Member of staff off sick AIBU to say AAAAAAAGH (and breathe!!)

[BallsforEarings]

Ok I sound unreasonable, we all have 'stuff' happen but here's the thing - Our company closes down EVERY christmas for the full two weeks! Always has done always will do so that we can all breathe again, especially me who has not stopped day or night for a full year due to building the business AND working out with the teams during the day.

Myself and husband have not had chance to take one single day off since last xmas and personally I have not stopped working except whilst asleep!

I am not properly off work during this holiday, since every day, including xmas eve and boxing day I've spent a few hours doing essential preparations for setting out next year's schedule, stock control, kitting out teams, calling in late payments, running payroll and to cap it all my adult daughter is in hospital and so I have personal stress with regard to that too! My staff all know that!

One of our part-time teams (of two young mums) requested to work a couple of days this xmas as they needed extra cash for their families so I relented and set up the clients for them to service for today and tomorrow, even though it meant me 'on duty' in the background lest anything should occur, I was willing to let them earn some extra and trusted all would go well so I could get on with the days' chores which are a-plenty, especially since these two expressed small disappointment that I had only arranged them a couple of jobs per day as they felt they would have liked more than that but I did what i could in the time I had. I expressed concern about their childcare arrangements because I cannot cover anyone these two days due to having enormous amounts of stuff to do plus needing some clear days without presssure, they assured me they had relatives covering for 'as long as they like' and could work any hours.

This morning one of these two called in sick because her child was ill! The other is struggling to cover as best she can! The day turned into chaos and pressure, of me rearranging things and directing her as best I could!

AIBU to insist we just close for business next xmas no matter who thinks they want to work, even if they plead poverty? I am so frazzled, needed to vent!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!

That is all!

I have worked in the NHS for nearly 40 years.
My boss was was absolutely vile to me because I dared have a miscarriage over Christmas.
The OP seems like a very reasonable employer to me.

YANBU. Don't do it again. Once bitten, twice shy and all that!

Well whaddya know, Communism is alive and well and living on MN. OP apparently YABVVU because you have dared to start your own business. I mean, how could you? AND pay over minimum wage?!! Well this just will not do. Everyone knows that business owners are all, every one of them, fat cats exploiting their workers. How very dare you buck this trend.

Oh and in case you hadn't guessed, I very much don't think YABU. You're as entitled as anyone else to vent and you are not blaming your employee in any way.

Are you planning on laying Tiny Tim's crutch beside your fireplace next year? I am SURE your employee is thrilled to have a sick child during the holidays and therefore not earning the money she clearly stated she needs.

She must be doing this to screw you over - no other explanation...

I think that the OP is paying holiday pay, but the employee wanted the chance to earn a bit extra.

It is never easy employing people, things always go wrong! As PP have said, just make sure you close down properly next year and enjoy your break,

I'm getting ready to poke some posters in the ribs with Tiny Tim's effing crutch.

OP acknowledged that it was a shame that the DC was ill but had arranged this cover on the basis that she was unable to participate due to her prior engagements (her own ill family member.)which were then shafted due to a change in the employee's circumstances.

God forbid anyone with a business complains about their working day eh?

Thanks everyone! [flower]

Except CallMeExhausted - why on earth would she be doing it to screw me over she is not that way at all, she is just lovely and would not dream of screwing me over - or anyone else for that matter!

Oh I SEE!! You thought that was what the thread was about - RTT!

You obviously haven't even read my original post properly to think it was about her and not about me!! I wouldn't slag her off! Why would I want to do that when she's having a rough time???

My staff are like gold dust, I should know i've had the 'other' kind!

Getting good people is a headache for any business and a Nightmare for small businesses. SMEs employ the majority of the people in the UK, we need entrepreneurs willing to work as hard as the OP. I don't understand why some people are being so rude.

I think many people have no idea how hard it is to set up and run your own business TBH. It is only once you have done it that you realise just how many hours you put in for very little reward.

I run a cleaning business and i pay well above minimum wage. Just saying

I run a cleaning business too and pay the minimum wage, because the difference between revenue and costs is profit and business is about minimizing costs and maximizing profits.

