Not paying for childcare this autumn as bills go up

[Essenceandvibes]

I've just had an epiphany.....I absolutely won't be paying a penny for childcare this autumn as bills increase and I won't be made to feel guilty about it either. I can work from home and watch my baby and pick up my 10 year old from school without the assistance of anyone else and if my employer has an issue with it, he can pay an extra £2000 per month post tax to cover the cost of full time help.

Our bills are going to be about £800 a month just electricity and gas alone for our detached 4 bed house, this isn't even thinking about the increase of petrol or groceries.

The mortgage has also gone up a few hundred quid too....childcare and commuting is now a luxury not necessity and I really hope every parent joins me in asking for employers like it or lump it

Shameful the government have let everything get this far, the knock on effects will be huge

Yes the staff are qualified, but you don't really think the extortionate amounts are going to them?

Its a very difficult sector to make the sums add up for. Ratios are high, insurance is huge. Business owners aren't making big bucks either. The only real way to bring costs down are government subsidies.

I think that poster might spend the rest of her time shaving her knuckles

I have dismissed 2 employees for exactly this, this week. It is gross misconduct and specifically forbidden in our WFH policy. We summarily dismiss anyone found out doing it.

Because it's not "minor", it's gross misconduct

Looks as though she got banned. Twice.

How did you find out they were doing it?

Should you be working right now?

I think posters are pointing out that you can be fired for doing this @FinneusMum

Nursery is expensive but why would you want a baby/toddler to be cooped up at home all day, week after week being ignored while you work??

What I can't quite fathom is why someone who only needs to work a couple of hours a day thanks to a legacy income, thinks that not only do they have anything useful to contribute to the topic but also the right to patronise anyone who disagrees with them.

I was trying to be more polite about it, especially when OP revealed what her job is, but yes.

P45 ... 3,2,1....

There is no way an employer will hire a woman with small children to do a job if she is expecting to be looking after her kids "whilst working". It's totally unrealistic to think you can get away with this, not to mention immoral. Yes employers try to be flexible, but this means allowing shorter/flexible hours, not continual distractions/lack of focus. How do you think people managed before Covid? Did you think you could just pocket the decrease in your outgoings forever? You are presumably not even being serious?

In one of you posts @FinneusMum you said people need to open their minds and not tell the OP it’s impossible and she could be fired.

Yep. I'd much rather pay someone so my baby has someone paying full attention to her and providing stimulation and activities etc, than her getting my half hearted attention here and there in between work tasks.

OP as someone who has built their career and own personal wealth on the basis of a career that is the ultimate in capitalist exploitation and manipulation of Han psychology you have, well, very little credibility as the leader of the revolution to protect your seo generated gains.

I shall stick with Mick Lynch methinks.

I assumed I'd missed that part. It was the SEO/PPC/ads part I was thinking of. It's flexible and not hugely difficult. I can well believe she doesn't need to work many hours to do it. But a lot of jobs aren't like that so it's not very helpful as a battle cry.

There are many posters here who don't seem to fathom the idea that not all jobs are the same, not all workplaces are the same and not all children are the same.

OP (in their many guises) for one.

There is a huge amount of privilege in this thread. Someone with very good financial security, in a very desirable role (so less likely to be fired, and if she is it doesn't matter so much), chatising others who are not in a similar position to do something that is against the terms of their employment (if they are even able) and suggesting that if they don't they are accepting status quo and consenting to the current state of affairs.

@FinneusMum

She was referring to the OP not you