to think I can get by without childcare in August because work is quiet?

[isitPeri1]

Every August, work slows down massively. It has always been this way. There is barely anything coming in, hardly any meetings or deadlines, and most of my team is off. My manager and her manager are both away for the whole of August, so it is very unlikely anything urgent will come up.

I have primary school-aged kids and I am thinking I might skip childcare this year. I usually only have about one to two hours of work a day in August, and some days there is literally nothing to do at all. Anything that does come up, I can usually fit around the kids early in the morning or after they have gone to bed. I have proper annual leave booked for September when they are back at school, so I will get a proper break then.

Has anyone else done this? Just managed without childcare when work was super quiet?

The manager got back to me and said it is fine. She says I always get the work done so she is not fussed if I take the kids out.

Not jealous. Just more self respect and respect for my employers than to lie to them.

What I cant get over is booking time off in September to have a lovely break from work and kids!

As someone who has recently been giving notice of having to be back in the office 4 days a week from January, I absolutely resent the people who take piss like this.

Then that makes a difference.

Still think its very unfair on your kids not to take dedicated time off with them during the summer holidays though.

If she’s getting all her work done then how is she taking the piss? Sorry you have a crappy micromanaging employer but don’t take your frustration out on others.

Yes one thing about being an adult is i know right from wrong i dont need to be told, and i especially dont need to use the childish 'Youse are just jealous' of 12 year olds

Yeah how terrible. I’m sure they will be irreparably damaged by their mum answering an email during their trip to the zoo.

i have a feeling this thread might be a wind up.

What company has nothing whatsoever to do for an employee for weeks and weeks?

No you do sound jealous and resentful. She has told her employer who is fine with it. So what if she has a break without her kids? How is that anything to do with anyone else. Just because you like martyring yourself doesn’t mean everyone else has to do it too. She’s basically spending the whole summer with her kids. And if childcare is a full time job then why should she not have any time off from it?

NRFT

Depends on the job / your required hours.
Sometimes over the holidays I would work 6am-9am then spend the day with my children, day trips etc and log back on for a few hours at 6pm. I could also do a few hours on a Saturday if required.

I appreciate I'm fortunate.

It's not right to look after your kids when you are meant to be working. You wont be able to do either properly.

Mine does. Higher education. I get one email a day tops and everyone is off in August. I am doing research at the moment but if I didn’t have that in my contract (which many of my colleagues don’t) I’d have a relaxed three months between end of term and start of the new one.

awww lovely.

exceptional performance for what? Not doing your job? working an hour a day? skiving? parenting?

🤔

I don’t see why you need MN input.

NRFT

Depends on the job / your required hours.
Sometimes over the holidays I would work 6am-9am then spend the day with my children, day trips etc and log back on for a few hours at 6pm. I could also do a few hours on a Saturday if required.

I appreciate I'm fortunate.

It's not right to look after your kids when you are meant to be working. You wont be able to do either properly.

If she wasn't taking the piss, she would have just cleared it with her employer upfront rather than asking mumsnet.

My employer has taken the decision based on significant changes in turnaround times in some departments, not being able to reach dome departments on phones for hours, new joiners finding it really difficult to get the people responsible to train them to actually do it etc.

We had an extremely flexible employer and instead people being satisfied with the advantage that was, a significant portion of people felt that wasn't enough and ruined it for everyone by taking more.

That's all that matters here. I was wondering what their expectations are of you when it's quiet - I assume the reason your manager and her manager are both away for the whole of August is because of this quiet period. I love a flexible employer.

This.
It's not just a respect for employers but a self respect issue.

So many people nowadays are dishonest, false, liars, What example are we setting our children. do as little as you can. no wonder so many young people end up out of work and on beneifts with terrible role models or parents who cba to work

Agreed.

I also think op was never in a million years going to come back and say her boss had said no after her numerous posts justifying doing this.

All I can say is if it is true is that I wish I had such an amazing job with endless free time in the summer and a boss who is happy to pay me full time hours to take my kids to the zoo or theme park for the day.

It sounds like the best of both worlds to me.
Days with the kids without having to use annual leave, then annual leave without having to entertain kids.
I don't subscribe to the modern martyrdom of motherhood. It is good for kids to get a bit bored sometimes, and have to use their imaginations, not having endless exciting activities planned. I have done very similar in the past, everyone always knew my kids were at home.

Unrelated, but I have also been through fallow periods where I have had very little work and no meetings for weeks on end. I used to go for long bike rides or dog walks, did my gardening or housework. I also have periods where I work 12+ hour days without time to pause for breath. It all balances out in the end.

I have also received top performer awards and out of cycle bonuses for my work.

It’s the dishonesty that would be the issue.

If someone was not getting all their work done, and was caught doing what OP proposes, it would be very clear cut as fraud.

If they were getting their work done and were caught doing the same it would be more complicated, but ultimately we don’t have any roles that can be covered in a few minutes per day, even in very quiet periods. People might flex to eg 20-25 hours per week (against a 60 hour week in busy periods) but they are still expected to be proactively working, prepping, making improvements. So in that scenario it might be more likely they would be managed out on the basis of their complete lack of understanding of the job requirements. If they argued they had understood their responsibilities and job requirements, then it would be fraud.

And yes, people can work from coffee shops etc if they respect confidentiality (phone conversations, screen visibility etc), but if they were doing it all day we’d check to see if there was a wellbeing issue.

I often work on the train, take calls from the car etc. I’m completely open about if e.g. I need to drop a kid off at a friends house or a club or whatever, or if I’m taking a few hours to go somewhere with them and will be working in the evening.

I am lucky to be in a senior position so I try to normalise the transparency that goes along with that flexibility. It’s just about being professional (which is probably why OP’s complete lack of professionalism bothers me so much).

I love when I get the chance to take time off for just me. The vast majority of my leave is spread over school holidays throughout the year and I save some in case of strikes as well. If I don't need to use them for strikes, I take them for myself when she's at school. It's brilliant.

Obviously she is doing her job. Not all jobs are measured in how many hours are spent at a desk.

My job requires to get a certain number of projects over the line on time, on budget and to a certain standard. It’s not something that’s measured in regular 7 hours a day, 5 days a week. Some weeks are chocka,
others deadly quiet. I spent damn near 7 hours sat at my desk today doing bugger all. Because I have an employer like you. It’s really soul destroying.

There is a reason why so many employers are starting to call people back into the office. This is a clear example of why. 🤷🏻‍♀️

That’s wonderful!

Seems like a good outcome then, and now you don’t need to worry.

Why don’t you take leave in the school hols and take your children on holiday instead of having a break on your own in September?