Is this reasonable while WFH?

Cross-post!

We shouldn’t be assuming that it’s actually the OP that has done this, it might be a colleague…

I call reverse

Can you limit your 'taking calls' time to a couple of hours a day, when the children are doing something absorbing, like watching a film?

It sounds unbelievable these days, but when my brothers and I had to be quiet for an hour or two, we were perfectly capable of being so. That from a very young age, I'd've been maybe 5 or 6, and my Bro Number 2 was 2 years younger. Perhaps we were just used to being quiet in Church every Sunday?

It would be unreasonable if you did that without telling anyone/checking it was OK. And by 'anyone' I mean your manager, not Mumsnet. Nobody here knows what your employer would be OK with.

If I was your manager, I'd be fine with you not taking calls for one day because you'd had a childcare emergency, but only if you bloody asked me first!

Can't you just tell your manager that you've got to take the day off due to unforeseen childcare issues?

I don't think it's that bad, but I would let my boss know and check, offering solutions for how I would work around it...like an agreed set amount I would get done that day.

If you have a reasonable boss and it's a one off then why not? Yeh you're there to work but people have families and life happens, work needs to apply some common sense and judge who takes advantage and who just needs a favour now and again (we all do sometimes but we all know those people who take the piss too!)

Are you planning on telling your colleagues that you won't be doing your share of that job? If not, then you know you're being unreasonable.

Are there other tasks other than answering calls? Would you tell your other colleagues? It’s not on to leave them to answer all the calls! Plus if you’re running round after your kids how will you get any other work done?

I think because it’s a one off and you did have childcare arranged then YANBU but knowing the general attitude on MN about this sort of thing you will probably get more people saying YABU.

What does your place of work class as childen, just out of curiosity? Over around 8 or 9, they don't need 'looking after', as such. My 11yo and 13yo stay at home in the holidays when we go to work out of the house, so I don't even consider it when I am wfh any more.

@Theultracheese who is not happy and is it you who didnt join the teams???? I wouldnt call this working from home at all when you are doing childcare! this is the reason that I am against wfh!!

our phone log on links to our timesheet which links to us being paid. So no you can't get away with not logging on. Also part of our contract is you cannot wfh unless you have childcare for any children.

If someone can’t work they need to be on emergency leave and watch their child. Either the child is old enough not to run around shouting or young enough to need supervision.

My work would be really relaxed about this and I would just explain the situation to them and say I can take the day off or I can do my other usual tasks without the calls. My work would have no issues with this as long as it wasn't a regular occurrence.

It would only be reasonable if you had explicit written permission from your line manager to a) have your kid at home while you worked and b) to not take calls.

No you shouldn't be looking after kids while working

@Theultracheese tbh why are you asking MN? How would anyone other than your direct manager know what’s reasonable and what their expectations are? What if the phone systems are monitored and not logging in for whatever reason could be a disciplinary offence? Please contact your employer and professionally assess your options!

You’re getting paid to work, not take care of your kids.

It depends on whether your colleagues are happy with covering your work or not. If I had an otherwise reliable hard working colleague and it was a one off I wouldn't mind. If it happened a lot or I thought they were just dodging work I wouldn't be happy.

If you're not logging in, you take it as unpaid or annual leave.

Or log in and put your kids in front of a screen when you're on a call.

Depends. But a childcare emergency can’t always just be fixed so the children may have to be around. So I guess then it depends on the manager to decide whether that person needs to take a day off (dependant leave etc) or whether they’d prefer them doing bits of work but just not doing the calls. Where I work, it would be fine for me to miss a meeting but do the rest of my work around DC (probably pushing some work to after bedtime), in a one off last minute childcare issue.

Only with agreement with a manager. Many workplaces are bringing in mandatory office days and mandatory proof of child care when wfh for these reasons. The manager would be able to say if you need to take leave or if you could be put on other duties instead of phones for the day or just not take calls.

How much notice did the CM give for Friday's cancellation? If a day or 2 you have time to speak to manager or sort some kind of childcare or take leave. If on the morning then it is really is speak to manager and take leave if needed.

No. That's fraud, OP. You need to take the day off as annual leave.

I honestly can't image how wonderful it must be if you can do your job whilst also looking after children! It must be so great, I've never had a job that you could just pause work to wipe a bum or sort a snack or stop a fight between kids. I'm jealous and also can't believe folk are being paid for a job that they can do half arsed!

Imagine a nurse taking their kids round the ward with them, a check out person with a baby bouncing on their knee, a scientist with kids running around the lab.