disciplinary for child being ill

[mummykbp]

Have any working mums out there been given a disciplinary for having time off while their child's been ill?
I was given one coming back to work after my son had chicken pox. He obviously wasn't allowed at his childminders and, being a single mum, I had to stay off until he got better.
Has any one else experienced being treated unfairly at work because you have a child?
I feel my employers have slowly pushed me down to the bottom of the barrel and are trying to think of any excuse to sack me, since I've come back from maternity leave.

I teally feel for you OP.
When my little one got chicken pox i lso needed time off and my employer was accomodating. You would think that it is easier for an employer to give time off than to piss someone off and go through all the recruitment/training to find a replacement!

What emergency childcare would you advise Mrs?

I agree with other posters. We
live 200 miles from my parents and 180 miles from DH's parents. Fortunately our two are rarely ill but if they are we have to juggle. I've once had an afternoon off when DD1 was admitted to hospital. Otherwise we rely on luck and an informal network of other local parents, nursery staff and a lovely retired nurse who lives up the road. For more than a days cover one of the 4 Grandparents would make the trip to help or we'd get an agency nanny in or something. (Luckily I only work 4 days and we have a PT nanny two days anyway)

Really ridiculous to expect to take time off if your kids are ill (unless admitted to hospital). As a manager in a former life I was driven bonkers by people who thought it was ok to drop colleagues in the shit to take time with a child with a cold or cough

Whilst I think that contingencies are necessary, chickenpox is a difficult one because unless you have a game relative or friend who aren't immuno-compromised or have had it themselves, it's very tricky.

How long did you have off?

When our DDs had chicken pox, we alternated days off and on one day where we really, really needed to be in work, my mum looked after them. Her health isn't very good, however, and my father is very elderly. My MIL looks after my niece so we can't rely on that. What helps in our case is that I work pt, so fewer days need to be covered.

Have you had much time off for a sick child before chicken pox? If that was the only incident of sickness, or you haven't had to take any for a while, then despite the legal position, on a human level, it does seem unfair.

Lucky you sleepless to have four grandparents to chose from. I assume they are, and always will be, in good health.