How the hell are parents meant to work?

[worzelsnurzel123]

With this latest blow from schools and yet further delays, I predict employers will cease to be “ fair” and they will run out of the patience BJ vaguely muttered about hoping they’d have. So what are the options?

1. Resign from jobs? This could have massive impact on income, likely to affect women and the future of women’s’ rights and progress in the workplace, creation of mental health issues and socio economic problems
2. Will some parents be pushed in to feeling the have no choice but to leave kids home alone? Esp those who are borderline age group eg 8-12. Not ideal at all. Clearly this will impact on MH, safety, parental work performance.
3. Leave kids with grandparents who are likely to be over 70 in many cases, shielding or vulnerable. Risks of passing the virus on would lead to guilt , worry on both sides.
4. Wait for everything to fuck up work wise, scrabble for child care here there and everywhere, lose employers good will due to time off needed and eventually get dismissed for poor attendance, breach of conduct and or poor performance

This is a disgrace. An absolute disgrace

amispeakingenglish
But I love my job...neither me of DH want to be SAHP never mind claiming benefits to enable one of us to do this. Yes we work because we have a mortgage to pay but we also work because we love what we do.

Lots of jobs won’t let people just go part-time, though, and lots of families can’t afford their bills if their household income drops by half. And lots of employers just aren’t in a position to offer lots of flexibility when they’re facing a recession. I fear that the way many employers will adapt to this is by saying “if you can’t work your agreed hours we will replace you with someone who can.”

Ah the magic solution - you could work part time!
FFS
Firstly, the second I go part time ( not that they'd let me) i kiss my career goodbye. I'd never progress. Same goes for DH.

Secondly, if both me and DH went p/t we'd be fucked financially. It would make more financial sense for me to just quit.

Of course hard to work if no childcare, but you could do part time ??

My business had no interest in people going part time. It will have to make redundancies soon, so faffing with part time would be ridiculous.

They want me back in the office 2 days a week. I want to keep my job. I have no childcare. Do you see the issue?

those with a partner, both can do part time, Employers have to adapt to this for the time being

Looks great on an internet forum, doesn't it?!

meanwhile in the real world ... just continue reading this trend!

Like you just call your boss and say ‘I’m working part time now by the way. Kthxbai’

we cant afford to both go part time, ffs. The reason we both work in the first place is that we cant afford not to!

@SueEllenMishke

Both me and DH are working from home with a 5 year old to look at after and home school. Do you really think that's easy flower? There is a reason that usually I have to prove I have childcare in place in order to WFH. DS would be far better off in school but instead he has to spend most of the day entertaining himself while we work and are in meetings.

I'm in exactly the same position & know how hard it is - my partner and I both work, are on calls from home all day working flat out, leaving my child to educate and entertain herself. Our companies are flexible at the moment but can see that wearing thin the longer it goes on.

Then surely you can see why people are using school places if they can?

GeneGenie

Yeh the good lord looked down and said
"I'll allow you all to chose your life to enable you to live on 2 pt wages,"

But geneGenie won't be given that choice, like everybody else has, she just has to work ft and any partner too.

Ffs, woman you have choices the same as us all. You can live how you want.

I can't believe so many parents are putting work before their children's education, talk about priorities.
And no, you don't all have to work ft, there's plenty managing without, and educating their children.

@SueEllenMishke

Then surely you can see why people are using school places if they can?

Yes I can, totally. The issue is limited number of spaces available at school. That is the unfair aspect - that some children will miss out on 6 months schooling whilst others due to their parents job, get to go. I could probably get my job classified as a key worker but think the school has run out of spaces now :-(

@Devlesko

GeneGenie

Yeh the good lord looked down and said
"I'll allow you all to chose your life to enable you to live on 2 pt wages,"

But geneGenie won't be given that choice, like everybody else has, she just has to work ft and any partner too.

Ffs, woman you have choices the same as us all. You can live how you want.

Oh get fucked you know what I mean.

Unless we sell our house and rent a council house (unlikely) then we cannot afford to live on one wage, or two part time wages.

