careers
53
July 2020 | REDONLINE.CO.UKFor more financial advice, sign up
to our free fortnightly newsletter
at redonline.co.uk/ffnewsletterJOB-SHARING:
AN ESSENTIAL GUIDE
Anyone who has worked for an
employer for a minimum of 26 weeks
has the right to ask to work flexibly –
whether that’s working from home,
flexible hours or job-sharing –
regardless of why they need to. You
can make one ‘flexibility request’
per year. Your employer has a duty
to seriously consider any application
and only reject it if there are good
business reasons for doing so.Put together a strong business case for
the arrangement you’re suggesting,
including a suitable candidate for the
role if you can, highlighting why it would
be good for your company and how you
might deal with any challenges.Pay and benefits of the full-time job
are divided in proportion to the hours
that each job-sharer works.J
o and I met at work more than 10 years ago, and when
I started freelancing, she regularly commissioned me
to write articles. When the opportunity came up to job-share
with her, it seemed like the natural next step. It meant a steady
income and time to spend with my two little boys.
I know from friends, though, that finding a job-share
role isn’t always that straightforward. However, specialist
recruitment companies, such as Timewise (timewisejobs.co.uk)
and Capability Jane (capabilityjane.com), advertise roles that
involve flexible working, including job-shares.HOW WE MAKE IT WORK
When we started our job-share, Jo and I arranged it so we
were both in the office on the same days
for the first couple of weeks. This meant
Jo was on hand to help me get to grips
with various systems and processes,
and it also gave us time to figure out the
best way to hand over to each other.
We settled on an email that each
of us writes at the end of our stint of
working days, giving an overview
of the state of play of various projects,
‘need-to-know’ points from meetings
and updates on life in the office – all
of which helps us stay connected to our
team and workplace. We never email
each other on our non-working days,
though, because who wants to get
drawn into work emails then?THE CHALLENGES
Jo had already worked in the role full time
for four years when I joined, so some
colleagues outside our immediate team
tend to defer to her. I know from other
job-sharers that this is common, so I’ve
learned not to take it personally, but it is
important to remind colleagues to copy
us both in to emails. This makes it easier
for Jo and I to keep tabs on what’s been
happening on the days we don’t work,
and there’s not the constant urge to check
emails on our non-working days in case
the other person hasn’t been copied in.
Job-shares may still be a rarity, but they
can be game-changing in how we manage
work and life outside the office.M
y happiest childhood memories are of long, lazy days
at home with my mum, pottering around the house or
playing in the garden. When I had my son, I wanted him to
have the same experiences. I knew not working wasn’t an
option financially – plus I love my job as consumer editor of
Red, Good Housekeeping and Prima magazines and didn’t
want to give it up. My partner and I worked out that we could
manage if I reduced my hours to a three-day week, so I went
to my employers with a solution, including a suitable candidate
for my job-share partner. After a meeting with HR and my
manager, the job-share got the green light
and Emilie came on board a while later.HOW WE MAKE IT WORK
Emilie and I have a similar work ethic
and mindset, which I think is crucial.
I think of it as a work marriage: you
have to have trust, honesty and great
communication! As we’ve been working
from home for a while recently due to
the coronavirus outbreak, and we both
have young children in the house (which
brings its own set of challenges), we’ve
been checking in with each other every
day to make sure we’re both coping.THE CHALLENGES
Of course, no situation is perfect. When
how much you get done has such a direct
impact on someone else’s workload,
you really feel the pressure to pull
your weight. If one of you feels you’re
carrying the can for the other, the
job-share isn’t going to be sustainable.
It’s also inevitable that you compare
yourself with the other person. There
are areas where Emilie is much stronger,
so I have to remind myself that there are
skills I bring to the partnership, too, and
that this is one of the great strengths of
job-shares: they bring two sets of energy,
expertise and creativity to the role.
Overall, it has been a success for us,
our team and our families. It really has
helped me find a work/life balance.‘I think of it as a work
marriage: you have to have
trust, honesty and great
communication!’
JOANNE:‘Job-shares can be game-changing
in managing work and life’
EMILIE:PH
OT
OG
RA
PH
Y:^ S
TO
CK
SY
.^ *S
OU
RC
E:^
CH
AR
TE
RE
D^
IN
ST
ITU
TE
O
F^ P
ER
SO
NN
EL
A
ND
D
EV
EL
O
PM
EN
T