Asking employer to cover childcare costs

[Totupthenumberspls]

I’ve been asked to go on a business trip for a week, is it unreasonable to ask the company to pay the incremental childcare costs?

I can't imagine they'll pay you for childcare but you won't know unless you ask. I definitely would be asking if it was totally necessary for it to be you that goes because you said you don't need to be there but again, they'll probably say that's in your contract.
Just ask them. They'll either say yes or no!

Short- term, yes. Long term absolutely NO, for you, and for all of us women out there. When I returned to work after having children, it cost me 70% of my salary. Long term- I got a brilliant senior job, and proved to all that getting organised and mixing a senior job with having children, is possible. We had to get outside help, of course, as no close parents and OH's job truly inflexible, however supportive and brilliant a dad he is.

I think there is no harm in asking. £300 to your employer is nothing in the grand scheme of things.

Gone are the days of companies pulling out bits of paper (contracts) and demanding staff follow things to the letter, but not offering any flexibility on their part.

If this was my employer I would have no qualms in asking, and they probably would agree. But they value their work force and would rather retain happy motivated employees, as they know they get more value from us that treating us as bums on seats with rigid contracts.

For example my contract states my place of work is the HQ 9 to 5, there agile working policy states I should work where it’s the most productive to be, and 9-5 is a guide! It even says I can do the school run etc if it doesn’t negatively impact my work and I can continue to meet client commitments

Did your employer give birth to or father your child?

I used to work in a job where I needed to occasionally travel, I then had children and moved jobs so that my work suited my lifestyle choices. My husband did the same.

By all means ask @Totupthenumberspls or ask if it’s possible to not do the trip. However, it isn’t the organisation’s responsibility to pay for this.

Be interesting to see what the result is, let us know.

No, I have to pay up for pet sitters (hundreds) when I go away. Do you think they should expense that? Where would it end? It’s in your contract suck it up

The OP shouldn't be asking for childcare costs, the OP's partner should ask for time off/flexible hours to cover the gap.

Even if the employer were to pay the childcare, can the OP even get it - a lot of people struggle to find childcare these days, especially at short notice. Much easier for the dad to do his bit.

Thats a good and very valid point.

Trouble is there is already a load negativity against women in the workplace, with maternity leaves etc (as you say) but mat leave is a medical requirement

Should the company pay for pet care, or any other life choices, maybe I need a snake handler to look after my snakes while I go away for 10 days? What about my plants that need watering? And then theres the weekly volunteering I do at my local food bank, can they pay someone to take my place?

i dont know the answer, but personally I dont think the company should pay costs except for the actual travel costs.

You really can't compare pets and children. Pets are a hobby.

And then theres the weekly volunteering I do at my local food bank, can they pay someone to take my place

not pay, but they might send a different employee!

Pets are a choice as are children.

What I mean is they shouldn’t have to pay for costs incurred due to your lifestyle choices. All costs, taxis, flights, food etc yes but where would adding childcare costs end? People with kids would get even less desirable to employers

Im a bit dumbfounded that you think you are fighting the cause for women. You state yourself a mother would be expected to pick up the slack if it were the father going away, so why doesnt your childs father step up in the same way? Are you not surely just confirming that dad shouldnt have to go out his way to ensure his children are looked after in the absense of the "primary parent" by demanding payment for childcare? Staggering. Equality starts at home OP.

Further, if your OH needs additional wrap around care for the children to enable him to work, then those costs are his, not yours.

OK.

I can remember a colleague calling in sick on a Monday because she’d got sunburnt over the weekend. I didn’t consider myself punished for her choosing not to wear suncream, I just accepted that sometimes life isn’t quite ‘fair’ and that perhaps in time I might benefit from some of that unfairness.

Even if you don’t have children or pets you might well need allowances made for dependents in the future.

If it's in your contract then there's not really a lot you can do. It's lucky for you they've not needed you to do it before and hopefully it won't be a regular thing.

