DD unwell, had to take a day off, works reaction..

[Raincloud997]

I am a single parent and have limited childcare. My DD is in reception and was unwell today so couldn't go back in to school today after the half term. I had to ring up. My manager sounded very annoyed on the phone and said they have other staff off too, said she is struggling for cover and that I really must try and make it in tomorrow and that someone else will have to look after my DD. She also sighed before putting down the phone. I don't have a lot of time off at all, this is the first time its happened and my contract states they allow for emergency parental leave but her reaction has got me worried and I don't think I have childcare for tomorrow if she is no better by morning. What would ou do?

Then your employer will likely to be sitting down with you to discuss what is going on and putting together a suitable plan. 25 sick days in a year would bring your child's school attendance down to 87% and it would be likely the school would be asking some serious questions about this as well. If your child is genuinely too sick to attend school or childcare that often then you would need to talk to medical professionals because that's not normal.

@GRex no one on this thread has said they have ever actually “hired a babysitter” on the morning of discovering their young child is sick enough to be off school and then left said child all day with a babysitter

which would rather indicate it’s rare

I guess this manager sighed because even though first time op had taken time off for sick child, it was probably against a back drop of a high level of absence given the Op saying to “not having had much time off”.

Have a read through. To add that the op has their kid in reception so is at the start of schooling. As an employer I’d think if this is how it begins with time off then it will end soon. If it’s unskilled work then yes two days off is no problem as the job can be easily filled but if it’s skilled work it becomes harder to achieve getting work done.

MNHQ have made it quite clear that you don't have to be a parent to post.

You seem to be forgetting that not everyone works for reasonable employers. You clearly (and I am too) very lucky to have a employer that wouldn’t bat a eyelid at this situation as long as it wasn’t something that happened all the time, but by law they don’t have to be and alot of employers just follow the law, they don’t add enhanced benefits.

If my child was seriously ill for 25 days I'd have been signed off sick after a week.

What is wrong with the child is very relevant as to whether childcare would be possible

d&v… out of the question

sorry, but how do you sign of sick of your aren't ill? I had a seriously ill child in hospital for longer times and I have never been able to get a sick note to cover myself. a mix of annual leave, unpaid leave and WFH was the way to go.

endless limit of days

Which posters think that? Or did you make it up?

Also really interested to hear your thoughts on maternity leave?

What would be your grounds for asking a GP to sign you off?

I'm an only child. My parents are dead, my grandparents too. I have a disabled ex husband who cannot have a child unsupervised. My friends all work. So someone tell me, if I need more than 2 days off (like when she fully dislocated her knee on a school trip), who do I give her too?????

Sure I could get a childminder, if I could get a place for just a few days. But the cost would be about the same hourly rate that I'm getting. And I need travel time on top. And I'm just about making ends meet as it is.

This here. This is my nightmare scenario.

And for anyone interested in how we did cope with the dislocated knee. School made accommodations for her once she was in a full brace and cleared to return (1week).

I mean DH is a dentist and it is indeed really really hard to fill posts at the moment. To me it seems more nonsensical to keep firing parents who might require some odd days off as their child is sick vs having a dentist who is able to work 99% of the time. The reality is that for some parents there simply arent reasonable alternatives and rightly so their children have to come before their job. A business is short sighted and foolish not to have a clear policy in place, even if its unpaid or whatever.

You mean you don't have access to a magical babysitter who is happy to look after a poorly child with no notice?

I obviously support maternity leave. Is it that you don’t support maternity leave? Have a read through.Those here that don’t support finding professional paid childcare options are those who think it up to the employer to be ok with days off. To be clear this doesn’t apply to kids in hospital.

You keep saying have a read through. No. Find the posts that state it. I've been here from page one and haven't come across one.

I should have clarified, I meant non-consecutive days. So, 1 or 2 days at a time every other week or so with colds, tummy bugs, chicken pox, etc. Not a long term serious illness.

At what point does it turn from reasonable to unreasonable?

I'm not forgetting that, I'm pointing out that in this situation, OP is not the unreasonable one.

I don’t have to answer your question again and again. I have clearly replied. You can trawl through to prove your point - go on. Let’s see what you come up with.

No, but if someone could tell me when Aldi stock them I'll make sure I put one with the Calpol!

I'm shocked at these employers not being able to manage a parent being off with a sick child. Some people evidently think that work is more important than children.
Is contingency planning when running a business not a thing now?

To prove your point you mean haha. Its not my point I'm trying to prove 🤣🤣

I should have clarified, not a serious illness but 25 individual days across a year.

If you have an HR department speak with them. They can give you the low down on your parental rights. Its not your problem if others are off. If your little one is sick there's nothing you can do. I'd also suggest speaking with your GP and getting a letter from them to prove their sick. I've had this with bosses, some nasty managers out there.

If my kid was ill for 25 days I'd be signed off for stress, exhaustion and depression obviously. I'd hardly be skipping around at home by that point. I'd be at breaking point.