To hand in my resignation after parental leave was refused

[Namechangedtoprotect]

I have a disabled school age child and an able body one. The child with disabilities cannot go into standard holiday camps. Dh has to give up work for the summer holidays and misses doing the work that he loves that is seasonal. I put in a request for unpaid parental leave to look after dc. Just had it refused as its a peak time. Every month is a peak time. Would I be unreasonable to hand on my notice so I could be a mother for the summer holiday and then look for contractor work in September? We have savings.

I think it's shocking there are no special grants either to parents of disabled children or direct to suitable childcare providers to level the playing field for holiday and other childcare for disabled children.

If, say, I were a childminder or small holiday club owner able, experienced and qualified to care for a disabled child during the holidays I still wouldn't be able to take on a child needing 1:1 because the grant to providers is only £650 or so per year - not nearly enough to cover not being able to take on more children or employ an assistant.

Disabled children's holiday and after-school care should be subsidised to match the amount charged for same aged non disabled children, surely.

How else can ordinary parents of disabled children work if their children need more expensive childcare due to needing higher ratios?

I assume those who don’t think employers should have to allow this don’t agree with or take maternity leave? After all, an employer has no choice as to when that will be taken and also not a lot of option about how long will be taken off. It’s an absolute financial hit for employers (in a way that other flexible and parental leave requests aren’t). It’s your choice to have a child so you sort it out.

No? But why not? Exactly the same arguments can be thrown at that as at this, in fact it’s worse for employers. Employers can’t say ‘no, you take take maternity leave in July and August, it’s our busiest time’. So - if they can make maternity leave work (which of course they’re forced to by law and I have no doubt that many employers chuntered about it in the same way some posters are on here) they can make all parental leave and other flexible working arrangements work. They could. If they had to.

My employers could make things like flexible working work, but they chose not to (breaking the law in the process) because they value presenteeism and think the law is something other people have to take notice of. Not quite sure how anyone can support that kind of attitude in 2019 but there you go.

I thought there were rules regarding this sort of thing and if employers refused a request for unpaid parental leave they have to say when you can take it ... but may be complicated if you are asking for a lot of time off