Head of
Graysons’ Family Team
This is part 2 of a series of posts by Sandra Russell on how to get back to work after divorce. You can read part 1 – Why Stay-At-Home Parents Are Advised To Go Back To Work After Divorce
Freelance work: The sky really is the limit here. There are few industries that don’t use freelancers, since they are often cheaper and more convenient than employing someone in house.
Start by defining your target market, then simply approach the ones you think would be a good fit for you and your skills. There is no right or wrong type of employer to target, as long as they feasibly have a need for the skills you can offer.
It’s worth noting, however, that with the growth in social media, there are often opportunities for freelance digital experts in this area.
Part-time: Look for companies where there is already a precedent of part-time work. Avoid employers in very high-pressure or fast-moving sectors, where there’s a culture of excess overtime and a high turnover of staff, which may indicate that part-time work would be unsustainable.
According to Mumandcareer, the top industries for part-time jobs are education, medical and admin.
Full-time: Really, any employers. A full-time work pattern is the easiest type of work to request.
Term-time: Schools, universities and colleges. The education sector is the obvious choice for term-time jobs – whether you want to work as support staff, or as a teaching assistant.
Who are the Best Family-friendly Employers in the UK?
There are many initiatives and awards for employers who are family friendly – and these kinds of policies can work to your advantage as a single divorced parent.
If you’re a working mum, take a look at these top employers from Working Mums. Featured on the list are:
- BBC
- Royal Mail
- John Lewis
- National Offender Management Service
- Vodafone
- Lloyds Banking Group
- Barclays
- Network Rail
- Unilever
…and many more.
The Times top 50 Employers for Women features employers like:
- Asda
- BT Group plc
- Genesis Housing Association
- HM Revenue and Customs
- Home Office
- Marks & Spencer
- National Grid
- Post Office Ltd
- PwC
- State Street
Flexible working isn’t just for divorced mothers though. Divorced stay-at-home dads who want to combine time with their kids with returning to work should target some of the top employers for working families, awarded by the charity Working Families. In particular, the Cityfathers Best for All Stages of Fatherhood Award showed that these employers are a great place to start:
- The London School of Economics & Political Science
- West Dunbartonshire Council
- iCrossing
- Scottish Parliament
- National Grid
Sandra heads Graysons’ family team. She qualified as a solicitor in April 1994, having obtained her law degree at Sheffield University. She has specialised exclusively in family law ever since.
She is personally recommended in the Legal 500 2015 as being ‘committed, focused and confident’.
Sandra became a Resolution accredited specialist in January 2000 and qualified as a collaborative family lawyer in April 2009. Her accredited areas are advanced complex financial and property matters and domestic abuse.
Sandra is passionate about helping couples to resolve their disputes in a non-adversarial, respectful manner; focusing on the needs of their children and re-enforcing the importance of conflict avoidance. She finds collaborative work particularly rewarding in guiding clients through their individual separation journeys so they can look towards a brighter future.