To think this is shitty and will need to be addressed (work and Covid-19)

[Whatafustercluck]

DH's senior managers (big multi national) have decided in their wisdom that:

• in the event of school closures, parents will be able to take 2 days off to make alternative care arrangements and after that they will need to take annual leave;

• no wfh allowed because you can't care for dc when trying to work.

In ordinary circumstances I totally agree with the second point. But these are not normal circumstances.

When both parents work, what are they supposed to do of their child is toddler/ pre-school age and childcare settings are also told to close? Are they suggesting that parents turn to elderly at risk grandparents to help out?

It's an engineering firm which is very male dominated too, so I'm wondering whether this is part of an ingrained family unfriendly culture.

Our workplace ( big financial institution) has been great actually. They have announced that any sickness taken from earlier this week won't count towards absence monitoring and that if people need to take time off to look after dependants they can do that, and to make sure that we can all work from home. Obviously that's not the case for branch office staff so I'm not sure what arrangements are in place there.

Thanks for the replies and advice, but to clarify I think me and dh will be ok - I just think it shows a staggering degree of ignorance for those who are not in such fortunate position.

My work is a tech firm so a broad mix of workers - all of whom are well equipped to wfh. They've not yet given clear indication about their plans but they're consulting everyone to quickly draw up contingency plans that address the issues people might have - one of which is childcare. I've been told they'll take a pragmatic approach and understand it'll take everyone pulling together to make it work as even those without DC might be off with the actual illness. I could have feasibly seen a situation in which, for example, where both partners are permitted to work, one of could have worked earlies and the other one lates - juggling young DC between them for conference calls or pieces that require sustained focus over longer periods.

DC are with a cm for 4 days a week - they're 3 and 9. But if she closes it will fall on me, unless dh's company changes tack.

As I said, there are workarounds that we can manage as my company is much more progressive. I have no idea what single parents will do though.

Covering it with either annual leave or, especially unpaid leave (!) is not an appropriate solution for something that could last months.

You take unpaid parental leave.

For an undermined amount of time? How will mortgages get paid, food, bills etc?

Take a sickie , claim you need to
Self quarantine then it’s sick pay

Is it Jacobs engineering ?

Someone asked about Italy - from my friends in Italy it seems like grandparents are doing childcare. Which totally undermines the lockdown and is just one reason why schools closing won't solve the problem.

DH work have said similar although they aren't giving the 2 days.
They have just said that if you have a confirmed case then you can have sick pay, if you aren't confirmed, with a doctors note, then it will be taken from annual leave.

@hidinginthenightgarden this is unreasonable. Ppl won't be tested generally unless admitted to hospital, and are being advised to self isolate at home NOT go to GPs etc. Tbh their stance is extremely irresponsible.

@elizabethdraper where do you work though? CAN you bring your child in? Will health and safety allow it/insurance cover it??Sorry for all the q’s I’m just intrigued.

I think this is where true, full flexible working is important. I fully accept not all jobs or situations can be truly flexible. But a lot of office jobs can be. I have discussed with my partner a kind of shift pattern, so taking it in turns to work either morning or afternoon whilst the other looks after the kids. Then both work in the evening & one full weekend day each. For single parents this is harder, and definitely would involve screen time, bite size working (eg 90 mins stints) and some when kids in bed. I do know about working single parents as I grew up with a working single mum, and appreciate this would be exhausting!

I work from home as the norm. My entire organisation has now been wfh since Wednesday.
If/when child is no longer in school, I'll be able to to manage as normal assuming my child is well of course. However, it's not ideal in terms of work quality for a sustained period. But I don't imagine I'd be the only person in this position.

Yes, it's shitty. I wouldn't be able to manage that.
I've already pencilled in all my annual and unpaid parental leave. I need another 2/3 weeks of leave tbh.

I think your employer is pulling a fast one. Anybody can isolate if they have suspected symptoms (I work in a hospital) the chances of you getting a COVID-19 confirmed sick from your GP is highly unlikely (unless your tested) as you wouldn’t even be allowed to see your GP to get a sick note. Check direct.gov if you live alone you need to isolate if you have a high temperature or a constant cough for 7 days. If you live family you MUST isolate for 14 days as most people are not tested anyway. (Your GP can give you a sick note) without you being “confirmed”