What do I do!?!?

[hillarypcof]

I am one of 2 positions (i won't say what as it is very niche and may reveal) but basically my counterpart simply isn't pulling her weight.

I joined the team in Feb 2020, she joined 2 weeks after me, about a month before we went into lockdown and WFH.

She is a single mum so I do have empathy for her having to home school (although said child is 13 years old and, having a 14 year old sibling myself, I know for a fact that they do not need to be spoon-fed)

She was only really replying to 2 or 3 emails a day in-between home-schooling, which was frustrating considering her child was well into Secondary education (she had us all believe she was stood at the front of the class teaching!)

Anyway things have never got much better. There is ALWAYS an excuse as to why she cannot work. Reasons why she has to leave urgently, take a half day, go sick, reasons that she cannot do a certain task. Examples being - need to cook a birthday cake for family members (she isn't taking annual leave for this - she seems to have access to a special pot of "free" leave that I do not receive!), doing food shopping, going to massages and getting hair/nails done. Seldom are the reasons genuine reasons to finish work.
She has also had about 5 periods of sickness since Feb which nothing seems to be done about.
To rub salt in the wounds, whenever I request to take annual leave, she will make a dig at me that I am "leaving" her to do all the work!!!!! Often she will take a day of legit leave upon my return to work, almost as if tit-for-tat.

I'm not sure how much more of this I can handle. By default, all the work she is not doing is coming over to me to do, ON TOP OF my own workload and responsibilities. Our manager seems to be fine with it, at least he never challenges it which is why I think it has gone on for so long.

I have bitten my tongue for so long but it is starting to affect me now, I'm starting to feel stressed and snowed under.

I do not like how we are both being paid the same to do the same work, yet she contributes about 10% and I'm picking up the pieces of the other 90!!!!

What do I say/how do I go about speaking up about this??

I'm at my wits end. TIA xx

I'd suggest logging it all for a few weeks and the go to your manager.

What @hopeishere said

Keep a list/copy/folder of all your work, and then another of all her work which you have been given due to her absence.
Also, send yourself an email every time you are handed her work and include the reason she gave.
Do it for 3 or 4 weeks, and then go and speak with your manager. Lay it all out and then just say that you simply cannot continue (maybe see if your GP will give you a note for 2 weeks sick due to stress just before you have this meeting). Tell your manager you have felt so much pressure since lockdown started in March, and you cannot go on like this. But you really need to be very clear and physically lay out the amount of her work which she is not doing.

Definitely write it all down and then show your manager, they might not realise just how bad it is.

I wish I had done the same in my first job-smokers used to get 2-3 10 minute extra breaks, parents used to be allowed to finish 20-30 minutes early most days for the school run, they were paid for this time and never made it up. I can't imagine over 6 years how much more work I did for my wage than some staff!

Where is your line manager in all this?! Surely it is them who is signing off all this leave?!