“On becoming pregnant with my first of two children it was clear to me that I wanted to continue working but keep a healthy work life balance. My employer was very accommodating, I was able to customise my hours from the children starting nursery…
Samantha Clarke
“When I first fell pregnant, I had started to reap the rewards of 5 years of study to qualify as a chartered surveyor and working through a deep recession. I did not want to give up my career, but also…
Tara Hutton
I returned to work after a five year break caring for my child who had additional health needs. Despite my confidence being low, it was important for me to return to work, and more importantly to build my career…
Sam White and Will McDonald
Sam: “It’s useful to have a second brain and we often spark ideas off one another. We work well together and we get on. We sometimes think in different ways, so it can be great to get an alternative perspective.”…
Robert Oldham
“I currently work 28 hours a week over 4 days (having a Wednesday off as a rest mid-week). I have flexibility in my role so can do 2 days working from home and 2 days in the office but generally…
Rik Holden
“I work from home Mon-Fri. This allows me to take my 2 children to school most mornings, and saves money on childcare. It also means I spend more time with my children and save money. It can be tricky sometimes…
Rambaut Fairley
“As father to 2 year old identical twins, parenthood has always involved juggling urgent priorities. And it has always been really important to me to play a full and active part in my children’s lives; work needs to manage around…
Ramani Armstrong
Ramani works within the Atkins London structural engineering team, with responsibilities across design, delivery and new business development. Since joining the company she has delivered a number of technically complex jobs, typically leading the structural design of several £50-£100m projects…
Rachel Bridges
“Throughout my returning to practice training I was able to complete my required hours by doing 3 days a week. The department were very supportive and flexible in allowing me to work which days suited me best. Upon starting back…
Penelope Rees and Sam Monck
Jointly leading a portfolio of more than 1500 projects across Transport for London and local borough roads, Penelope and Sam will oversee £0.8bn of investment over the next five years. They are focused on making London a safer, happier environment…
Paul Trenell
“When our son Joseph was born I moved onto a compressed hours working pattern after my wife Cathy went back to work. Working 10 days in 9 with every other Friday off to look after Joseph allowed us to limit…
Paddy Boyle
Paddy was clear when he joined LCH that full-time was not an option. As Global Head of ForexClear, he has a varied role, which includes widening understanding of what clearing houses do. He is responsible for hiring and developing a…
Nicola Farrer
Following a three-year career break, Nicola returned to research in 2014, within the Chemistry Department of the University of Oxford. A renowned expert in her field, she has built a small but flourishing independent, multi-disciplinary research group. They are currently…
Nicola Balfour
“My son recently started school and it came at a time when my partner was working away. It was very important for me to be able to do both drop off and pick up whilst he settled into a new…
Nicholas David
“I feel that it’s great that agile working is now available to people in IT and that, for me, I like the fact that we are trusted to use the flexible approach and to use it as and when necessary…
Neil Alexander
“I work full time but I compress my hours into 9 working days each fortnight. I spend every other Monday looking after my 2 children, ages 5 and 1. I also work 2 days a week from home. After the…
Naomi Hahn
With the responsibility of providing the strategic direction for the business’ commercial products, Naomi leads a tribe of product, technology and delivery managers at Auto Trader. Her role includes overseeing the company’s commercial and product strategy, and creating and delivering…
Mitch (Michele Oliver)
“The flexibility of working from home during the hours that work for me makes an enormous difference to my life and my family. Prior to this role I worked 3 days a week for 7 years after my son Albie…
Mike Rankine
“I work standard office hours throughout the week, in London Monday to Wednesday and from home Thursday & Friday. I have a daughter from a previous relationship and look after her 50% of the time; working from home two days…
Mike Collins
“As a working dad, negotiating a flexible working arrangement has been essential in helping me to juggle my caring responsibilities with my career. The Ministry of Justice was one of the first government departments to introduce a family friendly working…
Michael Tunde Cockshott
“My work is based in the RBS headquarters on the outside of Edinburgh at Gogarburn. I live in the southside of Glasgow. I work 3 days a week in the Edinburgh office and two from home. My commute to work…
Michael Heap
Michael is part of a team at EY that looks at how the firm can employ emerging and disruptive technologies, such as Robotics Process Automation and Artificial Intelligence, to add greater value to its clients. He is also a key…
Marshall Clements
“Basically my wife works three long days a week. My son, Elliott, does two days at nursery (Monday and Friday) and one with his grandparents (Thursday). On Monday and Friday my wife drops my son to nursery, and I pick…
Mark Campbell
“I now work compressed hours of five days in four, working 08.00 to 18.00. This gives me a day off during the week to spend some real quality time with my family and care for my wife.”