@Devlesko

I can't believe so many parents are putting work before their children's education, talk about priorities. And no, you don't all have to work ft, there's plenty managing without, and educating their children.

I can put education first all you like but it won't be as good as a ft education in school because I AM NOT A FUCKING TEACHER.

Lots of kids will end up homeless if their parents are forced to give up work. Is that good for them?

Just because you can live on the change you've found down the back of the sofa doesn't mean everyone can

Go away with your condescending bullshit.

Unless we sell our house and rent a council house (unlikely) then we cannot afford to live on one wage, or two part time wages.

Message to self, panic like mad, you need 2 wages to survive.
Bollocks and you know it.
You choose to live the way you do, own it.

@Devlesko

Unless we sell our house and rent a council house (unlikely) then we cannot afford to live on one wage, or two part time wages.

Message to self, panic like mad, you need 2 wages to survive.
Bollocks and you know it.
You choose to live the way you do, own it.

Go on tell me how it's bollocks then?

Because I literally have a spreadsheet in front of me with out incomings and outgoings and we have a higher amount of bills going out than either of our wages?

And we aren't entitled to UC?

So can you tell me what I'm missing please?

I expect hundreds of posters in the same situation would like to hear it.

@Devlesko you are so out of touch. If everyone could survive on just one wage, more people would be doing it. I am a single parent on a low income, the reason that tax credits were introduced is because one income is not enough to live on. My wage has to be topped up by tax credits because it is not enough for me and a child. If one wage was enough then no one would need tax credits!

Wax

This was my point exactly, where is your extra wage coming from?
It's not, you are managing on one wage.
The tax credits is due to a low income and rightly so.
it's not down to needing two incomes, there's plenty managing on one, or 2 pt incomes.
To say they aren't does nobody any favours, there are likely to be significant redundancies, far better for people's mindsets to look at how they will cope, because they'll have to.

Just because you can live on the change you've found down the back of the sofa doesn't mean everyone can

Yep, as i said God only allows me to live like this.
maybe try changing your lifestyle, because if you can't balance your spreadsheets it's not working.

I can't believe so many parents are putting work before their children's education, talk about priorities

For me to be able to home educate my DC, I need to provide them with a dry shelter first, they need some clothes for
protection and warmth, then I need to give them some food so they have the energy to learn.

Please tell me where I can access these for FREE, so that I can ge my priorities right.

I am managing on one wage because I am only one adult. I could not manage on one wage if I had the expenses of another adult as well as DS to pay for.

And no, you don't all have to work ft, there's plenty managing without, and educating their children

Are you unable to understand that going part time is not that easy for many of us?
I can't just tell my employer i'm working part time and neither can my husband. The real world doesn't work like that .....

Plus as I've mentioned - part time = career suicide so i'd rather not thanks very much.

I bet you're one of those annoying people posting 'health before wealth' all over facebook completely ignorant of the different circumstances people are dealing with.

@Devlesko

Just because you can live on the change you've found down the back of the sofa doesn't mean everyone can

Yep, as i said God only allows me to live like this.
maybe try changing your lifestyle, because if you can't balance your spreadsheets it's not working.

Change it how? What can I get rid of. One wage does not cover our basic bills. Our mortgage is less than £500 a month.

Please tell me what I should be doing.

Squeekums
It was not just the woman who stayed at home. We worked our working life so that there was always one of us at home for the children, whilst the other worked. All household chores were shared and still are. I must admit that only the mother stayed at home whilst breast feeding, as this was difficult for the father. I suppose we could have bottle fed from the start, but we both thought breast was best. We have always thought that everything should be shared, as much as possible, as far as the family and household goes. Neither of us, in this family, is better than the other whether they have a vagina or a dick, both are equal as far as we are concerned and that's how we feel it should be. Others may disagree and will, of course. There was never an occasion of husband or wife not being allowed to work, we planned ahead to accommodate both of our working lives. No-one chained to the kitchen sink or any other domestic appliance. I think you may have got the wrong end of the stick as far as my relationship goes.

Ignore Devlesko she’s spouted this shit before.

Either she’s a goady twat or the good Lord didn’t over burden her with brain cells. Her knowledge of the real world appears to be somewhat limited.