To get a drs note for stress due to covid-19 and childcare issues

[Hmmmmminteresting]

I feel sick I'm so stressed!

Have 2 x dc in full time nursery. Our fees are £1400 a month which is crippling for me and dh as our other bills are expensive too.
Today nursery have announces that should they be forced to close (which they think they will very soon) we will still be charged in full.

Also today, my work have said that they will not be allowing any working from home and if we have to go off to look after dc due to school or nursery closures we will be allowed dependency leave but it will be unpaid.
DH has asked his boss tonight and been told the same. Ds1 starts school in september and we have all of our annual leave booked already for the year to ensure we have holidays covered.
We have no help from family around here at all.
Would I be unreasonable to aim to go to the doctors in the next week and get signed off, just so I can get sick pay (I get 12 weeks paid sick leave a year). I'm so stuck and I know I wont sleep tonight!

Any better ideas I'm very open to

Have you got a contract with the nursery? I would dig it out and have a good read and hopefully it doesn’t have anything like this in there

I wouldn't be paying nursery a penny if they are closed and unable to care for my children
Why not? Do you think there will be a nursery to go back too?

Stop blaming nursery, the majority are closing down due to the 30 hours lack of funding. The rent will still need to be paid, the LEA won’t confirm if we close whether my funding will need to be given returned. My staff still need to be paid. My insurance company are saving they won’t cover any loss of business due to forced closure as covid -19 doesn’t come under their list of illnesses.

We are on our knees already. The hourly funding rate is already poor. People pay more from a cup of coffee than we receive per hour the look after children. It’s a sorry state of affairs

So that your colleagues can pick up your workload? They don't have caring responsibilities?

Cancel fees to the nursery if dc is starting school in September. Surely they can't charge for a service they can't provide?

Surely the nursery can’t make you still pay if they have to close? Pretty sure that’s not right. Different if you took your child out for fear of catching it etc totally understandable but not when they have to close.

Their staff still need paid but that’s not your problem. Surely insurance etc would cover this or the government will sub business if they go bust which is crap but still not your responsibility surely

It is a very difficult situation. I was so worried about school closures because I don't have childcare options (elderly grandparents whom I don't want to put at risk) and I don't get paid carers leave. I work in the NHS and a lot of people were/are going to have to be off if schools close which will put a lot of pressure on NHS. It's a lose/lose situation. The government is worried the NHS won't cope with the influx but at the same time school closures mean very reduced staff numbers. Either way, it's going to be a very difficult few months for the NHS and I'm dreading it.
Sorry, that didn't answer your original post. I'm in a similar situation except not paying nursery fees now, just after school club. I would also be worried in your situation about paying fees and having to take unpaid leave it's a difficult choice. In the job I do, I couldn't go off with stress and drop my colleagues in it, there's going to be very tough times ahead in our work. If it's not going to impact in your work though I'd just do it.

Thanks for all the advice its really useful and contacting MP is actually a good idea. I need to dig out contract tonight and see what it says.

@pandamoore that is a poor assumption. Affording £1400 childcare is short term and means we have sacrificed everything. We have far less disposable income than friends and family who choose not to work, or work part time to continue to be able to claim certain benefits but let's not get into that.

Yabu to waste dr’s time.

Do what you have to do op.

It's terrible that people are being made to feel like this. I'm sorry OP. No help I'm afraid. Are you in a union? A lot of unions are sharing health and safety legislation which has provision for unsafe work practices which help to make your employer reconsider. Both mine and my partners employer are shutting their offices.

If they can bail out the banks to the tune of billions, I'm sure they can bail out businesses and people's rent and mortgages, ffs.

YWBVU to get signed off because you want the time with pay.

I’d take the annual leave when needed and use the nursery when you planned leave in future when you’ve got time to save.

I don’t have childcare issues but like probably a lot of people if I was suddenly out of a wage I wouldn’t be able to pay the mortgage and would be risking my home. I might get leeway from the mortgage company but I might not.

Yes sorry I apologise for what I said.

Why can’t you and your OH take it I’m turns to babysit. Work weekends?

Blimey £1400 a MONTH for childcare.

misses point of thread..............

All these people saying they wont pay if the 'service' isn't provided are going to get a shock when they properly read their contracts.

You pay for your childs place at nursery, which is why you still pay if they are off sick or on holiday. The people who look after your children aren't volunteers. They are paid members of staff who still have bills to pay if the government decides to close the nursery.

YABVU to fake being stressed to get sick pay. Mental health gets a bad enough rep as it is.

I don't think you are unreasonable but do wait until the nursery closes - it may not (we live in hope). No point jumping the gun. It's dreadful to think you might be forced to do this, nobody wants to lie, however if the worse comes to the worse, make yourself look dreadful and struggle to the doctors with a weak voice, smelling of Vick.

To be honest this is a real life worry and it does sound very stressful. Some people are signed off sick for generalized anxiety whereas op has anxiety over a specific situation.Nurseries are allowed to charge in this scenario, we will still be paying ours. No way can most people bring their children to work either.
Your employer sounds very unreasonable and to be honest I think it shows you are in an almost untenable position with no back up plan, but things should ease when your eldest starts school.
If you have no alternatives then do it.

What annoys me is your assumption that your business can manage with you lying about being ill and taking time off, while nurseries are some kind of unreasonable crew who shouldn't bill you if they are forced to close. It's one rule for you and sod everyone else, especially if they are a company or business. You'd be disciplined for misconduct in my organisation.

You're not suffering with stress you're stressed because of the current situation

Two very different things. Don't waste the GPs time

The govt will do anything to avoid school closures and if it really does happen, employers will not get away with refusing all requests for flexibility. You are panicking before there's a need to.

I think the number of people with childcare options will be minimal. I wondered about asking other parents you have mine I will have yours scenario but then I wonder if mixing them defeats the purpose of the closure.

If you have no other choice call in sick with cough or temp. You won't need a Dr note as there will be a national directive on that front. And don't worry. You are backed into a corner and needs must as the devil drives...

@buckingfrolics we have spoken widely about this at work today. My colleagues although affected have family help, or their partners can WFH, or they work part time so wouldnt need as much time off etc.
I k ow it would be wasting gps time, but ultimately I'm being forced into this. Nursery staff still need paying I understand that -so why cant I be? How do I pay them if nobody is paying me?
I'm not suffering with stress or anxiety, I'm genuinely a happy person. But seriously what the hell do I do? I need to keep a roof over my families heads.

Have 2 x dc in full time nursery. Our fees are £1400 a month which is crippling for me and dh as our other bills are expensive too

Why did you have two children if nursery fees would cripple you? That doesn’t make sense to me.

In some countries banks have said they’ll give mortgage holidays - RBS are already looking into it - do you have a mortgage you could delay the payment on?

I sympathise - yes, nursery workers have a right to be paid for circumstances out of their control and so do you.

FWIW, I do think it’ll be a last resort due to impact on nhs staff and you won’t be the only person in this situation so other policies to hemp may happen.

I don’t think you are the only one. There surely has to be something in place policy-wise for nurseries as the model is massively different to schools. Everything I’ve seen has been about ssp for yourself and nothing about extra flexibilities for caring for children if childcare/schools close. I’m due to go back soon after no.2 and my fees are going to be around £1800-2000 until my eldest goes to school. They sort of outgoing if I can’t work will be crippling. I equally get lots of nurseries would struggle financially if they have no income but still need to pay staff and other fixed overheads.

@dingleberry because we wanted 2 children and so we have had to endure 18 months of crippling fees. It wont last much longer.