To feel my employer are suddenly discriminating because I have a young child?

[Tayo23]

I work for a government dpt where it is not usually commonplace to be able to work from home. On 19th/20th March when the schools closed, I was asked in work if this would impact me in regards to childcare - it does, and I was offered a laptop to work from home which I gratefully took.

At this point all my colleagues (except for a minority shielding or in similar positions) remained in the office every day as there were a lack of laptops for them - it was BAU. I worked remotely from home, with colleagues in the office uploading my (and other remote workers) work. A week later my office closed (a non-critical govt dpt) however I have continued to work from home since then although my colleagues without laptops were not working at all. My partner was furloughed a week or so after my office closed so has been a great help keeping 4yo entertained.

At the end of April my office advised those without laptops must return to the office one day a week on a rota basis to upload, (to maintain social distancing). I was not asked because it was understood I was working from home. Last week they provided everyone in my office (around 80 people) with laptops. I have now been told that because everyone else now has a laptop, I am now too required to work one day a week in the office, and spend the rest of the week working from home.

My partner returns to work next week. I now am in same position as end of March before lockdown re childcare. They are allowing me to take special leave for the one day a week I can’t come into the office, for 4 weeks. After then I have to use annual leave. I have repeatedly stressed I am willing to continue working each day from home. I just simply cannot leave my child at home alone. My partner is unable to get paid leave off and we would struggle without his pay.

AIBU to feel this way, they understood initially and accommodated me which I was extremely grateful for. I have worked each day whilst my colleagues barely have done until now, but now they too have the facilities to work from home, the goalposts have been moved.

I am not happy being told when to take AL when I have not asked for any time off. Do I have a leg to stand on here if I take this higher than my own line manager (who robotically regurgitates things without much compassion or consideration for people’s individual circumstances)

Out of 80 people you're the only one with a child?

OPs partner is going back to work. It's in her posts.

It's probably different in the public sector.
But increasingly in the private sector people are being told to get back to work,or take unpaid leave ,or quit.

Get a colleague to swap with you?

If they're treating you the same as everyone else, that's exactly what discrimination isn't.

I can't believe how many people have absolutely no idea what discrimination is. It isn't treating everyone the same as everyone else, it's ensuring that people with protected characteristics have those taken into account so that their characteristic doesn't disadvantage them.

You do have the right to have something like 10 days throughout your child's childhood, for childcare alone, it's extra to annual leave. You should find out how to arrange to use those if all else fails.

I second the suggestion that you speak to your union. If you're not in one, join one now.

I'm surprised a government dept is this backward tbh. It's the 21st century, the government has a digital agenda, no one who works in a government dept in an office based role should have to go into the office to upload work. I've been working from home for weeks and it's literally the same as in the office except I don't have access to the printers and post. In terms of the work, I have full network access, I thought that was normal for a government office.

Could DP do compressed hours to free him up for childcare one day a week?

It’s ridiculous you can’t access the network from home. I know people working for gov depts who expect to be home for months from now with no issue. As a surprisingly few people have pointed out, treating people equitably is different from treating them the same. As an example, is not discriminatory to put in a lift for a wheelchair user to be able to access an office.
The government has stated those who can work from home, should. Duh you work for them?! As you say some will volunteer to go in once a week. Plenty of people are doing this e.g. younger team member who cycles in to collect post makes more sense than shielding older team member with health issues. I’d be putting some points in writing and forcing them to defend them.

PS that said your partner should pull his weight and adjust hours if necessary. However if he is say a builder and can’t wfh and you can then you should be able to.

Perhaps a visual helps

Actually, you could people without childcare problems were discriminated.

You got a laptop because you had childcare problems. That led to them being furloughed and you not being furloughed.

I dont see why you cant take the 4 weeks. Then take annual leave, and dp also take annual leave and split it between you.

Your employer absolutely can dictate your annual leave and a lot of people are being forced to take it, in week blocks.

Theres only so long they can expect the childless to accept the shit bits. The not being able to WFH, then being furloughed, then being the ones with the responsibility of them travelling in.

Going against the grain here. Your employer should make a reasonable adjustment to support you. The government has closed schools and nurseries and you are prevented from working due to caring responsibilities arising directly from Covid-19.

Hopefully nurseries will open in the next three to four weeks.

Your DP isn't 'helping' you with childcare by the way if it's his child.

I think you're upset that you worked at one stage when others weren't and I get that.

Your employer can direct you to take annual leave if they give you the correct notice.

I don't believe that your DP can't take any paid leave unless he's working offshore or something, he needs to approach his employer too.

