To think more people WFH with DC than let on

oh yeah definitely.

tbh I don't necessarily have a huge issue with it - particularly if it's a one-off (child off sick for a few days etc.) Although "working" the whole 6 week summer holiday with a small child might be taking the piss. I would be concerned if it became known management would just remove WFH from everyone rather than discipline the individual staff members - which is bad management but commonly done.

But the whole point of wfh is increased flexibility - therefore in a well managed workforce people would have individual targets to reach, and if they otherwise achieved them (whether by working additional hours when children were in bed, or going hard-out for the weeks immediately before and after the holidays to counteract a few slack weeks in August), it might not be an issue. This is pretty much what my work does - everyone has their own caseload, if you did have a few 'distracted' or 'off' weeks (whether because of childcare, sickness, or anything else), the only one affected is you, so it doesn't really matter to me how my colleagues manage their time.

Particularly with older children - I can see if they can otherwise be left alone for 2-3 hours at a time to play/watch tv with minimal monitoring it would be a kick in the teeth to pay hundreds out for childcare when you could just keep an eye on them while working.

We obviously you can't care for your child properly and work at the same time.

what is your aibu? I wfh regularly as I have no access to childcare. I do my job what is the issue?

You're probably right. However it will be hard for employers to prove it I suspect.

Probably. Myself and every person on my team works while kids are at home during half term. Mine is asleep for most of the morning, she can fix her own breakfast and entertain herself until mid afternoon when her dad usually takes over. I pop out to check on her in between clients/meetings which is usually once or twice an hour. I am not sure this would be possible with a baby or a toddler but with school aged kids, it’s not an issue.

I have a colleague who I suspect sometimes does this. I’m her manager. I have no evidence and her work is good so it’s fine, it only becomes an issue if meetings are missed. I’ve made it clear to my whole team, I don’t want to see dc on calls unless they’ve let me know dc will be there (ill dc/childcare emergency). We are a really flexible employer though so there’s more openness. Saving half a day’s nursery fees is definitely inviting but in most jobs it’s not feasible.

why are you name changing?

you don’t balance childcare and wfh