To be mad that my husband’s employers are expecting him to carry on as usual?

[VeeJayBee]

Sorry another coronavirus post. I’m a nurse. I’m thankfully on annual leave this week. But next week back in and I work two days and three days a week alternating. My parents in their 70s can no longer no do my childcare. We had a plan in place for other family members to do some childcare meaning my husband (non essential job) only had to do one day a week but he had to make up the hours through the week.

Personally I felt his multi million pound company should, in an effort to support their NHS let him have the day off to look after his two year old while his wife nurse went to work risking health and life to serve the country in this crisis. Now he’ll have to do all the childcare and feels he’ll have to make up his time. How is that even going to be possible? AIBU that I feel his work should accommodate our situation and accept no one in the country/world is currently able to carry on as normal?? I am actually asking as I’ve never worked for a private company and don’t understand the pressure. Thanks.

Look at parental leave - six weeks unpaid per year
Or regular unpaid leave.

To be honest, he shouldn't be being paid to look after his child. He needs to take the time off.

They will need to pay someone else to do his job up to the required hours per week naturally.

If it's only a short fall of a day a week can he not take annual leave? Don't know about you but I'm not sure we'll be having a holiday this year!

Also, if they accommodate your situation, they have to accommodate every key workers situation, government workers, food delivery, families where a parent is self isolating.

We have 3 women at work wfh at the moment who are doing it with toddlers and about 6 others with older children. If we can’t do the correct amount of hours and some core hours (not core hours all it can be a bit flexible) then we have to take unpaid dependent leave. It’s shit but it’s what it is. We have people who’s OH are critical services and our staff work on site away from home and are classed as essential services (pharmaceutical) and they are managing. I wouldn’t like to do it my DS is 10 and easy but to get paid I would find a way.

Covid while I am as critical of capitalism as the next person who is critical of capitalism

I think expecting companies to pay employees with no work will crash the world economies even quicker!

I had to look up furlough and still not sure, what does it mean pls? Like a sabbatical or, paid leave?

DH is a key worker and I am WFH with my DS who has ASD and learning difficulties and is very demanding of my time and attention. My work is very flexible but I do still have to get 7 hours work done a day. I'm getting up at 5am, doing 3 hours before DS gets up and then do 4 hours after DS is in bed at 8pm. DH is coming home exhausted and putting DS to bed while I work. It's not fun, I'm so tired I could cry but I know I'm lucky. Feel for you OP, this whole situation is so hard and we have very little choice, make it work or don't get paid.

And again no fan of capitalism but as these entities start toppling (which they will if this goes on) then the loss of jobs income will really ripple out and make things even worse.

Interesting times indeed.

TF it is tough. Please take care of yourself how you can and your DH too x

My work have been very good actually, we are working from home and they have said for those with young kids, just 'do what you can when you can' and said they'll be flexible with us if we are as flexible as possible with them. For us that translates as try your best and you'll still get paid. They dont expect people to do their full hours around looking after a 2 year old as that is unsustainable, and will surely just lead to burn out if people are trying to fit a full days work into evenings and the weekend. Its under continual review though and they obviously can't go on like that for ever, I think after a few weeks they will have to start reducing pay to reflect reduced hours. It's hard though as it doesn't feel fair to those that have young children

DH and I are both working from home and home schooling a 7 and 11 year old. I work 21 hours a week he works around 40 we are fitting it as and when we can. Both companies accept the difficulties and dont expect it in normal 9-5 but they do expect to get done

You are in 5 days out of 14 that leaves 9 plenty of time to make the hours up. Its awful and its hard but it is what it is

You can’t win OP. I’m an essential worker. DH is private sector and working from home. We’ve technically got a nursery place as although my work is at home it’s extremely busy, time sensitive and, frankly, not suitable for a child to hear. But at the moment we aren’t using it and I fully understand we shouldn’t if there is any alternative. However DH’s company is still expecting long hours and the same productivity - more in fact as people are at home so should be more available.

But seriously you have threads on the one hand shouting at people for just thinking about using childcare and how everyone will just need to sort it out and their work will just have to understand.... on the other people claiming it would be unreasonable for people to expect flexibility if they want to get paid.... it can’t be both.

Unpaid leave is a red herring - 4 weeks max in a year so even if people can afford to take it what do they do after that? And this won’t be over in 4 weeks. Dunno the answer but if you figure it out let me know..

He can take the time as unpaid. You are very unreasonable to expect for them to let him have time off and pay him.

Could you move your days to 2 weekends and 1 weekday, that way he will still need 1 weekday but will cover the weekends? I know it is shit but there is SFA to do on weekends now anyway?

Unpaid leave is a red herring, 4 weeks max in a year so even if people can afford to take it what do they do after that

Sounds like they only need two days a week of unpaid leave so will last a lot longer than 4 weeks.

My company employs 230,000 people. Everyone except branch staff has been working from home for weeks now. We are expected to deliver and look after our children. I have three (one

@DCOkeford by your own argument I also pay my wages.
I’m not dismissive of them at all - I just think that if a nurse needs to go to work (required by law) then someone has to look after our two year old. She can’t go to other fajita members right now so my husband has to do it. If there has to be a choice - which there does have to - would you rather all the people who work for non essential workforces go to work or nurses who will be looking after sick and dying people???

Family not fajita (of course).