravan, so it would be lovely to have all of the summer free to take the children down there as and when I liked...

My work are very good at considering and granting flexible working patterns, and I would think that I have a good chance of getting them to agree - IMO there are some clear business advantages to this pattern.

Does anyone work a similar pattern? How do you find it? Are there any major pitfalls that I've not thought of? I'm a little daunted at a full working week again, but for 4 or 5 weeks in a go, I imagine it won't be unmanageable...

I'd love anyone's feedback on the idea before I pitch it to the boss!

Savvy_Sue

I think the key is in the presentation, but you'd convince me ...

getmore4less

There would be a number of ways of implimenting this flexability.

Two obvious ones
Annualized days,
TOIL within the current contract.


The key will be the details on working hours, overtime holidays etc.
As simple as possible is best.

What counts towards the annualized hours, what is overtime, how are holidays accrued and paid.

Then you have to look at how you ballance the times you prefer and project timing.

Do the others that can work on your stuff also like to have their time off in the summer, would that cause conflict.

Also there is the risk of using too many days up early or not enough and having loads at year end. How good is the forcasted project requirements.


Would a trial on a TOIL basis be worth considering where you build up days on a project and then use them up between projects.