To insist my staff have childcare in place?

[willandgrace]

Several of the staff I manage have young kids, we've supported them all year to WFH with kids at home. We are still primarily working from home but as schools/childcare are now open I have said that people need to have appropriate childcare in place while working from home, the same as they would have if they were office based (as they all were previously) - some of the staff are not happy about this but AIBU?

I WFH and colleagues with young kids work part-time & then don’t get enough work done on their working days. Then it falls on others to get it done. I understand childcare is hugely expensive but surely they should consider this before having children or applying for a job.

@ChelleMum85 your attitude is appalling! I bet you work on the "helpline" too don't you? The DWP make life a living hell for millions in this country, taste of your own medicine is bitter is it? How about use less excuses as the rest of us get no allowances from you lot

No one is expecting people to put their work above their children.

Yeah actually, lots of employers expected just that when all the childcare was closed. It was pretty awful.

@Namechanging66

I WFH and colleagues with young kids work part-time & then don’t get enough work done on their working days. Then it falls on others to get it done. I understand childcare is hugely expensive but surely they should consider this before having children or applying for a job.

The problem atm isn’t simply the cost of childcare.

It’s lack of availability

Very difficult situation all round where I was working they give everyone with children an extra 2 weeks holidays and loads of flexibility. However the burden shifted to the rest of them team and caused lots of resentment...it’s a mess

@saffy2 firstly your sweeping generalisation isn’t true. They’ve been allowed to open but doesn’t mean they have all stayed open.

Secondly, there are many reasons that it would not be in the best interests of a pre-school age child to split their time across several childcare settings and I find it a bit worrying that you work in early years and believe that this would would be an acceptable solution for young children who’s early relationships and attachments are so crucial to their development. Not to mention children with additional needs and the risk of spreading covid between several settings.

Essentially sooner rather than later we need staff working their hours,fully,not looking after children
We will be reasonable,they can have unpaid leave,flexible hours etc ,but we won’t be paying for hours that are not being worked
That may sound harsh but we need to keep the business going or we will all lose our jobs which won’t be good for anyone (me included )

We lost our childcare when DDs nursery got two cases one right after the other in early December and the nursery closed down until the new year.

New year arrived, more positive cases and our nursery decided to not open as they were worried about risks to their own health. The majority of staff were over 55, so completely reasonable. They later offered 2 days a week part time which we just couldn't manage.

However, this left us with a gaping hole in childcare and the only nursery with spaces operated 8-3, and not school holidays, hardly ideal.

We tried a week with a childminder and DD came back with a bruise on her cheek the first day and then after a two days asked to not go back because the boys had hit her with a toy car. Where the CM was during this we have no idea.

So. We took the space with the nursery offering the shorter days. Thankfully my employer has been spot on and totally understanding and even offered financial help with the costs.

If I'd an employer who wasn't flexible or understanding I really don't know what we'd have done. It wasn't our fault or decision but we didn't have any other options. Employers adding to that stress by making demands that are totally outside of our control are very unreasonable.

Wow so many more responses - I have rethought my approach (& actually written down a few of the excellent phrases people have used on this thread)
@ChelleMum85 why on earth would I pay for staff childcare? There’s being flexible and then there’s that! If your husbands hours have gone up presumably his pay has accordingly! & yes of course I paid for childcare when my kids were small I factored it into having kids

It’s not unreasonable to ask how staff intend to meet their contractual obligations but it seems unreasonable to impose blanket childcare arrangements just now, partly because childcare isn’t as easy to come by in lockdown and partly because all children/families work differently. Some staff might be able to work all their hours 7-11am and 6-10pm with a combination of kids being asleep/napping/occupying themselves/screen time/families helping out to allow the parent to work — whereas this might not work at all for another family. If it works, the proof will be in their productivity.

I do think it’s worth being understanding and for both sides to demonstrate goodwill as we are, after all, a crisis situation — a lot of parents are very stressed trying to balance work and children, and a lot of employers are very worried about their businesses.

Clarity is probably the answer — be direct that you see homeworking chez kids as an interlude in your working lives, and this level of flexibility is a short term arrangement. You can set the expectation that organised childcare during working hours is required for your employees post lockdown. With this set, you then have leeway to be accommodating for one-offs, illness, where bubbles close and kids have to isolate etc.

Early years settings run as normal
Teenagers can look after themselves

It's the primary aged kids which are a problem during school holidays

Holiday clubs still closed. Lots of grandparents are not willing or shielding right now

We're starting to get back to normal but a few more months of leniency would be appreciated

Yanbu unless they are post 11, or can demonstrate how it will work. Nobody should expect to be paid to work whilst they look after their children in practice. Unless there is a lockdown, obviously , or they can show that they can work different hours from their partners, and that works with the requirements of the role. In normal conditions it's impossible to combine both. I would probably be inclined to be flexible over the summer holidays if at all possible, as that helps staff and also staff retention. Both are important.

This thread is shocking. They call the millennials entitled, but they've clearly missed this.

Of course it's reasonable for OP to expect childcare. And the quality of work to remain. Which she says has dropped.

Of course it's reasonable for OP to expect childcare. And the quality of work to remain. Which she says has dropped

It's reasonable for the op to expect the quality of work to remain the same.
It's reasonable for the op to expect the number of work hours expected to be completed.
It's reasonable for the op to expect the worker to be available without interruption at key times.
It's reasonable for the op to expect the same amount of work to be completed as it was pre covid.

It is not reasonable for the op to dictate family arrangements / including child care arrangements, which take place in the workers own home.

@orangegina

Early years settings run as normal Teenagers can look after themselves

It's the primary aged kids which are a problem during school holidays

Holiday clubs still closed. Lots of grandparents are not willing or shielding right now

We're starting to get back to normal but a few more months of leniency would be appreciated

My primary kids haven't been a problem. If they were infants maybe.

@Oblomov21...a lot of us here probably are millennials TBF given the age bracket

Of course it's reasonable for OP to expect childcare.

Employers can expect all they want, but when it’s not available their choices are to compromise with their workforce (rather than the blanket rule the op suggested first) or get rid of all who can’t access childcare atm, which is hardly going to help business.

YANBU. Being people back in the office as no-one should be sheilding anymore.
Problem solved. Grandparents have all had jabs and everyone can now access a COVID test. I am a teacher and have had to work throughout this, people need to stop expecting to have their cake and eat it.
Full-time work and children at home to save money? Jog on.

*bring... autocorrect!

Grandparents have all had jabs

Oooh brilliant, where can I access a grandparent? Do you have to order them in advance or is it like a drop-in thing?

Our boss has allowed us to change our working hours to fit in with childcare. It no easy task working from home & he understands that & values his staff enough to allow people to work around their situation.

We are usually a 9 -5.30 organisation & so are our customers but needs must at the minute.

If having children around is affecting their work then you need to work with that staff member to find a solution but a blanket ‘you must have childcare’ seems OTT.

But our bosses are really understanding & flexible & in return they get a very committed work force who will go above and beyond if needed.

@coronafiona

‘There is a huge difference between wfh and homeschooling, and wfh while kids play or watch tv though.’

100%!!

@ThatWouldBeEnough

‘ As I said. Manage output; don’t add in stringent rules that can either be worked around or don’t make sense’

This is exactly my point - just worry about the output, the rest is irrelevant.

Can’t they find other ways of completing their expected workload without other staff having to cover it? Like flexible hours etc. I think it’s reasonable that parents have their kids at home but not really reasonable that other staff are picking up their work for them.

@MysticMeggy you’re just bitter that you weren’t able to do it