Flexible working hours: what's available?

Job-sharing schemes were pioneered by many local authorities in early 1980s. All the responsibilities of one job are split between two people; income, including benefits such as holiday pay and pension rights, is also divided between the two.

Some parents find term-time working helps them solve the problem of child-care during school holidays. Your employer agrees to give you unpaid leave during school holidays and, if you wish, to spread your payments out over the year to make sure you have a regular income. School-hours working can also be useful for parents because it leaves them free to drop the children off in the morning and pick them up in the afternoon.

If you would rather work fewer days but don't want to lose out on pay, compressed hours might suit you - you work more hours in the day in exchange for time off in the week. But, if pay is not such a big issue, then you might want to think about an option called V-time developed in the United States and now available in the UK. V-time (voluntary reduction in hours) means you and your employer agree that you will spend less time at work for a certain period (often a year).