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@Faye great thank you for your help x
This should be helpful! https://www.gov.uk/flexible-working
You have to submit a formal request, which they can reject. So it's definitely good to get a feel for what is going to work for you and your employer early-ish in case you need to pivot.
@Caroline thank you x
I was due back in the September and submitted my flexible working request around May time but I had to give them at least two months notice. I just spoke to my manager about how to submit and she sent me all of the forms and we discussed what I'd like to do. They came back to me within six weeks to say it had been accepted.
@Kirsty ohh fab thank you! I just didn’t know if it was best to sort my working days out at work first and then I can decide on set days for child care at nursery/childminder x
@Becca a lot of nurseries will let you confirm set days nearer the time so I secured the nursery place as full time (but later changed to 3 days) and sorted out work later on just to get him on a wait list 😊
@Kirsty I’ve spoken to a lot of nursery’s and they have asked what days I’m looking for as most days for next year are already getting fully booked x
@Becca oh no 😥 I must admit I did book nursery before he was even born as I was concerned about availability
@Kirsty it’s crazy isn’t it some are fully booked/waiting list is till September I have managed to find ones with space for when I need so going to look around them, I will send work an email and just see what they say about the days I want to go back I guess that’s all I can do to get a rough idea for nursery days x
For me personally, I would have a call with my manager to discuss my wishes before then putting it in writing to them/HR. However if you don’t have that type of relationship with your manager then I would write directly to HR to state your preferred working pattern, the date you’d want this to commence, acknowledging any impact you think this may have on your ability to carry out your role so they have the whole picture and can consider how work could be redistributed etc. I personally would want a call as well as the outcome in writing, just in case I didn’t get my preferred changes but there was still room to be flexible/negotiate. (At least 2months before your return but the earlier the better really) x