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?

It's not outside your contracted hours if travel is in your contract.

Your partner is expected to cover the same way like the wifes are.
Equality innit

But you aren't explaining why you will have extra costs.......why can't your DH take on some additional responsibility?

If only your child had a father who could look after them during this time. Then there would be no need to incur an additional £300 expense...

Oh wait...

You think it's a better solution that your children stay in childcare longer and your work pay - than asking their dad to bother to pick them up (when you say he absolutely can?).

Just out if interest - I work for the NHS and regularly get kept really late as i can't just leave if there's not enough staff - should the NHS pay my extra childcare if my DH can't be bothered to pick up the DC?

@Reugny im not saying I’m being discriminated against, I don’t know why you keep banging on with that one.
my partner and I don’t work the same hours hence it’s not easy for him just to cover me for a week.

Your experience is common and I understand why you had to make those choices, but to OP's credit if you don't challenge a situation that seems unfair nothing will change.
Saying "I had to live with it, so you should too" is not the way forward.

For them it wasn't worth you doing it.

It happens.

If everyone was sick, there was no one else they could ask, couldn't get in an agency worker and they couldn't manage short staffed they would pay it.

That's a very different thing altogether to what OP is complaining about though.

Exactly, it's cringeworthy. Unfair to women without children too unless they get some expenses covered to the equivalent

my partner and I don’t work the same hours hence it’s not easy for him just to cover me for a week.

Not easy...or impossible?

It's not easy when me or DH work away as It does mean moving things around and more juggling but that's part of being a parent.
Sounds like your DH needs to be a bot more flexible.

Yes, that’s right. Men wouldn’t ask because their partners would cover.

Just as your partner should cover.

Genuinely surprised that you can’t see that you are reinforcing the stereotype that childcare is a woman’s job. If you think you stand for women and equality, then this is not the way to do it.

Do they pay for a cattery, a kennel or a housesitter?

But you said upthread 'their wives would cover it'.....

The problem is it seems to be ingrained in you, and your husband, that the default parent is the mother. Why?

That's the problem as far as I've got to on the thread. You're blaming your company, who are covered by their contract, which you signed, rather than the fact you and your husband don't think he should be inconvenienced in any way by his own children.

He decided to have children with a woman whose job includes travel for work. So he can't be shocked that for one fortnight in 8 years he needs to tweak his hours?!

Fine it may not be easy but that’s being a parent.

You say you do 50:50 but that seems highly unlikely. Heaven forbid your DP is inconvenienced for a week to support your career

my partner and I don’t work the same hours hence it’s not easy for him just to cover me for a week.

Actually means - He won't even bother to try and change his working hours to help care for his own child.

I’m amazed so many responses are saying “suck it up”. We already pay £1800 in nursery fees, my partner does 50/50 childcare.
this is not a one off, few hours here and there, my employer is asking me to go to Africa for 10 days, which will cause additional expenses to a trip that will probably cost them over £20000.
why should I just accept I need to pay more? It’s a business trip for business reasons…

my partner and I don’t work the same hours hence it’s not easy for him just to cover me for a week.

I'm sure he can cope given it's the first time in eight years you've had to work away 🙄

My DH regularly changes his hours to accommodate my job by the way, just as I do for him.

It is, the contract might say travel might be necessary occasionally, but it will still state the number of hours OP is contracted for and this doesn't include anything outside business hours. OP isn't against travelling, she is against being away for work for 3 days outside business hours.

OP can refuse to go.for childcare or any other reason. The employer might argue that she isn't able to perform a key part of her role, and therefore can try to dismiss her, but from what OP has said this training isn't in her job description.

They can and I do, working 12 hrs shifts including nights often kept on but i sort my own child care, not work.
Business do value childcare and parents but they aren't bottomless pitts of money, they have more than adequate statutory care for staff. Something I'm grateful of as I was also a working mum running a business where I didn't have any statutory rights and often when looking after staff during this period did so with kids in tow.

It's hard for working parents BUT it's not an inconvenience to ask partners to help out, it can be workable BUT there are limits with the support you can get which means difficult choices sometimes, yes I could elaborate, been there too, but I may begin to bore you.

I speak from having kids, many working environments, done with statutory rights some without, some round the clock shifts others more Mundane hours.

I'm not bull shitting I've just been round the block enough to stand by my post and disagree with asking for childcare to be covered by work as its inconvenient to ask my partner to step up.

@Whinge this is just bullshit. My partner will manage if needs too. But why are you putting blame on him rather than a massive corporation?!?

Your partner doesn’t do 50/50. If he did this wouldn’t be an issue. He’d step up for a week.

So he can do it?

So no extra childcare needed then?

You've not a hope or at very least unlikely.

If you don't want to pay for your children, don't travel.