to think that so many public organisations forget people work?

[cricketballs]

Just to set the scene as to our lives; both DH and I work FT. I teach, DH skilled worker (often has to work away) and we have DS2, 15, who has MLD & ASD.

so, in the space of 5 working days we have had 3 day notice of an interview af SEN college that parents have to attend (which I did, but was left outside as they wanted to talk to DS2 on his own!
A shitty toned letter from Chamhs about the fact we have not taken up a parent course that takes place 1 day a week over 6 weeks (middle of the day) and then finally came home to a letter from DWP that as I completed a form sent to us stating that as DS2 is not capable, when he is 16 I will continue to act on his behalf they need to do a home visit in 3 days time - this home visit will take place between 9am - 5pm! For some reason they couldn't work out that he will be at school therefore he nor I will be waiting in all day. Had to leave a message on their voice mail to say I would not be keeping him off school and they need to arrange for school holidays.

We work, DS2 goes to school - why is that so difficult to comprehend? rant over

I agree but then we need to stop complain g if services are not available when we want them. We can't have everything.

Tube drivers and Gps are paid a fortune to work unsociable hours. That is how they manage.

government bureaucracies should serve the people, not their employees.

Actually, employers of any kind have a duty of care to their employees, regardless of sector. Some people on this thread would do well to remember that public sector workers are not drones but people same as them. Its not possible to have 24/7 public services without paying through the nose for it (and funnily enough people dont seem to fancy that).

And nurseries open till 11pm? Thats awful.Surely we're not heading into a time where children cant sleep in their own beds because their parents are too busy working?

Actually, employers of any kind have a duty of care to their employees, regardless of sector. Some people on this thread would do well to remember that public sector workers are not drones but people same as them. Its not possible to have 24/7 public services without paying through the nose for it (and funnily enough people dont seem to fancy that).

that's great, but i don't see anyone who advocated any of that.

keepitsimple0
"government bureaucracies should serve the people, not their employees."

So you would be happy to double the size of the bureaucratic workforce?

As has been pp its not as simple as moving hours around, you would have to have an early shift and an afternoon shift.
Double the people to keep places open double the time, various people moan and whine loudly enough about the number of people in public services, I can't see them being happy with more taxation and more public servants.

Wantsunshine

Are the nurseries state or private? do they have the same staff on all day?

googoodolly Sun 01-Mar-15 17:54:12
Most people who work shifts have a partner in "regular" hours, lots of family help OR (like doctors) earn enough money that weekend/evening childcare isn't an issue.

Rotating shift patterns often make childcare impossible unless you have a lot of support or someone is a SAHP.

Where is your evidence for this statement? I have about 400 staff, all work shifts on a rotating pattern, often their partner is in the same job (so not working regular hours). They don't earn what a Doctor does (nor do I ) but the majority of them have children, they manage childcare in a combination of ways, working opposite shifts to partner, one or both being part-time, family, friends, nursery, childminder, au pairs, nanny, live out nanny, nanny share etc.

There are over 20,000 in my industry who work shifts that have to cover 24/7 365 days a year, and we need to be there for all of those hours to serve the public. Childcare is difficult but certainly not impossible.

So you would be happy to double the size of the bureaucratic workforce?

as stated repeatedly, somehow tube drivers, GPs and private companies cope fairly easily.

keepitsimple0

Tube drivers and private companies have shift workers.

If you are advocating shift work you are advocating more people doing the job.

The GPs round here work part time and have locums. I haven't seen a Doctor work out of hours for ages.

Where are all these people who have to change their working hours going to find childcare? Nurseries don't stay open past 6pm or open at weekends, or are the nursey workers going to have to start working odd hours too?

I don't work but DH does. I have lots and lots of hospital appoitments and admissions that 9 times out of 10 I can't attend on my own. DH doesn't moan and groan, he just takes the day off or goes in late!

If it's any consolation clam I have had exactly the same happen to me.

You cant have read the thread very closely then simple.

keepitSimple - when I did my job in private industry I was paid buckets of money to provide out of hours work. That money in public sector comes out of your pocket.
Talk about aptly named.

How about if it doesnt suit you...why dont YOU get a different job that is outside of these hours and then you can attend all appointments when suits you ?

I manage to work full time hours from 5pm-midnight 4 nights a week and then either 10-5 or 5-midnight on both saturday and sunday everyweek...im available in the day to attend appointments and to provide the childcare for my ds. However because of this we should change all public events to daytime hours....because i miss out on all the evening and weekend actvities that are held in the area (fireworks displays. santa arriving etc etc)

You cant please everyone so therefore i think YABU

YANBU to want more notice but YABU to expect all the people who provide those appointments to fit in with you. Are you saying that everyone who works in the public sector should be forced to work evenings and weekends only? What about their children?

My DH and I are both public sector shift workers 24/7. We have DC. We have to manage without any help from family because we live hundreds of miles away from our families.

But it is hard.

My DH works 12 hour shifts FT. I work 8 hour shifts but I work part time. We work each other's days off and we can literally go for months without spending a single day off together. In many respects our marriage has been reduced to two people sharing a house. I am constantly under pressure from my employer to increase my working hours but i can't do it.

The only child care options that could come close to meeting our needs would be an au pair or nanny. They would have to be prepared to work upwards of 10 hours on the days they were needed and they would have to be prepared to sometimes start work as early as 5am or finish at least as late as 1am. And the days we would need childcare would change every week, the hours we would need childcare would be different on every one of those days. I don't imagine it would be easy to find people willing to accommodate our needs.

That's all academic anyway because we don't have enough room for an au pair and we couldn't afford a nanny.

I certainly couldn't recommend it as a way to live your life.

when I did my job in private industry I was paid buckets of money to provide out of hours work. That money in public sector comes out of your pocket.

what law says this is the case? in any case, yes, if you want a public service to be more responsive, you need to recognize 9-5 won't cut it. that might mean the service will cost more.

frankly, i don't buy any argument that says these services are special, unlike pretty much every other service, and simply can't be done. that's just ridiculous.

YABU. Public sector worker here. The general public don't seem to be able to think through consequences. You want shift work? We are moving to that and guess what, people still whinge! "You didn't answer my call at 10 am on Monday!" If you're dealing with one public sector worker (e.g. your social worker), you're probably the one who complains that I am not available, no matter what time I am and am not available.

Finally! Yes the service will cost more is the point.
Have you seen what's happening to local government budgets? Slashed by millions and millions with the promise of more cuts under a second Conservative administration. Services costing more is not an option.