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

So?

There's 2 fully grown adults who can deal with it!

The 3rd adult may very well lose their job because 2 adults need a hand hold over a smashed car window and few coins being stolen! Absolutely ridiculous!!

I have a totally different sort of job, but as a grown up, I expect to be able to make my own decisions as to when my family need my support and presence. Not be dictated to by an employer.

So you would take a whole day off work at very short notice yourself to hand hold 2 fully functioning adults who haven't been hurt or injured through a couple of phone calls? That's insane!

If you are capable to own and drive a car , you can deal with it been broken in to without requiring your daughter to take a full day off work.
Maybe a late start would be more appropriate than a full day off!

I would exercise my discretion as to whether or not that was necessary and if I felt it was, yes i would.

No.

if they can't manage this they shouldn't be on the road.

So she's only been in the job for 2 months? She's definitely taking the piss. Are these all annual leave days or are some of them sick leave?

@OnlyThickBeans maybe change your name and you might be less of a wimp!

But that's you in your job that you've probably done for a few years, and have earnt some discretion.

The person in this situation hasn't, 8 days off in 11 working weeks, their first 11 weeks at a new job, they've not earnt any discretion whatsoever. They should not have called in for a day off.

No, not an excuse to miss work.
If the parents are of capacity and the person isn't a main carer they should have told their DP they would call on their breaks and pop over after work to check on them.

Assuming there was no assault or anything involved. And assuming their police were called. What can the person do? They can call to console their parents but it's a car fgs?

Well, yes. I don’t dispute that.

On the face of it, it could be reasonable in isolation, but given the pattern of multiple days off over the few months they've been employed it's time to give them the boot. Persistent absence is the problem rather than this one instance.

It’s not a good reason esp with your updates. Their parents aren’t even elderly! Plus if they really can’t deal with the admin, it can be done on the weekend.

They could at most take annual or unpaid leave but not a random paid day off.
And esp not in a job where it affects others.

Plus they’ve had a ridiculous amount of time off since joining

Nope. It’s something my parents would just tell me about when I next visited . Why would you need a day off work. If they are elderly and need support with something as basic as this, they shouldn’t be driving a car surely!

Not a reasonable reason, no.

It sounds like they either hate their job or have some issues in their personal life.

This is not a valid reason to not go to work.

A meeting is definitely due to discuss, and I'd be thinking of a performance management plan too.

That's from an employer's perspective and only relates to employees, which is what I said.

So obviously AL has to be agreed in advance in this line of work - even in my office job the reasoning they gave would be an unpaid day off if they didn't take it as AL.
But given its a pattern, it seems like an excuse. Were the parents in the car & attacked? That's the only reason I can think that they'd need to be with them.
We've had huge problems with recent hires of a certain age range, constantly off sick or wanting to take extra days off unpaid over their AL for similarly pointless reasons. Really difficult in a small company where we don't have capacity to cover for continuous time off over the expected.

Assuming you are their manager, have you sat down and explained to them the impact them having day off has on others, and while we all have emergencies these should be rare and a parents car breaking down is not an example of an emergency situation. Some people who are not experienced in working need it spelt out to them (you also get those that just push the boundaries).

You need to nip it in the bud. Have a "return to work" conversation in detail each time, and if it continues give them warnings and tell them what the consequences will be.

Be aware of them starting to make up more extreme reasons. Just repeat the message that it has an impact on the business and you need someone reliable.

If they don't get the message let them go.

If you are not their manager, leave it to your manager to sort out.

Absolutely and that’s the real issue here. The reason for the absence on this particular day is a bit of a red herring.

Short notice AL if there's sufficient cover, fine.

Sick leave, no

As I am aware of the significant shortage in staffing in early years provision, I would probably call them in for a formal review of performance meeting, explaining the concept really plainly to them of a contract of employment meaning you actually have to be in work on the days you are paid to be in work and let them know they are on a final warning.

That 8 days since November (when, as a new starter, you'd think you'd be trying to make a good impression) is completely unacceptable, and that this non-reason was completely unacceptable, even if they hadn't already had 7 previous days.

Were there not such a staff shortage, I would release them from their contract, having failed their probation.

Did they give a reason for why they felt they needed to spend an entire working day with their parents for such a minor thing. Surely just 'their car was broken into yesterday' needs more explanation

Why would they need to be with them? Not elderly parents, full capacity, two of them…. Why do they need a third person for the day?

Day off ok but I'd imagine needs to be taken an unauthorised leave or emergency annual leave if enough cover at work

I wouldn't expect my employer just to give me the day off if I was in a similar situation