To wonder if this is a valid reason to be off work for the day

[Louiseeel]

That your Dparents car was broken into the night before so you had to be with them

I wouldn't need to be with my parents for something like that, but they're able to manage a shit situation themselves (and presumably everybody still driving could make some phone calls etc).

Whilst our annual leave usually has to be agreed in advance, in an situation like this where it wouldn't qualify for emergency dependents leave or compassionate leave, it can be taken off your annual leave allowance rather than have it as unpaid. After all, if the person isn't coming in (and you can't actually make them) it may as well come off their annual leave allowance

Unfortunately people drive/own a car way passed the time they should have stopped. Until we get further information from the OP no one can really say wether this was a reasonable request or not. Ultimately if it was granted then those who needed to decide decided it was ok.

Absolutely not.

I would take this off as personal motoring leave rather than sick leave.

You aren't giving enough context, is the person (you?) expecting unpaid leave, holiday, to make the time up.?

There's no one answer, totally depends on the circumstances and the employer

What is personal mororing leave? Surely that's not a thing

No.

I would not see parents car broken into as a reason to take a day off work, no.

No

No - but it might depend on what your job is. Would it inconvenience other people in any way, or would the work just wait quietly until you were ready to do it?

If they're elderly or otherwise infirm and you'd need to deal with the police/insurance for them then possibly. In our place it would be annual leave or unpaid though.

Car broken in to , no I wouldn't take a day off for parents in this situation. Unless there is much more to be added to the scenario.

We allow short notice annual leave for practically any reason. It makes no difference as to why as it's coming out of their allowance.

Paid special leave? Not a chance.

What industry are you in where you don't allow on the day Holiday?

How do you accommodate emergency situations? (Am not saying this is an emergency, but same applies- who cares).

Emergency annual leave day if allowable but it isn't sick leave or compassionate leave.

As an employer I’d take a pretty dim view. If your parents are capable of driving surely they are capable of dealing with the aftermath of a breaking, unpleasant though it may be. Unless you’re going to give us a massive drip feed OP.

No, not if it was simply broken into. If they were a particularly hardworking dependable employee, then I might cut them some slack and let them have an hour or 2 to help sort out admin but definitely not a full day if it wasn’t actually stolen

I was reading the first few replies and thinking exactly this! If they're fit and well enough to drive then they can sort out whatever needs to be done next.
If their house had been burgled with them in it, then definitely yes, I can see the necessity of being with them .
Car broken into - no!

I assume this is a joke???

I’m guessing you’re the employer in this situation. The answer is if they can’t deal with a breakdown, they shouldn’t be driving

I had to
take a day off because my parents house was burgled, my boss sounded perplexed, I was in too
much of a flap to explain that I was house sitting and the house was insecure until the locksmith could arrive. I did get questioned the next day and was able to give a better explanation.
In OP case, perhaps parents needed car to get to an appointment or something else that could be not be sorted over the telephone? Perhaps OP example is main carer for parents with low capacity?

OP, can you give more context please? Because there isn't enough here for anyone to answer this question.

We need to know why the employee felt it necessary, before we can make a judgement on whether or not they were being reasonable.

From the information you've given - No

I can't see the link between someone else's car being broken into and that resulting in a different person needing a day off work.

On the face of it, no, absolutely not.

However, I’d take a lot of other things into consideration. If they are otherwise reliable, then I’d cut them some slack. If it’s part of a pattern of dubious absences then I’d be more worried. Did their work have to be picked up by other people that day, or can they catch up on it when they’re back? If their role is one in which they might occasionally work extra hours to meet business needs, I’d also cut them slack.

I also wouldn’t assume to guess how traumatic this is for the parents. Just cause some 70/80 somethings would take it in their stride, doesn’t mean we know how it affected this persons parents.

Also, the type of work and company culture makes a huge difference here. It would be okay in some settings, eg home working/flexible, boss often own hours for family reasons, then it would be less of a problem than for a teacher.