Is no sleep a reasonable excuse for calling in sick to work?

Isn’t this what those parental (unpaid) days are for?

You have my sympathies op, one of ours was a poor sleeper. Not just when ill but constantly. I used to go in to work feeling drained and crap but ut really is surprising how well we can function workwise when sleep deprived. It catches up in other areas of course but work was ok.

If you have to take the day off iin these circumstances always use a plausible reason, no sleep isn't one unfortunately.

Does where I worked Fridays and Mondays score higher on the Bradford Factor same as days before or after a bank holiday and before or after annual leave

Can you offer to do another day instead of today?

I think you are being a bit of a wet blanket. Get some coffee and go in. Save your sick days and goodwill from your boss for days when you actually need them. I have 2 young kids and regularly have nights like this. It’s shit but you cannot call in sick because it will happen all the time (especially if you have another child). It’s only one day and you’ll have to go to bed at the same time as your kid when you get home to catch up. Loads of us have been there.

I work 13 hour shifts as a Nurse and have nights where I barely sleep. As much as I feel like shit once I get going I usually override the tiredness and just catch up the next night. Yabu to call in especially as you only work 2 days a week, I am sure you manage one day.

Was there another parent at home over night?

This. A lot of posters keep trotting out the "unless you're a brain surgeon or an HGV driver..." but there are plenty of other types of job where a mistake induced by lack of sleep can have serious consequences. No-one will die if someone makes a mistake in my profession, but I have still seen people sent home after a bad night's sleep as our insurer is not going to look too kindly on someone messing up in those circumstances!

Similarly, people saying they would never be in as they suffer from insomnia and other chronic sleep disturbances - OP is talking about taking one day. If it starts to happen all the time I'm sure her employer's absence policies will kick in and it will be a different story.

If someone was saying to me they were not in a fit state to work because of lack of sleep I’d accept that like anything else. If it was a recurring issue we’d go through the normal process like anything else.

I do think you can get used to lack of sleep to an extent, so 4 hours sleep for one person may be manageable but completely floor someone else.

Go in, you won't feel as bad as you imagine.

You only work 2 days a week, and want to not go in for one of them because you didn't get much sleep?

Your workplace sounds awful, built on a culture of distrust. I bet staff turnover was high.

Is your child going to nursery if they were up all night and unwell, if not then you'd be better calling in sick as your child is ill. Don't mention not coming in because you didn't sleep.

LOL really? Just have an early night tonight. This is pretty pathetic unless you're ill.

Last weekend I was in A&E until 3.30am with my dd. I got into bed at 4am. My alarm went off at 6am and I got up and worked a 12.5hr shift.
I was fine until about 6pm when I started to feel really knackered!!
however, when questioned about it all I just thought meh. I’ll be tired for sure but tiredness doesn’t kill (after just one night of crap sleep anyway). Just suck it up and get on with it.
So I did 🤷‍♀️
can you not do the same?

It’s a straightforward issue really - are you fit to work?

I have just twigged what the poster means. It is to do with self certification as weekends count in the 7 days so technically on the form it is 3 days.

I'd say it depends on the job- shop assistant yabu, air traffic controller yanbu!

I find this had to believe or legal.

No, that's how I get if I haven't slept/just dozed all night. And it absolutely can be dangerous to travel that condition.

Yanbu. Annual leave or sick. Expecially if you drive.

I caused a data protection breach when I worked on almost no sleep recently. I should have stuck to doing very little that day. I WFH so I don't have to drive. Without fail I always make mistakes on no sleep days (and they're usually contained to me to unpick the next day) but that was my best so far.

That's tribunal level territory. You should call ACAS. One period, yes, but not 5 sick days.

Can you go in this morning, make it clear you’re not feeling well and ask to leave after lunchtime? They can see you’ve made an effort but you get to finish early and get an afternoon sleep in.

Well, if your attendance is good overall, then you're not going to get sacked for this. Your boss may well perceive you as a bit flaky and not very committed, but if you're not bothered by that, then crack on.

I'm not quite sure why you're being arsey with the poster who said that you slept badly though - you're insisting that you didn't sleep, but according to your OP, you got a couple of hours at the beginning of the night and dozed for another half hour later on, so "slept badly" is actually the more accurate description.

You need to tell us your job OP, which you are being cagey about.

I work in healthcare and work Tuesday and Wednesday nights. I wake Tuesday about 7am, do my day, go to work Tuesday night (am obviously up all night) get home and do the school run, get an on and off 3 hours sleep and then back to the school run and back to work. In school holidays I get barely a sofa nap between waking up Tuesday and going to bed Thursday night. Do I feel grim? Absolutely! Do I have a choice? Nope. Would I call in sick because I am tired? Absolutely not.

If you don’t want to go to work, don’t. You are an adult I assume and can make your own decisions without strangers on the internet?

Otherwise, like others have said, shower, hydrate, breakfast and coffee. Hydration and snacks are what get me through.