Mums @ work
 

Hi everyone,

We should be out in BC shortly.Our PNP was approved and our paper work submitted.
My Wife at present is a Medical Secretary working part time and the employers are very flexible working around school holidays and children being sick.
What is the Canadian attitude towards this.Are they flexible with working Mums,particularly in BC(Victoria)
Obviously if they are not my Wife will opt to stay at home and be a hard working Housewife(all 3 children are at school)
Any info would be great.

Re: Mums @ work
 

:) oohh i hope somone replies to this.. it was one of my questions too! anyone know if they accept part time mums into the police force in Edmonton either?!

Re: Mums @ work
 

Some BC employers attitude is very old school - employees expected to work 40 hours no matter what, kids/domestic stuff is viewed as an intrusion into work etc. Not much time for the problems associated with working mums, kids, etc. Female representation into the business of running a business is rare. Old boys network, the golfing/society thing, etc.

Think back 25 years, is where it's at. Unless of course you find some hippy/democratic laid back vibe fest employer :cool:

You'll find a good employer with a progressive outlook, but don't expect it to be easy.

Rich.

Re: Mums @ work
 

As a working Mum, I would have to agree 110%. Oh my. I agree with Rich on something. Pass the valium. :eek: ;)

Re: Mums @ work
 

It must be a good day ! Pass the duchie and chill. :D

Rich.

Re: Mums @ work
 

Looks like a business opportunity here! Any special requirements for childminding needed?

Re: Mums @ work
 

Yes there are - way more than the UK if you are working in a Licensed daycare. ECE qualifications are required. Closest thing is a NNEB or the NVQ in Childcare.

Re: Mums @ work
 

I worked for the federal govt in Ontario in a management role and my wife was offered a part time job at the site I worked at. It was for 24 hours a week and I suggest to HR that she would like to work 9 am to 3 pm a "mum shift".

The HR VP response was "if we let your wife work those hours other working mum's would want the same"

Also at the time the site was having problems in recruiting for positions and I suggested that a work/family balancing programme be introduced to VP of HR. I told him that it may help as an incentive to attract working families to the area.

His view was that you started work at 8:15 and finished a 16:35 and you could work a 3 day week part time but follow those hours.

A female engineer who I knew working Director level had to give up their family life and spend most of there time working (84 hrs a week). She had Saturday afternoons free to spend time with her kids. I think she work those hours to keep up with the "boys club".

Out of interest is anyone working for a company that does work/family balancing?

hudd

Re: Mums @ work
 

Warning to Brits moving to Canada - the story below is not unusual !

Be warned up front. Such things do not make for career progression, nor would supporting the Federal government in its' aims to employ more women, aboriginals and immigrants. T'is not all warm and fluffy and fun.

Rich.

Re: Mums @ work
 

They are however exceptions to everything. I have been working for a company in Calgary who are VERY flexible. I get in for 9.30 after I have taken the kids to the school bus, I have the option of working from home if they are sick etc. More employers are realising that they will get more out of people if they help them achieve a work/life balance.

I also think that the labour shortage in Calgary means that firms will have to become more flexible to attract the talent they need.

Just my experience...

Re: Mums @ work
 

Calgary 2006

Thats pretty good that you work for a company that is flexible which meets both yours and their needs.
I always been flexible with my staff and I had quite a few working mums who worked for me. Flexibility in working hours etc was what I was used to working in the UK.

I would let them home work by using a VPN line into the office or work from an office closer to their home.
I had a senior project engineer(with a baby at home) who worked for me. Who worked a 80% work week and I allowed her to be flexible i.e on site 50-60% in the week and the rest from home.

What I could not convince senior staff i.e VP's it would be beneficial to introduce work/home balancing as a company policy. I did it because it suited my business and found to be a productive way of getting work done.
It felt that there was a reluctancy to change the HR practices in the federal govt.
I can remember talking to senior management about job sharing, which was common when my wife worked in the Civil Service in the UK(since early 1980's). I though I suddenly had grown two horns out of my head with the suggestion of the job sharing concept.
I got the feeling that moving away from the tradition work pattern that senior management though there would be loose control of the staff.

I agree in todays job market companies have to be flexible to get the right people.
hudd

Re: Mums @ work
 

I've just had a UK manager tell me that he's never worked from home in 25 years of career. Gulp! In my previous job I was about 50% home working as there was no point going into the office.

In reality, I think we all should do more homeworking as you save time on the commute and get more done! In the states, traffic is so bad people are working the first 2 hours at home and then driving in when the roads are calmer. This is just logical now that we have the tools to do this. You do need broadband and a VPN as a minimum though.

If you cannot trust your staff to work from home, you've got a serious problem in your company. As an employee I'd ask myself if I wanted to work there. 25 year manager agreed to my homeworking from time to time and was very generous with this when my daughter was sick.

Re: Mums @ work
 

gulp :( i hope it changes by the time i get there. i would like to work! at least a little!!

Re: Mums @ work
 

Edmonton is crying out for workers.......in all types of work !!!

I would think this would give you a good position to negotiate.

We live in SW Edmonton, (Riverbend) and love it......just waiting for the snow now!!!

