What my manager said?

[Dipsandcrisps]

I have gone back to work (off maternity leave) this week and have been told that i cannot work from home unless I put my baby in a nursery, no nursery local to me is taking on any new children and with lockdown they have limited slots as it is. My manager has said I need to go part time (husband is home part of the week and can watch baby) as I cannot work at home if there is no one else there to watch the baby?

Aibu in thinking this would be the norm in pre-covid times and currently a lot of parents are working at home with children in their care? Obviously if we weren’t in the middle of a pandemic my baby would be in a nursery before I went back to work..

So confused with where I stand?

@AbsitivelyPosolutely

To be honest, I'd lie.

How would you explain a crying baby on a call or needing to leave a teams meeting to change an explosive poo nappy?

Employers sometimes get a hard time but a lying employee is just as bad

[quote Ineedsleepzz]@Iamthewombat
@Aprilx

It's just my opinion on the situation.

I genuinely think it's disgusting the way that she has been treated. I'm allowed to have that view.

I work for the Government, which is why I have been treated so well.

I just hope the OP manages to sort things out as I don't think she is being treated fairly. She should be furloughed at the very least. [/quote]

You work for the government?!

Oh jeez

Can you not ask to be furloughed until you can arrange childcare? That way you don't have to lose your hours going part time.
What would you do if you were required to work in the office like many are? You couldn't take the baby with you.

Could you not be furloughed for childcare reasons? I think furlough runs until the end of April and hopefully by then nursery will be sorted. I feel for you, it sounds like you’re having a really hard time fwiw I do think your employers could be more accommodating.

@AbsitivelyPosolutely

To be honest, I'd lie.

Loving the irony here!

Thw world of work has changed so much and although employees are getting tired of being flexible, with schools closed they don't have much change. Since you are coming back from maternity leave they should be more understanding. Can you find out how colleagues are managing? I'm sure you arae not the only person that will be working from home with children around.

I'd explain to them the hours you can work - early mornings, nap time in the afternoon and evenings on two days and three full days. That doesn't seems too bad.

Otherwise a few people have mentioned furlough due to childcare reasons which seems like a good comprimise at least for the two days.

So overall you are not being unreasonable. i hope you can find a compromise wth them.

@RosesAndHellebores

Ask to be flexible furloughed for childcare reasons. This is a non issue.

Not in her employer refuses the furlough request.

@Fifthtimelucky 🤣😉

Loving the irony here!

Exactly @Fifthtimelucky

Never trust anyone who starts a sentence with "To be honest", if you never lie you have no need to say that.

From Ineedsleepzzz, who is horrified that any poster might consider it reasonable of an employer to expect an employee to work rather than look after a baby (and who, coincidentally, is just finishing maternity leave):

I genuinely think it's disgusting the way that she has been treated. I'm allowed to have that view.

Who said that you weren’t? However, encouraging the OP to be untruthful with her employer goes a bit beyond ‘holding a view’, doesn’t it?

I work for the Government, which is why I have been treated so well.

Christ. This is what all the tax is paying for. People like Ineedsleepzzz doing made up jobs where their line managers tell them that it’s OK to ‘do very little work’ because they are looking after a baby at the same time.

@DareIask sums it up well:

*You work for the government?! It

Oh jeez

Of course, we now know why Ineedsleepzzz reacted so badly, upthread, to a PP noting the idiocy of people expecting employers to act as a version of social services. A bit too close to the truth, eh?

I would ask to he furloughed until the nursery opens back up. If that didn't work then I'd go part time temporarily.

I’m not sure they can leave OP pout of pocket for a situation that is beyond her control? If she were in work they couldn’t suddenly say “you have no childcare we aren’t paying you”? Surely.

I think you need a phone call to ACAS.

[quote Ineedsleepzz]@Iamthewombat
@Aprilx

It's just my opinion on the situation.

I genuinely think it's disgusting the way that she has been treated. I'm allowed to have that view.

I work for the Government, which is why I have been treated so well.

I just hope the OP manages to sort things out as I don't think she is being treated fairly. She should be furloughed at the very least. [/quote]
But it really isn’t disgusting. It is normal for employers to want five days work if they are paying five days pay. This employer has kindly agreed that they can go part time whilst there is no childcare available, they didn’t need to offer that, they could have terminated. I gather that there was an option of alternative hours and I have not seen the OP say they have refused to furlough for childcare reasons.

Your working in government perhaps explains why you do not understand commercial considerations made by businesses. As a tax payer I am pretty angry that you are being paid to do nothing.

I’d also ask about furlough.

Next, call your council and ask for details of all registered childminders near you.

I’d also look at a babysitting agency like Sitters. You pay a membership fee and then pay the babysitter around £9 an hour, but really you’d just need 11-3 twice a week right?

Usual mn indignation,froth,well you think they’d.. and batshit advice
You cannot competently work with a baby at home,it’s not unreasonable of employer to say this. It really isn’t. You won’t have full attention or participation
As for the easy-ozy when I’m at home yes my employer (the government) said do some work,do no work,whatever works for you..that individual manager may be lackadaisical but it’ll not be the hr policy. The whatevs home working policy

Older kids at home whilst you WFH is one thing, but really it's completely impractical to look after a baby whilst simultaneously working from home. However given the circumstances maybe your boss could agree a full-time contract with you but with flexi-working so you can catch up on work in the evenings?

