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

Completely unreasonable. So you get signed off fraudulently as you're not sick then you do get sick once all this is blown over but you've used up your sick leave so only get SSP - what then?
Yes it's a pain but lots of people will be in similar situations so get creative and share childcare or take the kids into work if you can't wfh.

You take leave and worry about the rest of the year later. If both your children are in nursery you don’t have school holidays to cover, so you’re in a better position than some. It might be the government will help nurseries out. You’re in the same position as millions of others, we can’t all lie to the GP. I’m sorry but I think it’s really out of order when your colleagues will end up picking up the slack and for all those people who genuinely have stress and aren’t believed. It’s wrong. But I’m sure you’re going to do it anyway. Just remember it’s not just you facing problems. One of you will be able to work, look at mortgage holidays, etc etc. Like we are all doing

DingleberryRose Because lots of people suck up unsustainable double or triple fees for a few months. Most people couldn’t sustain multiple nursery fees indefinitely but feel its worth some short-term financial pain for the long-term financial gains.

@inthemuckheap taking my kids into a very corporate business would never be allowed! If it was that easy I wouldnt be worried. Also like i said earlier I get 12 weeks pay per year. I would not be taking 12 weeks off now therefore it would not be of concern that if I fall ill later in the year I'd move to SSP

yeah the idea you could take nursery aged kids into a corporate office!

Won't small nurseries get the £3000 grant from the government and then sick pay covered for any staff that are told to self isolate? Not sure how they are that much worse off than other small businesses that also don't qualify for the rate relief.

But then I don't think they should exist at all. (I'd rather have all nurseries state or charity run so no-one is making a profit from looking after children, so all the money goes on their care.)

£1,400 would pay for a nanny.
I wouldn’t be paying for a service I wasn’t getting. They’re a business. If you have to take unpaid leave you can bet minimum wage nursery staff are getting bugger all.

A doctor isn’t going to sign you off because you don’t have childcare!

I'm sure there aren't many workplaces that allow children to come in, it really isn't that easy! I wish it was. Back to the NHS again...a huge employer and no, I can't have my kids with me whilst I don my hazmat suit and tend to the sick!

About to enrol my DD into nursery so I feel your pain!
Hold fire and see what happens.. but do what you have to do.
How are you going to pay nursery fees if noone Is paying you. I totally get that.

I'm not suffering with stress or anxiety

So why on earth would you think your doctor will sign you off. You dont get a sick line just because you want one. Suffering from stress doesnt automatically guarantee you time off

I can imagine doctors being quite strict with sick lines if they suddenly get an influx of people claiming they have stress etc.

£1400 does seem a lot of money but if you consider that is most likely over 200 hours of childcare a month x 2. Works out at £3.50 an hour per child. (all approximate).

Could you speak to the nursery and explain you are not being paid and could you meet them
half way with costs? I know you might not be able to afford this but the nursery may offer you other options once they realise you are not being paid. (If they can afford too).

I think misusing a gp’s time to try and lie your way to get a sick note, as you are not sick. GP’s are busy enough as it is- and likely to be getting busier. What if everyone does this? It just puts strain elsewhere and Gp’s would be inundated dealing with providing people who are perfectly well with sick notes. Many GP’s will be well aware of the fact many people will be faking illness to get time off.

And what happens if you actually do get sick later on? Or the nursery is closed for many weeks? What fake reason will you use then?

As regards paying the nursery fees if it is closed, I suppose it depends on what your contract says.

But, it may be worth considering what will happen if the nursery goes bust during an enforced closure as they will still be paying rent/rates/utilities/wages. Many insurance companies are saying they do to have to pay out for covid-19. So you may save money now, but what will you do if there is no nursery when the dust has settled and you want to go back to work? If you can easily sort something out, I’d less of an issue.

That's a fucking shite situation, OP. How in God's name can the nursery expect everyone to pay full whack?!

Twelve WEEKS sick pay a year? Wow

You admit you’re not stressed or unwell, so you shouldn’t waste a GP’s time. They’re so busy at the moment! I get the impression you’re going to go off sick anyway, why can’t you self certify for 7 days?

Can you and your husband not split at least some of the time unpaid between you?

I appreciate it’s a very shit situation but you’re being sneaky and think everyone else should pay. Your employer shouldn’t have to pay for sick pay when you’re not sick.

I do think that nurseries should “pull together” and reduce fees by costs that they’re not incurring - utilities, food, materials. Likely to be very small though.

For a 2 week closure, take 1 week each of paid annual leave. Then for future holidays, use unpaid leave - having allowed yourselves some time to save.

my work have said that they will not be allowing any working from home

I think that the inflexibility of the employer is at the root of this problem. It would be great to have all staff at 100% but that's perhaps less realistic in the circumstances. A compromise might be that more flexible working be offered to those who can. Why can't you work in the evenings after kids in bed? Imaginative solutions need to be found to the problems this virus presents and employers can't have it all. If your workplace presents a brick wall in the face of this situation, refusing to budge and expecting you to solve all of the problems then this needs to be an issue for goverment to mandate on.

I speak here as an employer. I have drafted plans to ensure my staff are redeployed and able to work safely from home in the short term. Refusing to accommodate this would mean I lose trusted and experienced staff who are greatly valued.

YABU. Take annual leave. You are not ill.

Gop won't sign you off for 12 weeks. It will be 2 as standard. Then they will see you again (our gp has a wait time of 3 weeks for an appt) and then you can request for additional sick leave

I do really sympathise with your situation. Firstly, it might not happen so do try not to worry until you need to. Secondly, if it does, all the parents at nursery will have to find a solution and I think working together to provide childcare for each other is a potential solution. One family takes your children for a day or two, you take theirs for a day or two. I know it means you’re not working full time but it helps a little.

Won't small nurseries get the £3000 grant from the government and then sick pay covered for any staff that are told to self isolate? Not sure how they are that much worse off than other small businesses that also don't qualify for the rate relief.

The concern is being forced to close if the government do what Ireland/Italy etc have done. In that case it won't be ssp - cos the staff aren't sick. Rent etc all still due. Many nurseries exempt from business rates as standard (variety of rules in different places) so no eligibility for grant. Still have to pay often huge rents. Staff bill for most is massive (we run an ASC and 2/3 of income goes on wages)

Our insurer (one of the biggest) confirmed on Tuesday they will not cover loss of revenue for coronavirus as they won't add it to their notifiable disease list.

How about giving notice at the nursery. Then taking all holiday now.

It's all well and good so many of you saying take unpaid leave but I think the point is so many of us CAN'T afford to take unpaid leave. It must be lovely to have that option but some people still do live payday to payday. The OP specifically explained all annual leave is already booked to account for school holidays. And those of you saying swap shifts/work weekends... you do know (although WFH and alternative arrangements/part time jobs for extra cash rather than a career are bandied about on here) a lot of people do actually work 9-5 week days or similar? People are giving answers but not actual solutions. OP, do what you have to do. And like fuck would I be paying the nursery if they haven't provided a service, especially if it meant I would struggle to get paid myself due to no childcare and ergo no work. It's not my fault the insurers won't pay.

I can’t believe how many people seem to think OP can both take unpaid leave and continue to pay £1400/month for a service she isn’t receiving.
Why are we more concerned about corporations than about families with children? If insurance doesn’t cover the shut down and people are left in the OP’s impossible position, this is something that requires government action. It shouldn’t be up to individual families to effectively pay twice (childcare fees and lost wages) for the decisions made in the interests of public health. This should never happen in a civilised society.
Being signed off sick isn’t a great solution because it will look obvious to the employer that the OP is not actually sick.