I know that's true for commercial raltheraffe, but for domestic we can command a premium rate if we can get staff trained to perform to a premium level of service - we can get them to do just that if they are happy with us and one of the things that makes them happy with us is the hourly rate available to them.

We are able to charge what we have to to pay them thus and stay in profit because demand is greater than supply in higher level domestic cleaning, people want the best for their own homes and, once the word of mouth machine is in motion, you can get the price you need to do business! I know this is not usually the case for commercial, as I understand a lot of commercial clients look at price first as a way to pick out a service, not so with domestic, in your own home 'cheap' can turn out to be very expensive as you and I know well!

I price accordingly in order to make a profit Its a hard job sometimes disgusting. I wouldn't do it for minimum wage and i don't expect my staff to.

I should mention I don't do any contract cleaning so maybe there is a difference. I deal with void rentals and extreme cleaning.

The reality is... If I were an employee who needed to work over the holidays and arranged with my employer to do so - then was unable to because of the illness of of child (or, God forbid, my own illness) I would feel truly ashamed.

To find my employer went to a message board to piss and moan about my misfortune would be exceptionally disappointing.

ballsforearrings surely if they had taken a two week break they would have been paid annual leave?

We have some factories that close for 2 weeks and the cleaners there all get paid annual leave for that period.

I think people here are being absolutely ludicrous with OP.
It is really difficult running a business in cleaning. If a cleaner does not show it is the client who is ringing me fuming demanding discounts and goodwill gestures.
I even had a client once who I sent an immigrant stand in cleaner to and got an angry phone call saying "you better not send me any more n***s"
It is very stressful when people let you down for whatever reason.

Callme it's a good thing that this is an anonymous message board then!

The op was trying to do something nice for a couple of her employees and also for a few of her clients. It caused her a bit of hassle but she was ok with it.

As it turned out she isn't doing something nice for one of her employees as the poor woman couldn't work. (Not sure about the other - I guess on the positive side she will be earning more than she thought but on the negative she has presumably had a really tough day.) It's not been great for the clients (as everything took longer than expected). And the op has had a day from hell when she is supposed to be having a more relaxing day. So nobody is happy.

Is she being unreasonable to go "grrrrrrr" on an anonymous message board?

Blatantly not!

No they are part-time and are quite new staff members, I paid them holiday pay for the first week out of kindness, they have not built up their entitlement you see!

CallMeExhausted - why the hecking heck do you think she would find me on here 'pissing and moaning' about her when:-

a) I wasn't at all, I was moaning about the situation which was shit for all parties INCLUDING her colleague who had to struggle without her btw, in case you think its 'all about me' even though it is cos it's my post to moan on! and
b) she has not the slightest interest in going on MN now or ever so why would she 'find' this anonymous post on here and think 'oh dear that must be about me' as you suggest she might do? She wouldn't mind anyway, she doesn't have that 'side' to her at all!

I think your post says much more about your own attitude to your own employer than it does about my good-natured whinge which has transformed into 'pissing and moaning', glad my staff are not like that!

How on earth would you know whether an employee would come on MN "now or ever?" Seems a strange assumption to make

Thank you ralftheraffe and mumoftwo - it is so nice that you understand, i am thinking that some people are just using this thread to hate on their own employers as a lot of it does not seem to be related to anything i have actually said or thought about saying or doing!

Ralftheraffe, we have had to offer freebies to clients when staff let them down too - it's not easy at all, I cannot believe that your client used the 'n' word about your cleaner though - that is truely grim! Well I do believe it's true obviously but wish it wasn't!

WD - because she says she doesn't of course, how else would I know? Good grief!

Well I think YANBU, the situation was entirety predictable for those saying they couldn't predict an ill child, any mother knows we are bang in "every virus going" season and by assuring you of FAMILY childcare to do the additional work they begged for were assuring you that a minor blip wouldn't make them unavailable.

I assume it wasn't like a normal working week as by opening for those 2 OP had no backup from other staff members she could juggle to cover the gap.

Lesson learnt next year close.

They ask for freebies but they do not get them.

When the guy said the n word I drove over to his bar, a very large bar in the city centre and got my stuff and left. I was flanked by his doormen while picking up my stuff which was a bit scary, however I refused his request to send only white cleaners as I did not believe it was reasonable.