Flexible working requests
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Hiya. Last time I did mine, I did it on a KIT day about 8-10 weeks before I went back to work, however our nursery was flexible and happy to wait to know which days we wanted due to having space which obviously isn’t the case for all! I could also only afford to drop one day. In order for us to afford nursery but also allow family to see our daughter, we had her in nursery just mornings and then family members collected her for the afternoons and looked after her until my husband and I finished work, then I had her on my one day off. We’re very lucky to have family support like that, as it really helped us cut the cost!
After our first I didn't make the request until the May when I was due back in the September, so giving them plenty of notice still. By that time they'd learnt to manage without me so I don't know if this was a deciding factor in them being open to my request of 3 8am-5pm days as opposed to full time. They are generally a really good company when it comes to supporting families though. A lot of nurseries won't expect you to know what you're doing until nearer your return date so I secured a full time place initially and then once work stuff was confirmed, let them know. You could revisit your options later on and they might be a bit more open?
I’m hoping I can sort this out nearer to the time, I think my maternity policy says contact in a few months prior to return. Tbf my boss is useless and probably quite likely to decline my request to reduce hours and the days I’ve chosen for nursery- they needed to know in advance although I’m hoping this can change nearer to the time if needed. It’s one stress I can do without at the moment, he’s barely checked in with me throughout my whole pregnancy, so just pushing it to the back of my mind, as he seems to be until I have to deal with it. My brain is already in maternity leave mode with a few weeks to go!!!
I work in HR and I recommend doing this closer to your return ( but prior to 8 weeks of you returning). You can often put a deposit down for nurseries for more days and then use that deposit against hours if you choose to do less.
I did when I went back after I had my second baby. My request was also declined. I had a lot of annual leave accrued from maternity leave so I used this for 3 months to have every Monday off. After this I requested to work from home on Mondays which they allowed, even though they knew I would have my 1 year old at home too. It was hard but I made it work somehow. I’m dreading what to do when I go back to work after I this baby as I’m almost sure they will decline again.