This is just one of the many costs of having children I'm afraid. We get some things such as parental leave, maternity/paternity leave and so on but it is unrealistic to expect an employer to cover all costs that you have as a result of having children and doing your job. Some things it's just flat out your problem to sort out, to be blunt.

It's a pain in the arse and hassle you could well do without but much as you seem to hate being told this, it's just something you're going to have to fork out for because you're a parent and kids cost money.

As for why should your partner be inconvenienced? Again, that's part of being a) a parent and b) in a relationship. You have children to take care of and a partner to work with. One of you needs the other to take on a little more from time to time. You're more fortunate than, for example, a single parent or a parent whose partner is in the armed forces and deployed.

If your contract made no mention of travel, then I would say ask them.

but you accepted the role with the possibility of travel at some point. Whether or not you had children at the time of accepting is by the by. When you had children this is the time to revisit your contract. If it mentions that you may need to travel then they are within their right to ask you to travel. You are not within your right to ask them to cover your childcare cost as you accepted the job as it was. It sucks but you just have to do it. Look for a job with no mention of travel if you don’t want to have to go away anywhere. Also consider the impact on your career if you don’t go?

You said originally it’s a week so presumable 5 working days. How is that £300? You then say ten days but i assume that’s including the weekends? Or is the trip longer now? I don’t think 5 days for your husband to cover is unreasonable when you do it all the time.

I really dislike the accusations that the OP is destroying feminism by making a personal request. It’s a personal request between one person and their manager, not a public campaign to change a law.

Agree - I didn't make that point at all. OP isn't personally responsible for the challenges women may face in the workplace!

My friend had her childcare paid for by the company - she was asked to come in on her non-working day for an important meeting and conference.

If your contract says travel when required then you're agreeing to those terms and no, they're unlikely to cover your childcare costs.

If you couldn't or wouldn't agree to travel for this reason, the time to negotiate was at initial employment.

Completely different. She was never contracted to work that day.

OP is being asked to work within the bounds of her contract.

In my workplace we wouldn't (couldn't) pay for childcare in that scenario either. We would request a colleague to change a day - if they couldn't, we'd accept that, no problem.

But actually if they’re asking you to work on those weekends then they should be paying you for them (adding to my point above about the days you’re away)

I think it's fair enough to ask. Presumably if you had a gig/theatre tickets etc booked during the week of travel and it was non-refundable you'd get reimbursed for that ? So why not ask for childcare costs? It's an extra expense you are incurring to be able to travel on business so I think it's fine to ask.

a friend of mine used to travel frequently with work and sometimes at the drop of a hat and he would get all his expenses paid for. Once he had to cancel a weekend trip to Paris and got his Eurostar ticket reimbursed and hotel costs reimbursed too as well as the ticket of the friend he was going with as the friend decided not to travel!

how are you getting reimbursed for your time abroad? Are you getting any time off in lieu?

I haven't read every reply because it depressed me to see so many people coming out in favour of 'the business'. The one question that I can't get out of my head is why more men don't ask for help with additional childcare costs when they have to go away? They don't appear to be given such a hard time because, oh wait, there's a woman at home to do it and it's her job. You also see a fair few of these woman on MN complaining that they've been left alone to do everything... again. Wouldn't it be nice if these men appreciated the additional work created for the women in their lives and sought recompense from their employer for the effects their employment practices have on their ability to parent effectively. Oh wait, that's what women are for, to save employers money. You shouldn't be out of pocket merely for doing your job and some employers recognise this. Some even, shock horror, go so far as to support people who have adult caring responsibilities not just children.

I don't work on Fridays, I was asked to travel to an all day meeting on a Friday last year. My childminder sent me an invoice for an extra day, I included it in my expenses and my company paid it.

That's how it works for every additional cost where I work, other than basic commuting. I don't see any reason why someone should be out of pocket for a work trip.