I'm so happy, I've got my compressed working hours agreed...thanks to bossykate especially

[WideWebWitch]

It's been agreed that I'll work 8am - 5.45pm Mon-Thurs and have Friday (I hope, tbc) off but will still be paid a full time salary since I'm spreading my working hours over 4 days. AND I still get my full holiday allowance AND I will save c£200 a month in childcare costs, god it's wonderful.

It's on a trial basis but I will make it work and my team have told me they'll do whatever it takes to make sure it's ok and we succeed in the trial period.

Thanks to bossykate especially for her comments about women needing to stick their heads above the parapets and ask for it in order to get what they want and to change things.

So I get to spend one day a week with dd (who is 3) and being able to collect ds from school and let him have friends to tea etc. grin]grin]

[beansprout]

Woo-hoo!! That's fab!

[ScummyMummy]

That's great news.

[SherlockLGJ]

Collecting from school is great, it really is.

[FluffyMummy123]

Message withdrawn

[pooka]

That's great. What were your hours before then?

[bossykate]

aaawww

you did it yourself

congratulations that is really wonderful news

[Soapbox]

That's great news WWW - and well done to BK too for giving you a kick into action

[WideWebWitch]

Thanks you two!
Pooka my official hours were 9am - 5pm but often at times last year I did 8am - 7pm or later. However I have been managing 9-5 for a while now so that's good!

[Summerfruit]

Message withdrawn

[WideWebWitch]

Summerfruit, my company offers compressed working, annualised hours contracts, term time only contracts, flexitime, there are a range of options other than standard 9-5. Work for a large company would be my advice! This starts next week for me and I can't wait.

[Summerfruit]

Message withdrawn

[scatterbrain]

I'm also considering going term-time only - BUT not sure I can afford the drop in salary - down to less than 70% I think on rough calculations !! Quality of life issues though !

[crunchie]

summerfruits do a google search on flexible working and benefits to employers. It will give you loads of ammunition when you ask

[tortoiseSHELL]

Oh YAY!!! Just saw this, and really hoped it was you www, enjoy it!!! Fantastic news!

[Tortington]

thats super xxxx

[WideWebWitch]

Thank you everyone! Scatterbrain, I'm not taking any drop in salary, status, bonus, holiday, anything as I'm still doing ft hours, compressed into 4 days. Could you do something like batters says, by working longer hours in term time and taking the summer off, thus getting the time without taking any drop in salary?

I wanted to spend a day a week with dd but didn't want to take a salary drop so that's why compressed should work for me.

[elliott]

www, what are your fulltime hrs per week? Your compressed hours seem pretty similar to what I do and get paid 75% salary for !

I could probably argue for something similar but I am a bit loathe to commit to being officially fulltime, as I worry about increased expectations and workload.

[WideWebWitch]

elliott, my hours were 9am-5pm 5 days a week (which are poxy hours as far as I'm concerned but there you go! Although I did quite a lot of long hours last year due to a project) and my new hours will be 8am-5.45pm 4 days a week with an hour for lunch which will still work out at 35 hours, so is considered full time which = no drop in salary or any change to my other benefits. Why don't you argue it?

[elliott]

because my fulltime hours are 40 per week !

Even dh has to work 30 hpw for 80% of salary, I do the same for 75% of salary. These things make quite a big difference when you are working pt - 40 hours compressed into 4 days would be 10 hours a day with no lunch break...

[elliott]

But I do have a long term plan when ds2 starts school to work extra hours in term and take them back in the holidays. Will probably stick to 75% contract though.

[WideWebWitch]

Ah, I see elliott, what a pain. Dh has just been offered a perm job at 40 hours pw and has said they need to make it 37.5 or he won't take it as he takes dd and collects her and I take ds and collect him although next week I will drop ds but not collect him, dh will have to collect both on the 4 days I work.

[elliott]

And do you actually take a lunch break? I suppose the one thing about my hours is that there is no specified lunch break but I usually to the 'grab sandwich while at computer' (or catch up on mumsnet for half an hour!).
I shouldn't complain really, it is all very flexible and no-one is actually counting my hours. But I do think that to go to full time salary and still have a whole day off would be difficult, even if I was actually working 40 hpw (I probably do something between 30 and 35 now). And tbh 75% of my salary is a good wage so there's not really much of an incentive to go up to full time.