To go off sick in December?

Yeah, the public wouldn't go for it either.

There are often posts on here from childfree people who are expected to cover Christmas for those with kids and are resentful of it, the general consensus is that they are NBU.

Let me guess, while you're off "sick", you'll go on days out, visit cafes and restaurants, go to the supermarket, get that sick cert renewed etc. All facilitated by people working over the Christmas period and missing out on time with their young children and elderly parents and all the rest.

But no, you're special and deserve the time off over all of them.

But it will happen.
Retail, production, NHS, police, Social Services - go on the listing of 24/7 work can't handle 'single parents a right to public holidays (and weekends ?) off'.

And tbh I don't work more weekends and public holidays shifts because I'm married. That doesn't sound legal to ask me either.
No way. I want to spend time with my children and family not covering other people's jobs.

Not the point of the thread but I don’t think pulling names out a hat is very fair, same people could be pulled out year on year to have the time off. Much better to have a rota, say if you need 50% staff in you have one year working, one next year you get the full two weeks

Of course it would be illegal but employers won't specifically say, they would just say there was a better candidate. I read a post on here from someone before whose DH owned a business and didn't hire mothers at all.

I agree with requesting unpaid leave or asking someone else to cover for you for that one day.

It is absolutely NOT ok to be off sick when you’re not.

I was not a 'chancer' when I was signed off on stress leave, caused by work. I was having panic attacks and could barely leave my house, I missed out on milestone events in my friends and families lives because of anxiety. When I drove back from the doctors and pulled out on the wrong side of the road and didn't realise, like literally forgot what side of the road to drive on despite having a licence for 20 years and nearly caused a head on collision that was not me being a chancer 😡😡😡.

anyone who fakes an illness as an absolute disgrace in my opinion. I don't give a crap about you not turning up to work, but you paint anyone who has a genuine need for time off with as a fake.

see also people who use race, disability or ethnicity to their advantage when they are in the wrong. And I've known people who have done this , each and every one.

request time off unpaid, parental leave is there for a reason. Explain that you literally cannot work as you don't have childcare but don't lie and cause others not to be believed because you've got a job that is incompatible with your personal life.

Ugh double messaged sorry.

That would be illegal as well as unlikely.

A job should just be a job though is the point. If employers always held their end of the bargain up and paid staff fairly, didn't expect free overtime, had decent working conditions then sure- many don't, 3 weeks off sick just still can't find it in myself to be bothered about. I personally wouldn't do it as thankfully not in a situation where childcare would be an issue etc and don't mind working whatever days, but I honestly don't care what others do. If people are then pulled thin it's the employers fault.

The other fair system would be to allow very few people to take a fortnight off over the period and names out of a hat or take turns (assuming low staff turnover). This would mean the OP would most likely only get the bank holidays off most years and every so often have a lovely time with the full two weeks. I think the system they have is better.

iI do a rota and we do it the same way as the op’s workplace. The difference is that we also have to cover the bank holidays and weekends. If someone went off sick then everyone else would have to do more. No one would be impressed if there was any suspicion that it wasn’t genuine.

People will just stop hiring single parents if they have to give them time off over Christmas, especially in industries like retail. It won't do us any favours.

I was just thinking the same thing!

Can we all do that?

@KTheGrey How is is unfair? What would be fair?

Hm. Well the OP's workplace seems to have ridiculously unfair holiday allocation, so if you were in HR at such a place you could maybe look at that.

Also is there not a requirement to make reasonable adjustments for chronic conditions?

If there isn't a requirement to adjust for single parents to care for children over Xmas we should be looking at that, it's likely indirect discrimination against women.

OP isn't too sick to work though, she wants to skive.

"A job is just a job" is a very privileged mindset to be able to have. As a single person I need a decent paying job to be actually able to pay for luxuries like rent and bills.

No not all ‘the younger generations’. Some have integrity and don’t exploit the system.

YABU, you knew the risk of not having time off due to it being a lucky dip on who gets the time.

I get you would like to have a decent amount of time off but that’s just life that you can’t. Taking a whole month off is ridiculous.

I can't believe how many people are saying to fake an illness for an entire month. I only have one days holiday to use over Christmas because that's all I have left, my job isn't one that shuts down for Christmas for 2 weeks either, I just have to suck it up.

What about all the NHS staff, emergency workers who work every single day of the year? Do you think they wouldn't also like to spend Christmas with their families? It's a good job they don't all pull a sickie otherwise we'd be screwed.

Who cares? If they resent someone who is off sick that's up to them. Thankfully the younger generations realise a job is just a job and we should work to live so hopefully there'll be a chance in the coming years around work.

There is some extremely selfish people on this thread. All of the "lifes too short "crap... Why do any of us bother with responsibilities other than our children since life is so short blah blah.

You took a job with these responsibilities and shifts. Yeah its crap working days when others arent, and you'd rather be with family but thats life in certain jobs

I've spent many years through my kids lives working Christmas, new year and the bits in between. But I'm a nurse and accept that I signed up for this when I took the job.

I should have realised though that in many people's eyes, I dont have to do that...I could have phoned in sick and spent time with my kids. Silly me . Screw my patients... I come first

And all the rubbish about "I havent had a sick day for 4 years" so what? Sick days arent there to be taken when you fancy, they are for when you are too sick to work.

No wonder people with illnesses and disabilities get so much scepticism when people are happy to just use them because the shifts at ther jobs arent what they wanted so they pretend to be ill and lots of other people applaud them for it

You planning weeks off? I could t do that. It wouldn’t sit well with me at all.

The Xmas period is really just a few days. Can you not explain you need annual leave due to no childcare? Rather than lie?

@Infracat is right

Other people can somehow manage it. OP will probably find her colleagues resenting her. I certainly wouldn't want to be picking up the slack for somebody else over Christmas.