How bad is This number of days off?

[attendance121]

9 days since September 1, what percentage does that work out as?

[attendance121]

I don’t think my 2 year old will tell anyone

[GrapefruitGin]

Is there anyone else who can look after dc?

[GiveHerHellFromUs]

@attendance121 do you have a partner who can phone in 'sick'? Otherwise I'd assume you're heading for a disciplinary fairly soon.

[TakeANote]

That amount of sickness would result in a formal process kicking in in a lot of places. Yes it is very high. Yes you may risk losing your job.

[attendance121]

No, grapefruit, my own mum is dead and PIL are busy.

Dh does do his share but it’s my turn if you like.

I wouldn’t lie normally but things are very tight this month (every month really) and we would miss the mortgage payment if I had to take time off unpaid.

[attendance121]

A disciplinary for 5 days sick, seriously?

[champagneandfromage50]

If your calling to say your sick when it’s your DC that’s ill then 9 days over three occasions since September is a lot of time off. I am assuming you have a meeting about your ‘sickness’? I am also assuming you don’t have a DH around to help when your DC are sick? Might be better to have an open and honest conversation with your boss or you might find you lose your job

[GiveHerHellFromUs]

@attendance121 5 days? 3+4+1=8 at the very minimum. In two months. Your OP says 9.

[adaline]

OP you've lied to your employer in order to get them to pay you to look after your DC when you're sick and now it's probably backfiring on you because it's taken you above the absence threshold.

Sick pay in the workplace is for occasions when the employee is too unwell to attend work - that could be for anything from flu, to cancer treatment, to mental health issues. But it's not there for people to stay home and look after their kids!

[GiveHerHellFromUs]

How many days has DH taken since September?

[Jojo19834]

@attendance121 that is high in such a short period. Were the days here and there or a block? Again, that makes a difference as to how people view it

[PineappleDanish]

No, a disciplinary for saying you're sick when you're not.

[drivingtofrance]

Yes. It is a lot.

[TakeANote]

At ours it is the number of episodes of sickness that is the problem and three in three months would be a first warning (unless it is for something like cancer).

[Dollymixture22]

You need to read your employers absence policy. Inefficiency proceedings can be triggered by either number of days or occurrences or absence.

I would say you have either hit or are very close to a trigger. This using starts a process of warnings and monitoring your absence.

[Ragwort]

It’s a huge amount of time off.

[Teachermaths]

That is a hell of a lot.

How ill are your children? Can dh take time? If he's had equal time off then your child must have been very ill.

[PineappleDanish]

Also I think OP doesn't really understand the unpaid leave thing. Emergency dependents' leave is supposed to give you unpaid time off for as long as it takes to make other arrangements to look after a dependent. Usually a child, but not exclusively a child. It's not about letting parents take as much time as they need unpaid.

The other type of parental leave - also unpaid - has to be booked in advance in blocks of weeks.

[KaptainKaveman]

Yes it is an excessive amount. If you are discovered to have lied you will be in trouble, probably.
Don't underestimate the way children often spill the beans inadvertently.

[Piggywaspushed]

OP, you should have posted this in staffroom as you are going to have more likelihood of fellow teachers commenting than people who don't understand our processes.

Notwithstanding, that's a lot of time off and I don't get how it's your 'turn' if you also did the last one?

How old are both your DCs? Who cares for them during the day? Are they really so ill they can't go to childcare? I think you might be setting up a pattern here, but as I don't know what illnesses we are talking about here, I may be wrong. You are entitles to a certain number of parental days (eg to take them to medical appointments) so you might want to check that policy.

The biggest issue is that you may get parents complaining about frequent absence soon: especially if you are teaching secondary and exam classes.

Don't lie!!

[GiveHerHellFromUs]

@Piggywaspushed the processes for leave in a school aren't different to anywhere else.
Presumably OP also isn't a teacher. I'm guessing she's a TA.

[WaterSheep]

you should have posted this in staffroom as you are going to have more likelihood of fellow teachers commenting

Op doesn't say she's a teacher, she could be a mid day supervisor for all we know.

[YouSawThePlans]

Has your DC had 8 sick days since Sept? That's the only way it makes sense to say your DH takes his turn. Or does your DH not actually take his turn at all?

[rhubarbcrumbles]

We get 3 days to make other arrangements though God only knows what they think those other arrangements will be for a single parents who don't have any of the grandparents able to look after sick children.

[IlsSortLaPlupartAuNuitMostly]

I assume the OP is support staff or possibly TA not a teacher. Just how busy are the DPILs?