retail-Christmas-no childcare

[BabaMomma]

Hello! I'm a single mum of 2 (under 6yrs) working in retail. Working with current employer for over 6 years part time, 16 hrs a week over 3 fixed days, every week on same days, same time due to childcare arrangements. I have no relative living in the UK.
My normal working days fall on Christmas and Boxing Day but since I have no childcare (nursery closed until Friday, 2nd Jan) there is really no way I can go to work and it has nothing to do with my willingness. A friend who I would normally trust will be away visiting her family.
My manageress is refusing to accept my reasons and says that I have a contract stating I need to work certain hours each week. I also understand this but surely the welfare and safety of any child should be a priority. Contacted our HR department but they cannot give me any truly useful information. Can they make me work longer hours/day to make up for the hours I was away (again, extra costs of childcare) either before or after my absence?
Can someone please help me and give me some information? Something I can show her eg link, paragraph of law etc that I can refer to?
I pretty much love my job, I don't want to loose it but this really puts a huge amount of pressure on me.
Thank you!

but regardless of how flexible you were last year, you knew it might be an issue this. Managers change, forget or their remit to be flexible can be changed especially at this time of year. As you seem to have so little back up it is worth finding someone to help out where possible. What would you do if one of your dc are ill for example ?

Managers do conveniently forget.......except when its something that works in their favour.

well, i honestly didn't expect it to be an issue. For me a word given is a word given.
What would I do? I would change shift, ask someone to do my hours and work it back for them later etc. Did happen before.
Should probably just order a magic wand from Amazon I guess (strictly after the 26th though!).

My sister worked in retail for 20 years. The only Christmas she had off was when she was on maternity leave. She wasn't a manager, the manager had every single Christmas off so that she could go on holiday with her DP, leaving the staff with children to run the shop for her. The manager had no DC. Seriously, if you can, retrain and get the hell out of there.

You really need to get some back-up childcare sorted out, for when things like this happen, especially if you haven't got family near by.

I'd start by contacting a nanny/babysitter agency, and explaining your issue with strangers - perhaps they could send someone to you who spends time with you altogether, so that they aren't strangers? And then that person could be your 'go to' babysitter?

Sorry I can't help with your current problem. It sounds a nightmare.

I'm not having a go, i do sympathise with you i was a single working parent with two small children its all about choices, you chose to have kids you chose to work and you must have known that there would be times ahead when you would have problems with childcare.
You have two issues here one that you are expected to make up the hours for christmas day and that you cannot get childcare for boxing day.
Your employer cannot force you to make up the extra hours for christmas day as he is closing the shop. He must also pay you for those hours and you should not be expected to work those hours. If he is open on Boxing day and this is your normal working day then he can expect you to turn up for work. This is where the problem is for your childcare.
You need to sort something out as if your in this job next year you will have the same set of problems

In future I will be prepared. However I still don't get it, if something was agreed why am I the one to be blamed and called unprepared?
Retail isn't easy. But I still love my job & our customers (well, most of them).
LadySybilLikesSloeGin what? Management on holiday? Is that possible? How disgusting!
Thank you for all advice!

I'm not blaming you!

But you are unprepared - things haven't turned out as you expected. This is what emergency/back-up plans are for!!!

I cannot believe someone has suggested advertising locally for a bored student babysitter!! Really?!??

Exactly Bowchick Then the OP would get the blame if something bad happened, Its gaslighting really.

How are you getting on OP Is it sorted now?

Have you asked at dc nursery for a babysitter? They normally charge £5 a hour and your child will already know them and they will be dbs checked.