Maddi Riddell
“I have had various flexible working deals with ?What If! ranging from freelancer, 3 days a week, 3 days a week with school holidays off, full time and now as an Associate. My Associate Deal is a commitment (on both…
Lynne Terry
“I work a 4 day week which really works for me. As I am only in 4 days I am more efficient as I need to ensure I plan my time to ensure all tasks are completed within the timescale…
Lukas Glynn
“I’ve been flexi-working at RBS since 2018. I normally work from home 2 days a week and spend the other three in the office. I take our 6-year old boy to school in the mornings – it feels good to…
Louise Dowling
“Since before our children were born, my husband and I have had our own business providing project management services to construction industry clients. Having grown up in a large traditional family, but with firm equality of status between my parents,…
Louise Byrne
“Since having my children, I’ve always worked part-time – at first this was 3 days a week, then when they started school I did 5 days around school hours and now it’s 4 with one of these days from home.…
Liz Neate
“Having travelled in East Africa, I wanted to volunteer in Uganda. I knew this was a good opportunity to take advantage of Deloitte’s ‘annualised days contract’. I was therefore able to give my real estate day job skills to Land…
Laura Weston
“I returned to work three years ago after a career break to care for my children. I now work flexibly on a four-day week with ad hoc work from home days. Myself and my husband both manage our hours flexibly,…
Kyra Folkes
“When starting in a company, especially being young, it’s often assumed you need to ‘earn’ the right to work flexibly, as if it’s a privilege. This has certainly not been my experience at Sky. Job descriptions read ‘happy to talk…
Kirsty Sadler and Dahlia Nahome
““Our jobpair is based on working two days a week, together. Not splitting the time as a job share does. This makes the most of our different perspectives on the issue of gender equality, which is the focus of our…
Katie Lyle
“The flexi-working initiative at Willmott Dixon has enabled me to start and finish work earlier whilst condensing my hours. This means that I’m able to spend Mondays and more time in the evenings with my two year old daughter. Having…
Katherine Duncan
“I take off alternate Fridays, so effectively I work a 9 day fortnight. I get quality time with my children, long weekends and some ‘me’ time (now they are at school), meaning I have a good work life balance. I…
Kate Bassett
“As Management Today’s head of content, I spend 2.5 days a week directing our editorial strategy, writing features, and heading up the brand’s main annual campaigns ranging from 35 Women Under 35 to Britain’s Most Admired Companies. I also chair…
Karen Walker
“I would have lost a team member if myself or the business had not been open to the possibility of her working with a job share partner; as a line manager it was a huge benefit to be able to…
Karen Sayers
Cutting out the commute makes me a lot more productive: I can get some extra sleep, which is great for my health and concentration, and I can work longer into the evening as I don’t have to rush off and…
Karen Fraser
“I lead Credos, the advertising industry’s think tank and I work 200 days a year. Under the terms of my contract, I can work with other businesses, alongside my day job. The freedom that a flexible working arrangement gives me…
Juliet Gyamfi
Juliet’s role covers three main areas; team leadership, specialist technical advice and project management support. As Team Leader, she has day-to-day oversight of everything from sickness and absence to performance and talent management. Within the technical part of her role,…
Jonathan Curtiss and Lea Paterson
At the Bank of England, flexible working is available across the organisation. Our job share works as it allows us both the time to focus on other commitments and develop new skills. /wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Jonathan-Curtis.jpg
Jonathan Beckett
“I work compressed hours, taking a Tuesday as my non-working day. The four days that I do work I split between the office (Gogarburn) and Home. I took the decision to work flexibly when my daughter was born as I…
Jonathan Aspinwall
“I do a job share with the other Deputy Editor on BBC Breakfast. We work ‘set’ days, we’re on call and we’re also flexible when there’s breaking news. We adopted two children and it has given me crucial time to…
Joe Maher
“I am fortunate that IHG recognises the positive impact that flexible working can have on an employee’s performance & loyalty and definitely feel since moving to flexible working my performance has increased. In my role as Talent Acquisition Manager I…
Joanne Austin
“I care for five of my closest family members aged between 19 and 79 and who all have different disabilities/illness and needs. My caring role involves facilitating appointments, managing all of my families’ affairs, providing emotional support, dealing with education…
Jack Lamacraft
“I start early and finish early, work remotely and work from home one day a week. This allows me to pick my daughter up from nursery every evening. On the day I work from home I take her in a…
Hilary Spencer
