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Original poster

Employer suggests buying extra childcare to cover school closure?

40 replies

FeminismandWomensFights · 04/01/2021 02:20

Our primary school is now remote teaching for two weeks. My team leader at work suggests we pay for extra childcare, or take annual or unpaid leave to cover this time. I will take annual leave to cover days in this week while I work something out. Unpaid leave isn’t an option.
Where would I stand with work if I just refuse to buy in extra paid help to cover this time? I work part time within school hours and use the after school club when I need to, which is affordable, but that’s shut while school is closed.
Apart from the massive increase in childcare costs that I haven’t budgeted for, if I do find an all-day babysitter or childminder for several days a week at no notice, I am a bit worried about the contact with them. Local schools were closed because of this much more infectious variant. I work for a public sector employer so we can’t access furlough. WWYD?

OP posts:
StatisticalSense · 04/01/2021 03:03

They are being more than flexible in offering the combination of annual leave and unpaid leave, and if you aren't willing or are unable to find childcare and do not have a partner who can take some form of leave this is exactly what you will have to do.

Gardenista · 04/01/2021 03:18

Also public sector here - your employer is slowing you to take annual leave. Do you need to work 9 -5 or could you make up the time in the evenings while children are watching tv/sleeping/ work over the weekend?
It’s difficult but I would rather have my child babysat by a screen than at a child minder they didn’t know - I guess it depends on their age and temperament.
It’s hard when you have no access to furlough but it is not permitted to public sector

Rummikub · 04/01/2021 03:19

Think that’s a bit harsh
Would you even be able to get extra childcare?
I’d explore a childcare bubble if that’s possible. If not speak to your union.

Rummikub · 04/01/2021 03:20

What if it carries on for more than two weeks ?

ScrumptiousBears · 04/01/2021 03:26

I'm public sector. Last year my manager said she could be flexible with hours to cover the whole childcare issue so I started work at 5am had breaks in between and finished around 7-8pm. Then she decided that was outside of my contract hours and told me I couldn't work them 🤷🏼‍♀️. Incidentally I was a keyworker and told by my employer I wasn't allowed to take a key worker place at school. It was a joke.

Wales34 · 04/01/2021 04:29

Usually public sector is pretty flexible . Why can't you take annual leave ?

MessAllOver · 04/01/2021 04:47

How old are your children? If you have a 4 yo, for instance, YABU not to consider unpaid leave/paying for extra childcare if that's an option. How are you meant to work with a small child around?

Can you form a childcare bubble and swap childcare with another family in your child's class?

Heyahun · 04/01/2021 05:05

This could go on for months so I don’t think using all your annual leave is a great slides - what happens after you run out of annual leave?

Unpaid - well i hear ya - how are you meant to pay your mortgage/rent bills, buy food?

Childcare may be possible? But I bet hard to bloody find !

DianaOfTheLakes · 04/01/2021 05:22

Where would I stand with work if I just refuse to buy in extra paid help to cover this time?

You could be heading towards disciplinary and dismissal.

How old are your children and do you work from home? Are they old enough to know not to interrupt calls etc? If they are old enough to be at home with you without interrupting, I'd just do that and not mention it to work. If they are too young for that then you will have to take unpaid leave / find a babysitter.

3rdNamechange · 04/01/2021 05:23

@Wales34

Usually public sector is pretty flexible . Why can't you take annual leave ?
She is , this week. Depends how much she has left after that I suppose.
3rdNamechange · 04/01/2021 05:24

Do you have a partner? Can he take some leave as well?

DianaOfTheLakes · 04/01/2021 05:24

Can the children's father not also take some annual leave?

3rdNamechange · 04/01/2021 05:25

@FeminismandWomensFights

Our primary school is now remote teaching for two weeks. My team leader at work suggests we pay for extra childcare, or take annual or unpaid leave to cover this time. I will take annual leave to cover days in this week while I work something out. Unpaid leave isn’t an option. Where would I stand with work if I just refuse to buy in extra paid help to cover this time? I work part time within school hours and use the after school club when I need to, which is affordable, but that’s shut while school is closed. Apart from the massive increase in childcare costs that I haven’t budgeted for, if I do find an all-day babysitter or childminder for several days a week at no notice, I am a bit worried about the contact with them. Local schools were closed because of this much more infectious variant. I work for a public sector employer so we can’t access furlough. WWYD?
If you just refuse I expect you'll be disciplined or dismissed for not going in.
wejammin · 04/01/2021 05:37

OP I don't have an answer, but I do think this is a problem that will be faced by so many parents and the idea that parents can just either take all annual leave now (because, of course, there are no other holidays to cover and heaven forbid you might need a break this year), take unpaid leave (no bills to pay, of course) or magic up a babysitter and the means to pay for it outside of your budget is fantasy land.