Linda

Re: Mums @ work
 

It hasn't changed in the eleven years I have been here. :( Part time work = available for all shifts at any time when they want you. As a new part timer (which means no contract, no benefits usually, p/t has nothing to do with less than full time hours like the UK) you have no say in your hours beyond specifying a minimum amount of shifts you are available for (not maximum). Regardless of the shortgage of workers, you are in no position to negotiate. They don't care, there are many more like you who want the work and in many cases will do it without kids or other restrictions.

To the poster asking if the Edmonton Police take p/t mums - no they don't. The initial training period would preclude you from that arrangment and you get assigned to a full time team on shift rotation - days, nights and graveyard. They are, to my knowledge, always full timers. I had to speak with a Cst. last week from Edmonton about one of my cases. She was going on Mat leave and was on desk duties. We were talking about kids as you do, she stated that she would love to come back part time "but that'll happen when hell freezes over". They just don't like the notion of part time work as it is seen as letting the team down.

Re: Mums @ work
 

I'm not a working Mum anymore (Granny now!) but I think that in the private sector there's more flexibility. My employer has been great in the past year when I've needed to be home due to family circumstances. He hooked me up with remote connection to my computer at home so that I only needed to go into the office a couple of days a week.

In general I think most Mums opt to work part-time, which of course means no benefits in most cases. I don't think there is a hard and fast answer to your question, so much depends on the employer.

Re: Mums @ work
 

Mum = Mom

Rich.

Re: Mums @ work
 

Do they expect you to work longer hours than which you are contracted as well - like in the UK? Here, you get dirty looks if you leave at 5pm...

Suze

Re: Mums @ work
 

I didn't notice it so much in the UK. Even managers buggered off pronto. I found that it was a case of entitlement - 40 hours is 40 hours, no more, no more, take every break, claim every expense, use every scam, etc.

Here in the vastness of Corporate North America Inc presenteeism is just one way of keeping one's job. The other methods are to grovel to the boss, play politics, dish dirt, play golf (badly, preferably, so the boss man/client can win) etc, ego-prop, the usual mechanisms of everyday snivilisation in the private sector.

Rich.

Re: Mums @ work
 

:scared: not sure i am going to be a police officer in edmonton then?!! oh well i hate my job anyway! what about little jobs?, simple ones like working in a shop or something, are they flexible with part time workers? i dont want a "career" anymore but i will need to work a little for some "fun" money..

Re: Mums @ work
 

On the flip side of this... many Canadian women have chosen to (attempt to) avoid/subvert gender discrimination in the traditional work place by starting their own businesses. I only know two Canadian women who have jobs working for someone else in Canada, the rest are self-employed / have their own businesses / are their own bosses. I personally, have never had a full-time job working for da man and I'm doing alright thank you very much <rubs lucky stone>.

Re: Mums @ work
 

I already said this, but the job market is not the same as the UK. There are no such things as "little jobs" here and employers and co-workers will get very offended if you refer to their meagre offerings and jobs as a way to earn fun money. Minimum wage jobs are competed for like any other job here; you will be up against students and locals with experience in their community and they get hired before the immigrant. You will have to show some special skill or shine at an interview to get even that "little job" offer. It's whole different mindset here.... :beer:

Re: Mums @ work
 

I can testify 100% to that....I was very lucky to get my own funky thing and it took 6 months of tooth pulling to get fixed up. The market in BC may be strong, but strong in terms of what ? Minimum wage jobs, $15 a hour jobs, construction jobs, part time jobs, jobs working for arrogant pricks and myopic control freaks and stuffy authoritarian old school fossils - hmmm all very appealing :rolleyes:

Don't get me wrong there's good openings to be sought after at all levels but even for a grunt job/entry level opening, as a newly arrived tea-drinking soccer-worshipping funny-sounding confused and bewildered Brit you come way down the pecking order. Need luck, persistence, flexible attitude, prepared to start lower paid and prove yourself, and be interviewed by someone who'll give you a chance to show yourself.

My 2c of reality.

Rich.

Re: Mums @ work
 

hmm sounding concerning!!! looks like run-your-own-business time then or be a stay at home mom... never a bad thing!

Re: Mums @ work
 

Wow - I can't believe the doom and gloom here. As someone who used to work in Vancouver and has 3 sisters working in the Lower Mainland - if you want a "little" job and you speak english and are presentable then you should have no problems. If you aren't looking for a career you will be able to find something - in one day out in Vancouver we counted 11 help wanted signs in and around Robson Street and that's without going to the mall. One of my sisters runs a restaurant and they are crying out for help - which pays $15/hour for waitresses and are willing to employ people on a part time or limited basis.

I guess it depends what you're looking for - if you want a couple days a week vs a couple of hours every day - your going to have a much harder time finding the couple of hours every day.

HTH!

Re: Mums @ work
 

I missed the OPs note that they were looking at Victoria.

I guess we don't all live in the throbbing metropolis (can Victoria be described as such?). My words of caution therefore apply to those seeking to live/work out in the bush away from the diverse and overcrowded masses. :rolleyes: :D

Rich.

Re: Mums @ work
 

The British Expats Doom and Gloom cloud once again appears from nowhere :rolleyes:
http://www.rivingtonarms.com/rarms/a...BlackCloud.jpg

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LOL - i'll get me brolly!