As I enter week three of working a four day week I thought I should keep my promise and update you on week two: it passed without incident.
The end.
Sorry, but I’m pleased to say there is little to report. It is working well for both me and my wife who is enjoying the flexibility it has given her in starting her new job. My HR contact has been very helpful in answering a few questions not least how do I calculate holiday.
I had been told I needed to deduct 1.25 days from my holiday for each day I took which didn’t seem 100% fair to me. The official process is slightly more elaborate but much fairer: you add your holiday allowance to the bank holidays and then multiply by 7 to get an hour based allowance. I then take 8.75 hours for each day I take as holiday. This means I’m not penalised by bank holidays and also gives me more flexibility should I want to take a few hours here and there during the year.
When I worked at Vodafone they introduced hour based holiday; it initially seems more complex but I’m now all in favour of it for the flexibility and fairness it brings.
I won’t keep blogging about the following weeks unless something extraordinary occurs.
If you have the opportunity to adopt a flexible working pattern I strongly recommend it. Employers I recommend you consider offering flexible working to your employees; I believe that they will be happier and more productive.