Flexible Working In Practice: A Carer's Perspective
UK Civil Service Insights: Caring Responsibilities
There are several types of flexible working and it can be needed for lots of reasons. My last UK* job before joining the Civil Service was in retail. I was used to shifts which were fairly inflexible because staffing was based on footfall; I couldn’t start or end when I wanted to and I understood that that was the nature of the role. I didn’t mind the 7am starts when I had to transform the concession from full-price to sale within a couple of hours, or the 11pm department store finishes due to longer Christmas hours. When I joined the Civil Service, I expected to work a 9-5 for the first time ever. I was wrong. In addition, pre-Covid, working from home one day a week seemed like a luxury… it’s strange thinking about that given that hybrid working is now the norm.
*The job between retail and joining the Civil Service was working abroad doing full-time hours, but they were school hours and term time only.
Typical Working Hours
Each department has core hours e.g. 10am-4pm - that doesn’t mean you work a 6-hour day though! It means that as long as you start by 10am, you don’t have to worry about being at your home or office desk by exactly 9am. Equally, if you’ve started early enough to finish by 4pm, you’re not expected to stay until 5pm ‘just because.’
The above means that colleagues aren’t restricted to a 9-5 especially if they have other commitments e.g. school run. In reality, flexible working means that formal or informal arrangements can be made outside of core hours.
For most people doing full-time hours, they work 7.4 hours a day (or 7h 24m).
Formal = a contractually agreed change.
Informal = an agreement between yourself and your line manager but isn’t reflected in your contract.
My Working Hours
When I joined in September 2019, I wasn’t a carer. Fast forward to June 2023 and suddenly my life was very different. I didn't make any immediate changes to my working pattern - my first port of call was getting a Carer’s Passport in October 2023. Amongst other things, the passport stated that I’d need to take personal calls and attend appointments during working hours. I’d either work around those things, or take ‘special leave’ depending on the length. For example, a 30 minute call with a healthcare professional is something I can work around, but less so if it’s a hospital appointment that lasts several hours.
Your work/life balance matters.
It wasn’t until May 2024 that I requested a change in my hours (to compressed hours). That request was granted to start the following month and in theory would have become a contractual change. However, as I was leaving that role in August, that didn’t become a contractual change i.e. it remained informal.
I was really grateful to have the flexibility to go from a day with 7h 24m to 9h 15m with relative ease. Whether or not your request is approved depends on business need and unfortunately sometimes there are reasons why flexible working requests can’t be accommodated. That being said, I’ve only had positive experiences - including when making a formal request.
Don’t be afraid to ask.
When I started my current role, I accepted it expecting to work compressed hours. Things changed and I realised that part-time would be best, specifically: x4 days at 7h 24m. I requested the change before I started and it was approved. I worked something resembling 9-5 for a while (see earlier paragraph about why it wasn’t exactly those hours). I then realised that my current pattern of x1 07:00 start and x3 10:30 starts were best for my work/life balance and I requested that as an informal change (as it’s outside core hours, it could have been raised as a contractual change).
What I’ve Learned
Pay attention to the job advert - the advert for my current role specified that part-time working was an option. Lots of job adverts include other forms of flexible working like job shares, or they can accommodate things like compressed hours. Take a look and consider your options carefully - reach out to the vacancy holder too, if necessary. Once you’ve started a role, a formal request can usually only be made after a certain period of time e.g. 26 weeks. Therefore, that’s an important reason to make sure you start on the hours that work best for your work/life balance.
My circumstances change and so can my hours - I could have stayed on full-time hours and continued to use my Carer’s Passport only, but I’m glad that I explored changes to my working pattern. Lots of things have been unpredictable; changes in hours have helped to minimise the stress that comes with the unpredictability.
Changes don’t need to be formal - in my experience, I’ve benefitted from informal changes just as much as formal ones. Most recently, the change in my start and end times has made a big difference in being able to study for exams on the mornings when I have a late start whilst knowing that if I need to take time away for caring responsibilities, I won’t be working super late.
As a carer, I’ve found it really helpful to fit work around my home life. If you’re considering flexible working, don’t hesitate to ask! If you’re not intending to work flexibly, the flexibility regarding start/end around core hours, as well as hybrid working mean you’re likely to have a good work/life balance anyway.
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