Merry Christmas! :)
At the end my management generously granted the day off for the 24th and I will make up my hours whenever they need extra help in the near future on my usual working days.
Bow & Helena i guess they aren't parents themselves. Reassuring to know it isn't just me who would never agree to such babysitter :)

Having worked in retail and faced similar restrictions i found the stress unbearable. it is like being squeezed by the responsibility between our parental care and that of the responsibility to maintain terms of the employment contract. By now you have possibly resolved this matter and i believe that by being a good negotiator with your employer even if that means a 'strategic absense' ie calling in sick, emmergency etc needs to be done it is a tactic available to you. I do appreciate that your skill set and experience is in the sector you work in however it is very child unfriendly as you know and long term planning could be to shift into education as a teacher or TA so you could spend more time with family and save on childcare

I understand some of the points here but how many childminders work on boxing day/new year's day? None round here. I would have been talking to other staff in the company and trying to set something up. Op you do seem to have left a predictable issue to the last minute to sort. You would have known this issue in January so would have negotiated swapping days around. You need to find a lovely cm as a back up for such occasions and yes you'll have to pay high childcare costs on those days - like the rest of us.

I have to same problem, I am single mother of one and I don't have relatives in UK. I am hungarian. All of my friends who lives close, they got already program for Christmas, they fly home to Poland / Hungary, nobody can look after my child + they don't have any experience with babies, they never feed babies or changing nappies, in emergency they don't know what to do with a baby. My boss asked me to work on boxing day, christmas, new years eve, but the nursery is closed for 2 weeks. I am not the enemy of my money so after big argument I could arrange 2 weeks holiday. They all will work during this time but they are english british people - full with relatives, they live together on the same street so for this reason I was very pissed off. I didn't want to be a single mum, my ex just left me when my baby was 6 months old and he disappeard. I didn't plan it !!!! I work at the restaurant 16 hours a week and my baby spend 2 days at the nursery. Christmas will be very busy with full booking and I can't work that no childcare. I am not crazy to pay £ 15/ hour for christmas babysit and the company pay me £ 7.50 / hour. So I should pay double money for babysit that I earn in work and + travelling expenses. I am not crazy. I work to this company for 5 years, I am tired from this sh*t......I am not scared or sensitive, if I can't work, I can't.

And yes, I like my job as well, I am prep chef, I do the food preparation + if no any work, small washing up. In 16 hours with a "5 days weekend" is this job is fine. I don't complain. And when I went back to work from maternity, I wrote a letter to head office, in the letter : "I would like to work on wednesday and on thursday, from 9 a to 5 pm., excluding bank holidays, when the Day Nursery is open" My all bosses accepted it. They changed they mind before christmas - You has to work as well !!!!! For business reasons. Yesteday the big boss signed my holiday form out., he accepted it finally. He has a wife with 2 children - of course, wife is home with children on christmas, they don't pay for babysit !!!!! Nobody pays for babysit, my all (british) collegues has a dosen of relatives nearby. In the same street !!!! So is fuck*ng easy for them !!!! I don't have any remorse that they will work istead of me as well - with planty of relatives it is easy. They are pissed off me but I don't care. If I loose my job - I move to income support and looking for a more child friendly job in 16 hours. It is plan B. But I won't pay double money for babysit that I earn, this job is not worth so much.

And the reality, if I am honest / sensitive, I would just loose money. It is in everything in this time, people using just people for money or for fun. When my ex noticed the difficulties with newborn - he was run away. After 3 years of happy relationship - we travelled a lot !!!! - He said to me, his love is gone and moved out. So I decided I never will be honest any more with anybody - nobody deserves it. Job is just for money so i am not honest in work - I care just only my pocket so I don't pay any extra babysit. Fck them ff. I am happy that I can pay the nursery fee, my rent, my bills, alone, I don't miss any extra expenses. I was very determined when I said to my boss, I can't work when the nursery is closed, I don't tell twice. I filled up a holiday and gave him form thats it. No feelings, no scared, no remorse, no any sh*t feeling. Not any more. They can make me redundant only but not fired, I do my job very well. If they make my redundant, I go to benefits temporaty and looking for another job. I am not scared !!!

Zombie thread ***

Well. You seem to have it all worked out Anita.