It's not the employer's fault, but it's not OP's either, and some people are being very harsh.

This ridiculous government and their lack of shits to give about our daily lives is abhorrent. Yes, I know people are dying, and yes I am following all the rules, and I am lucky enough to have a job that I can mostly work from home in the early hours of the morning and late into the night around my 3 children (even though it genuinely broke me last lockdown), but honestly I despair at the whole situation and lack of empathy for parents.

SnowGnome · 04/01/2021 05:41

I think taking AL should be last resort. I just posted on another thread that I think emergency legislation should be brought in to enforce flexible working practises and protect parents wherever possible, eg like you say working different hours. But the idea of using all your annual leave now risks severe burnout later for parents. Either that or ensure all parents are given eg ten days of carers leave (that they can use flexibly a few hours at a time).

Using AL now would also mean that come summer no one would be able to get out and spend money on holidays and activities as they’d have no time off left. It’s going to be a long year ahead and we all need to pace ourselves and balance our responsibilities.

SnowGnome · 04/01/2021 05:43

The other option of course is that we add parents to the priority list for vaccines along with school staff.

That way schools could fully open and everyone could get back to work.

blackcat86 · 04/01/2021 05:44

You may find you are a key worker and can therefore send your child to school. Our whole local authority staff are key workers because the local authority must keep running and staff cannot be furloughed. Have you confirmed with HR and the school that you are definitely not a key worker.

If not then your manager is being very inflexible but it would be sustainable to simply have your DC home whilst you work. I would be expecting some compromise though and an acknowledgement that you may not be able to afford to just buy in extra childcare. Public sector wages are terrible and it is often silly not possible. HR or higher management may also be able to help with this. It sounds awful and I'm sure I'll get flamed but if you have been there a while I would consider getting signed off with stress..you may find you get full pay and are not stretched further than you can manage.

Mummyoflittledragon · 04/01/2021 06:39

This is bonkers. Public sector and no furlough should automatically qualify for key worker status. I hope you find a solution. This sounds hugely stressful.

iftherewereahorseyinthehouse · 04/01/2021 06:39

Like many, I am looking down the barrel of demanding a challenging job with homeschooling a year one child for the foreseeable. I also have a one year old ( who was unable to go to nursery in the first lockdown but at the moment is still able to go this time.)

Furlough wasn't offered but my employer has increased dependent's leave and also allowed us to work flexibly 24/7. It meant getting up at 3/4am some days and working into the night as my partner had to fit in a full day of work too so we had to work 15 hours between us.

It is impossible to work with a one year old, slightly easier with an older child as they are distracted by screens. I have no idea where we would find emergency childcare at such short notice and in any event seems ridiculous to bring another person into the mix when the whole point of this is to contain a virus.

Your employer is not being reasonable about this at all.

iftherewereahorseyinthehouse · 04/01/2021 06:40

Demanding?! Balancing!

Tyranttoddler · 04/01/2021 06:44

I ended up doing this last time - teacher--got no money left to do it again. Do you belong to a union?

custardbear · 04/01/2021 06:49

What's the policy for the whole of your work for this situation, you can't be the only one in this situation?

Monkeytapper · 04/01/2021 06:52

My husband works away so childcare is left to me. I work part time as a receptionist so can’t work from home. If schools close then my High school son will be left on his own which is fine but primary age DD will have to go to my childminder (£35 a day) otherwise I would have to take holidays or unpaid parental leave which I don’t want to do and I don’t want to go back on furlough (5 1/2 months last lockdown)as feel that May put me at risk as redundancy.

ouchmyfeet · 04/01/2021 06:58

I'm in a similar position OP. The guidance about who's a critical worker excludes most national government staff yet we are not allowed to be furloughed

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