Annual leave isn't just for 'going on holiday', sometimes you have to use it for 'life' stuff too. You will have accrued quite a lot of leave if you haven't taken much to date.

And if you're not paying nursery fees, surely the odd day of unpaid leave isn't the end of the world?

I would just use the 4 days that were offered and wait to decide about further arrangements. You child’s nursery may open in 4 weeks.

In normal times is your child usually in childcare? Some nurseries and childminders are opening for non key workers again in a weeks time. You may be able to get a place for when you need to be in the office.

If you don't like the idea of group childcare yet then perhaps a nanny.

How are you going to work from home for the other days though with a 4 year old at home and your DH back at work?

Contact your child's nursery. They may be opening on 1 June or 8 June, in which case you only need to find a solution for one or two weeks.

You cannot work 20% of the time due to childcare issues then. Your company has changed the way of working for you, which impacts on your ability to perform your role. It sounds as if you have proven you are able to wfh. The government expanded furlough to continue parents not able to find childcare. You will now be working and looking after your dc and then 1/5 of the time, you fall into the unable to perform your role category. Of course I’m not suggesting you could be furloughed. However, I think you need Union / legal advice.

Treating everyone in the same way isn’t the same as treating everyone equally if people don’t start on an equal footing. If the others don’t have childcare to consider then then they obviously don’t have the same difficulties in getting into the office as the OP. It is discrimination. However being a parent is not yet a protected characteristic so not sure where you would stand in stating you couldn’t go in.

It’s only one day a week - the first four weeks being covered anyway. Why can’t you take annual leave? I’ve been wfh ft with a young child and have been taking annual leave a day or so a week to cope - focus on her, not have to split my day between stupid o clock and midnight finish, get some breathing space...Yes this is leave I wouldn’t have taken in ‘normal world’ and yes it sucks i won’t have enough left later in the year to go on holiday-holiday - but that’s life, these are not normal times! I really don’t think having to take one day off a week is that bad (or discrimination). And in a months time things could be different, your partner could maybe take the time (would it even need to be a whole day)?

I'm sorry but I think you are being unreasonable. And there is no discrimination. It is you that is "discriminating" - you think your husbands employment is more important than your own ad so your husbands employer (and your husband) shouldn't have to share the burden of having to take time off for childcare. That is unreasonable on many levels. Yes, he may earn more than you - but your employer needs you at work also, and why should every other employee be required to do something that may be equally inconvenient for them, but not you just because you chose to have children and some of them haven't - or some of them can find other ways of managing the situation.

Your employer has offered you an alternative which is entirely reasonable.

Have you discussed the complications with your manager and tried to find a solution? It feels odd for a department bot to be more considerate of individual circumstances.

Would someone else swop to work in the office?
Could you be allowed to remain at home until there was greater clarity about nurseries?
Do others have children, if so what are they doing?

Is it a local requirement or an organisational policy? We’ve had a couple of individual managers imposing their own rules a few times but have been nipped in the bud pretty quickly.

I can’t believe out of 80 people you’re the only one with a child?

I agree with you that it's discrimination. Discrimination isn't just where you don't treat people the same. It also applies where your work doesn't make reasonable adjustments and that means they disproportionately impact you as a woman with a child.

If you're the civil service is have thought there was quite clear intranet guidance on this kind of thing. Could you show it to your manager? Are you in the union? They should be able to help. Or you could try and speak to HR. From what you've said it doesn't seem like there's any reason why they couldn't take you off the coming into the office rota, and just have you down as working full time from home at the moment. It sounds like they were really happy for other people not to work at all but don't like you not working in the exact way everyone else does, which is strange.

How can you work from home effectively and also do childcare?

If you think people would snap the employers hand off, then contact colleagues to for one of them to go in when it's your turn, and present your manager with a solution. But if course you may find that they feel they be covered your share of uploading over r can't weeks and and actually aren't going to be up for continuing.

Otherwise, you are going to have to find childcare for when it's your turn, taking a days leave each time you cannot get in. You need to,start asking round for when nurseries, childminders or someone you would be happy to use as an occasional daytime babysitter start working again.

And your DH needs to take the odd days leave as well (his child too) whilst we all await further changes to lockdown and whilst he and you both look for a solution to the one day a week that needs covering for a while.

One day a week for her and her husband , assuming this goes on for sometime, means they would both need 26 days holiday a year. Dies every employer give that?

And since she and the rest of the office can work from home, by asking people to go in they are breaking guidelines

This is going to be a repeating problem that will affect women disproportionately because of lower wages and societal expectation that they will pick up the childcare