You can't work around a baby. Fair enough if schools are shut and school age children are home, that's outside parents control. But the average 5 year old can understand to be quiet when you're on the phone, to wait another half hour for food because you've got a zoom meeting etc. A baby generally cannot. And nurseries are open. It's not possible for 99pc of people with a baby to work. Most babies need entertained and watched constantly, fed frequently etc. They can't really make an exception for you because your baby is a bit easier.

Ok, so potential options:

• Do you have an HR department? Might be worth a call to them to ask if they have any procedures in place to support working parents. Could your role technically be done at any time? I know that some have to be done in set hours, but if not I think it’s reasonable to hope for them to accommodate you.
• Take annual leave for the 2 days a week- have you accrued some whilst on maternity? I had loads to take at the end of my leave. Hopefully a nursery place will open up soon, so this is a temporary solution. You could ask your husband to take a few days too, so that you’re not the only one ‘losing out’.
• Ask to be furloughed for childcare reasons, or go in part time furlough to cover the 2 days.

Op to clarify you’re actually office based As you say “those two days I’d like to work from home”. So your request is to work from home two days a week so you can care for your baby and the manager has said no, you’d need to go part time?

If this is the case, as hard as it is, I think this is reasonable. Shitty though.

I would suggest a compromise. Work full time while your partner is at home looking after your baby. Work part time when you're looking after your baby.

Unfortunately, "baby can play while I work" is a rose tinted view. It just isn't reality... I'm currently working 50% of my hours because there's been a covid case at nursery and I have no other childcare options. My toddler wants me to play, wants a snack, wants a cuddle, wants to engage when I'm on the phone, etc. Back in the first lockdown when he was a year younger it was even more difficult.

I catch up in the morning before DH starts work, during nap time and after DH has finished work. There's no way I could properly work full time hours so I've taken a half day of annual leave for each day of nursery closure.

Some of my work covers HR and we understand that the pandemic is an unusual situation. We ask parents to do their best, however they are asked to change their hours if it's clear they can't focus on work while caring for children (particularly relevant with younger children). Changing hours doesn't necessarily mean a reduction in hours or pay, it could just mean flexi time to catch up in the early morning/evening if necessary.

Sorry it is not sustainable. Baby behaviour changes week on week, a content immobile baby this week can be a needy mobile one next. Is pt furlough an option for the days your dh works? Or use accrued leave to take as al?

She can’t force you to work part time resulting in a reduction of your hours and your pay.
You can insist on being furloughed for the part of the week your child isn’t in nursery and your partner can’t help with childcare.
At least that way you’ll get 100% of your pay on the days you can go into work and 80% pay for the days you don’t have childcare.

Please see the link below which explains your rights

www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2020/04/employed-help-coronavirus-furlough/#kids

Please don’t accept going “part time” instead of being furloughed as it leaves you in a precarious position where your employer is not obliged to increase your hours again after lockdown if you have accepted part time hours.
If you’re part furloughed you’ll still be classed as a full time employee and your work contract will remain unchanged after the pandemic.

Also to note, they cannot refuse a request for furlough based on childcare issues due to lockdown.
The days you are furloughed don’t have to be a set routine either... you can change them week to week and can be furloughed for as little as an hour if that’s what you need.

I understand not being able to work properly whilst looking after a baby. I understand why it's not acceptable to an employer.

What I don't understand about this discussion is all the people telling the OP that there are definitely nurseries availability and there are definitely childminders available. None of us have any idea if that's the case. Presumably if you live in or near a large city you have dozens of nurseries to try, and hundreds of childminders. Where I live there are two nurseries within reasonable travelling distance and about a dozen childminders, most of whom aren't currently working. I don't think some people realise just how difficult it can be to find childcare. Mine are beyond that age now, but I found it incredibly difficult to find a childminder when mine were younger, even in normal times.

I don't know what the answer is but I can't get my head around saying 'why don't you just use a nursery' to someone who has explained already that they are on the waiting list for all the available nurseries.

@SpongebobNoPants

She can’t force you to work part time resulting in a reduction of your hours and your pay. You can insist on being furloughed for the part of the week your child isn’t in nursery and your partner can’t help with childcare. At least that way you’ll get 100% of your pay on the days you can go into work and 80% pay for the days you don’t have childcare.

Please see the link below which explains your rights

www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2020/04/employed-help-coronavirus-furlough/#kids

Please don’t accept going “part time” instead of being furloughed as it leaves you in a precarious position where your employer is not obliged to increase your hours again after lockdown if you have accepted part time hours.
If you’re part furloughed you’ll still be classed as a full time employee and your work contract will remain unchanged after the pandemic.

I agree that OP should ask about flexible furlough, however your link confirms that an employee cannot insist upon it, it is the employers decision.

The employer certainly cannot force OP to go part time, but I think you are looking at it the wrong way, because the other option is to terminate the employment altogether. The part time offer is a positive concession not a threat, they could contract for it a temporary arrangement.

Oh OP that’s rough! You had looked at nursery’s secured a place then they withdrew it! I would be so stressed in that situation.

It is very hard to work with a small baby at home, so I sort of see where you boss is coming from but none of that is your fault.

Personally I would be jumping for joy as I wanted part time work but i understand this isn’t everyone’s ideal situation.

Is your job one where you can flexi your hours? Make some up on weekends / evenings etc? Could you put a proposal together for your boss for potential hours vs childcare plan?