“My husband and I both have jobs we’re passionate about, and when we had our first child, we wanted to make sure we spent proper time with him, but also carried on doing our professional roles effectively. We’ve found that…
Hilary Schofield
Previously a Food Factory Director, Hilary took an eleven year career break to bring up her children. Faced with a lack of suitable part-time roles to return to, she signed up for career coaching with Women Like Us, through which…
Helen Chadwick
“A year ago my manager presented me with an opportunity to take on a promotion, the role of Business Partner, primarily based in our London head office some distance from my home in the North West. A key consideration for…
Graham LLoyd
“I took 3 months shared parental leave for my son and returned to work part-time, 4 days a week. The benefits to myself, my wife and son feel huge… and dare I say it, to my team too, in terms…
Georgie Faulkner
“Aged 30, I fell pregnant with my first child and started to wonder how I’d manage with a baby and a full-on job as a Sky Sports producer. I knew I didn’t want to give up my job, but equally…
Francesca Pierce
“In 2011, after having my first son, I moved from full-time to part-time so that I could have an extra day to spend more time with him. The balance worked well for me, so when I had my second son…
Florence Davies
“I’ve had all three of my children while working in the Civil Service; my first in 1995, second in 1999 and third in 2001. Even back then it was possible to work flexibly. Though not as flexible as today where…
Faith Pullen
“Over the years I have used; part time hours, flexible hours, a sabbatical and term time working. Currently I work 22.5 hours per week; 2 standard days and 2 short school hour days, with flexibility over which days these are,…
Elizabeth Bailey
“I’ve been extremely impressed at Barclays’ approach and commitment to Dynamic Working, and in return it’s meant I’m highly motivated and committed to Barclays for the long term.”
David
“I recently paid off my mortgage, and with both of my sons now grown up and able to look after themselves, I decided to reduce my working days from 5 to 4 to give me more time to pursue other…
Clare Ely and Jane Beacon
Clare and Jane are jointly responsible for over 3,000 hours of television a year, including Good Morning Britain, Loose Women, Tipping Point and The Chase. Their role involves commissioning new shows as well as ensuring that long-running favourites continue to…
Christine Smith
“We recently bought a new build house which should have been ready for the start of the new school year when my son moved to senior school. The house was delayed which meant we were living 20 miles away from…
Chiazo Okey-Nzewuihe
“I start and finish early, working from 8.30am to 4pm as I have a long commute to the construction site in Twickenham where I am currently based. I can then log in from home later in the evening, depending on…
Charlotte Budd
“My husband and I share communications with the school so that it’s not just one parent doing all the school admin. I’m on the class WhatsApp group and PTA facebook page which includes all info about social, extra-curricular and fundraising…
Nick Denholm
Vodafone’s vision to be a purpose led organisation started me thinking about my own personal purpose, a desire to define and embed a skills framework to support young people transitioning out of care services. I approached Vodafone with a proposal…
Ceri Roberts
“I started a formal job share in my role as Supplies People Manager in January 2016, although the first six months were undertaken as a trial to ensure that the arrangement worked for all parties involved. I remain highly motivated…
Tim Morrell
“My wife and I both work a four-day week; I take every Friday off to look after my 2 young sons. Having kids feels like a pretty wonderful thing and I’m aware how quickly they will grow up. It seems…
Catherine Fry
“I have been working flexibly for the last few years in my role as Head of Compliance in the investment management industry. I work part-time, but increased my core working hours from 3 days per week to 4 recently. The…
Catherine Chapman
“I requested a four day working pattern – Monday to Thursday – which my employer agreed to, in line with their flexible working policy. I’m also home-based, as are most of my team colleagues, because we are located all over…
Steve McCullough
“I used the firm’s Time Out programme, to take up a once in a lifetime opportunity – to be an extra on the final season of the award winning fantasy TV series – Game of Thrones. I have been an…
Vicky
“I’ve worked part time since returning from my first maternity leave in 2004. Whilst working part time I’ve had three significant promotions, the first in 2005, to run the Regulatory & Competition legal team, the second in July 2016 to…
Vivien Kelly
“Being offered this kind of flexibility has meant that I am able to be part of the workforce and still meet some of my caring responsibilities. This is very important to me – intellectually, emotionally and financially. In offering flexible…
Caroline Wood
“I returned to work after a two year break to focus on my children and it was harder than I’d anticipated. There was a real lack of options for my level, which offered any kind of flexibility, but then a…
Caitlin Cockerton
