easyJet part time and fixed pattern contracts after having a child: how the application works, what patterns exist and how the roster changes
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#1 Manchester, cabin manager, and I went part time for two years after my son was born before going back to full time, so the part time question comes to me often. There is a thread from someone who got a pattern after her daughter; this is the fuller version of how it works and what the options are.
What exists
easyJet offers part time contracts at set percentages (typically 50, 60, 75 percent of full time) and fixed pattern arrangements where you work set days or blocks. Which patterns are available depends on the base and its crewing need at the time. Some bases have a lot of part timers, some have a waiting list.
How you apply
A formal flexible working request through the base manager and HR, with the pattern you want and the reason. Under UK law the airline has to consider it properly and can refuse on business grounds, which happens when the base is short. Timing matters: requests submitted before the summer roster planning have a better chance than requests in June. A return from maternity leave is the most common trigger and the airline is used to it.
The patterns that work with a child
A fixed block pattern (for example, four days on and then a long block off) is what most parents want because childcare can be booked around it. A percentage contract without a fixed pattern is easier to get and harder to live with, because the roster still moves within the percentage. I had a fixed pattern for the first year and a percentage for the second, and the fixed pattern was much better for the family even though it meant less choice of flying.
What changes on the roster
Fewer sectors, so less sector pay and commission, on top of the pro rated basic. Standby is pro rated too. Leave is pro rated. The night stops still happen within your working days. And the roster is still published two weeks out, so the fixed pattern is the thing that lets you plan, not the part time percentage alone.
The money
Half the hours is a bit less than half the pay, because the variable pay is so tied to sectors flown. Budget for that before applying. The two years cost me more than I expected and were still the right decision.
Going back to full time
A request in the other direction, easier to get, and the base was glad to have the hours back. My cabin manager grade was kept through the part time period, which is not automatic everywhere, so ask.
Advice
Ask the base manager what patterns exist before you submit anything. Submit early. Ask for the fixed pattern, not just the percentage. And talk to the other parents at the base, because every base has a group and they know which patterns are real.
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#2 Manchester, part time on a fixed four on pattern for three years now, and the 'ask for the fixed pattern, not the percentage' advice is the whole thing. The percentage alone is a roster that still eats your childcare.
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#3 Qantas domestic with two kids and our version is similar: the fixed pattern is the thing that makes it work, the percentage is the thing that makes it cheaper. Amy is right that half the hours is less than half the pay.
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#4 Bristol, and our base has a waiting list for the fixed patterns. Submit in the autumn for the following summer. June requests get a polite no.
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#5 @clairebrs yes, and the autumn timing is the thing I tell every returning parent now. The roster planners can say yes in October and cannot in June.
