Advice please work and sickness

[Kardelen]

Can I ask for some advice? I’ve been asked to cover a colleague’s shifts during half-term because she doesn’t have childcare, and I need some school days off myself.

I’m considering agreeing, but I’m worried about what would happen if one of my children became ill on one of those days. If I genuinely couldn’t arrange childcare due to them being sick would it be considered weird/unreasonable to have to call work and say I can’t come in? So rather than calling in sick 1 shift, it would be 3 shifts that week.

I’m just trying to work out whether I should agree to the shifts when childcare isn’t 100% guaranteed incase of sickness or whether it’s better to say no from the start.

Whats different about half term? How do you normally sort out sickness?

Say no if you want, but your logic sounds a little odd.

I wouldn’t say no because I worried my kids would get sick - that can happen at any time and it’s no more likely to happen during half term. I would say no if I had plans with my kids, didn’t have childcare sorted (because my schedule showed I was off work and didn’t need it), or I simply didn’t want to.

As a cynical old people manager, I take a dim view of the old "unexpected sickness" line at half term especially when you have agreed to cover someone else's shifts. But it happens and would be managed but would raise eyebrows. If you think this is likely to be an issue I'd refuse to cover the shift change.

Tell Your manager you can’t cover as you have your own childcare provision to prioritise. They will have to find someone else.