“I’ve worked flexibly on two models for the last 18 months, following my return to work after having my daughter. The first model – 4 days a week, Monday to Thursday – enabled me to dive back into work in…
Ben Shaw
“I have been flexi-working since joining Sky in 2010. I normally work from home three days a week and spend the other two in Sky, I have two young children and working from home means I can walk my daughter…
Verity Fenner
Alex Grieve, Executive Creative Director at AMV BBDO, commented: “If you want to pioneer a new way of working, work with the very best pioneers. 50% of Verity’s time is worth a 100% of most. We’re very lucky to have…
Barbara Collins
“As a mother of four children, the ability to work flexibly has always been important, but this became critical when my youngest child left nursery and all my children were at school. I was fortunate enough to have a really…
Tim Hughes
“I work fulltime hours on a flexi-time, flexi-location basis to enable me to volunteer on the RNLI Chiswick lifeboat, retain additional advisory and non-executive roles, and be involved with mid-week family life. This means I typically spend two days per…
Anna Cook
“Back in 2013 I was returning from maternity leave, living in Newcastle, with a job that I loved in Sky in communications that was based in Scotland and London. I wanted to come back to work. I loved my job…
Sue-Beaumont Staite
“Since the birth of my first child in 2008 I have been able to balance a career I am passionate about with spending quality time with my family by taking advantage of job sharing, a form of flexible working which…
Stuart Anderson
“I work Mon – Thurs – 7am – 5pm – a combination of working on-site and at home. I decided to work flexibly to spend more time with my young children, reduce childcare / travel costs and to rethink my…
Daniel Feeney
“After my wife returned to work in a senior role with the National Trust we both made the call to take the same flexible working steps, condensing our hours into 4 days so that each of us gets one full…
Angus Crowther
“So what flexible working means for me is that is has, frankly, changed my life. Having been part of the original Oystercatchers team from the start, it was incredibly stressful being a key member in a start-up with aggressive sales…
Shelagh Muir and Jane Maciver
Responsible for the R&D function of Unilever’s £1.5bn Oral Care business, Shelagh and Jane lead a team of 140 people, with seven directors, across multiple global locations. They are accountable for everything from breakthrough oral care research through to the…
Angela Chan
“In her role as Head of Creative Diversity, Angela leads a team with responsibility for ensuring Channel 4’s programmes reflect the diversity of the audience, as well as advocating for more diversity in the creative industries as a whole. She…
Steve Beswick
“Sabbatical: In 2009 after 15 Years at Microsoft I was offered a sabbatical from work for 3 months. This was a reward for tenure at Microsoft, plus also performance levels being high. Microsoft offered this with full pay and rewards.…
Andy Rogers
“I shifted to working three days a week in February as my wife fell ill last summer and I have needed to spend time supporting her since then. My change in working hours has coincided with a change in my…
Peter
“My wife works full time and has little flexibility during work hours. I start in the office early and finish early in order that I can get home at a reasonable time to help with after school activities for our…
Andrew Cooper
“When our twin boys were born in 2001 we already had a daughter under the age of three and we needed to balance work and child care while considering the best arrangements for our children. Maternity leave was shorter then…
Srin Madipalli
Srin’s wealth of experience includes completing an MBA at Oxford, working as a corporate lawyer in a Magic Circle firm and teaching himself to code in order to set up accessible travel startup, Accomable. When Airbnb acquired Accomable in 2017,…
Andrea Mulligan
“I joined R/GA, a digital innovation agency based in London, last year through a returnship initiative co-founded by the agency’s HR Director, Liz Nottingham. The question of flexibility was discussed very openly during the interview process and on my suggestion,…
Sarah Bastajian
“My husband also works for Willmott Dixon and was keen to have time at home with the children. We decided to ask to have alternate Mondays off. It works really well, the twins get the best of both of us…
Amie Esson
“I considered going part time after my daughter was born, but technology and a culture of trust and openness at Willmott Dixon have enabled me to work flexibly and stay full time. Being able to start earlier and finish earlier…
Sarah Anderson
“As a single parent, I have worked flexibly – 3-4 days a week, over the last 17 years. When my children grew older, I wanted to use agile working to start volunteering so I decided to volunteer with Pets as…
Alexandra Jardine
“Working flexibly from home has enabled me to work for the past eight years at a job I enjoy, while at the same time being there for my children for everything that matters to them, from homework to sports days…
Sara Abbonizio
“I work full-time, but there are two weeks a year I don’t work. I take these in August when both Houses of Commons and Lords are typically on recess, so it’s generally a quieter period for my team. This pattern…