Do people really actually do this? (Work related)

[TimeOffForDC]

My work place is fairly flexible, as long as your work is done you can take time off to go to sports days or concerts or attend to your elderly parents or take your dog to the vet etc. It's supposed to go down as Dependence Leave.

Work colleague says she tells the manager her kid has a concert and about half the time they don’t, she then has a paid morning or afternoon off work and saves money as she picks up or drops off the kids at the normal time rather than using childcare.

I don’t do this. The childcare bit I do when DC have a concert or sports day, I just don’t put them in on that day. But I never say they have something going on when they don’t.

Work colleague says everyone does it they just don’t admit it.

So do you do this (If you can?)?

She will spoil it for everyone else

Very dishonest of her

Also is the dependent leave tracked? Surely some people have loads

Wow I wish I could do this paid!

If you read the OP it's clear that at their place of work it is paid. It's just flexible. Get your work done and the occasional time off early is allowed. The employee mentioned will ruin it for everyone

Of course there needs to be a reason. It's not flexibility ti just work fewer hours. It's flexibility to make life easier for good staff morale and company culture.

Yes, but if I don't need the time for children, why shouldn't I use it to catch up on laundry or go for a walk? Why does having children or other non work related responsibilities mean I get extra time off?

Do people who don't have elderly parents, or children get the same flexibility?

Everywhere I've worked has had flexi so you can take time off for whatever reason you want so long as you work it back, so I've not seen it.

No absolutely not! And CFs like this give flexible working a bad name.

Nope, they dont.
I had to fight for emergency dependants leave after my husband was hospitalized as it had been suspended for all staff because of cheeky fuckers like your colleague taking the piss.

@yipeeyiyay surely then if it’s flexible working and you’ve got all your work done it doesn’t matter what the reason is for leaving early? Could just be I’ve finished my work and fancy an afternoon off

Agree with this

You said the option of leaving work is only available anyway 'as long as your work is done'. So it sounds like the type of job that has weekly/monthly/yearly targets rather than minute by minute/daily targets like retail/hospitality/call cente where your 'work' is to be there and be available when the company needs...if she is on top of the work she is being paid to do, I don't see why its an issue for her to have the flexibility, whether or not she actually needs to attend to a dependent. Your workplace policy seems a bit contradictory.

No everyone doesn’t do it , tell her to crack on but if these flexible arrangements come to end well she will know why it’s because people like her take the piss . Why do you think many offices want people back in the office because some people took the piss , many didn’t but all it takes is one or 2 doing this and that’s it .
my hairdresser told me one if her clients would get her hair done while she was meant to be working from home .

We had one who did that and it ended up spoiling it for everyone and now we have to use annual leave for everything.

How often does your colleague do this? If she's saying it twice the number of times she needs it, it still may not be very often. E.g. she may not have elderly parents to look after or a pet to bring to the vet so the only days she puts in for a child related whereas somebody caring for elderly parents may have more frequent hospital appointments........

I'm not condoning it - I'm just saying to look at it more objectively overall.

I worked with a woman who had a second job and called in sick whenever the other job needed her. I've no idea how long she did this for. Another colleague spent his time buying and selling personal shares while sitting at his desk. They were both as bad as one another. Sometimes those who are present are doing very little anyway. As long as the job is done and other people aren't carrying their workloads, may be how the management see it. It is easy to feel hard done by though when you are the one turning up and putting in solid hours.

Why do you think many offices want people back in the office because some people took the piss , many didn’t but all it takes is one or 2 doing this and that’s it .

The OP didn't say the colleague wasn't big getting their work done though.

I'm sure they'd get time off to accompany a partner/spouse to appointments but other than that, who would you class as a dependent?

To me it sounds like there are two policies - ‘normal’ flexible working, ie. it doesn’t matter when you work as long as you do your 7 hours a day and the dependent leave? If so, very annoying. Even more so if you don’t have any dependants!!

My workplace is very, very flexible too but I don't think my colleagues would even dream of doing this, and there is no way it would be tolerated by snr mgmt and other colleagues. Who would want to risk losing a flexible work culture? She's full of shit and totally at it.

I don't know anyone who does this. She is ruining it for others.