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Original poster

If your baby was off nursery sick, would your employer be ok with you WFH?

55 replies

acutd · 20/12/2021 09:21

If you have a job where you can work from home and your baby was off nursery sick, would your employer be comfortable with you working from home?

I'm trying to work out who is being unreasonable.

OP posts:
Flittingaboutagain · 20/12/2021 09:22

No I'd have to take the day as parental leave because I couldn't work and care for the baby too.

Zxcvbnm123456 · 20/12/2021 09:24

A sick baby is always going to need its parent. It'd be unreasonable to be allowed to work and look after them.

Doyoumind · 20/12/2021 09:25

You can't wfh with a sick baby in the house.

Weepingwillows12 · 20/12/2021 09:28

Mine would but it's because her view is very much work flexibly as long as you deliver so she would trust my view. In reality though I would book a day of parental leave as I can't work with a sick baby. I would just keep an eye on emails and urgent points.

ReeseWitherfork · 20/12/2021 09:30

Depends what age were actually talking but assume under 1 then absolutely not. Having said that, my boss is generally happy to take our lead. I've never bothered trying, always taken parental leave.

TheFlis12345 · 20/12/2021 09:32

Mine would allow it and a couple of colleagues sometimes do, but it’s a nightmare for the rest of us as they can’t realistically work with a sick child to care for.

BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz · 20/12/2021 09:32

My current employer would be fine if I felt I could meet the bare minimum (respond to urgent enquiries) and felt I could absorb work lost into future days.

However if I was working on something to deadline, I would offer and be expected to put a days emergency leave in.

I completely understand and appreciate that a lot of employers couldn't offer what mine could, and am very grateful.

SilverHairedCat · 20/12/2021 09:33

If your baby is sick, what work can you reasonably achieve? You should be using parental leave etc

MindyStClaire · 20/12/2021 09:34

I'm very lucky with a fully flexible job, so unless I was due to be at something in person that day no one would know. However, there's no way I'd be getting any work done with a small child off sick (I have two nursery age) so it would be mostly done after bedtime.

If the eldest is off and sick, she'll watch TV and I can get a bit done. The youngest still has a long nap so I could do some during that. But regardless, I'd be doing well to get a half day's work done.

In my old, more traditional, job, I would've been expected to take leave (annual or unpaid).

almostforgotitwastwilight · 20/12/2021 09:34

Mine would/does, provided the work was done. I would catch up in the evenings once she's gone to bed.

Tee20x · 20/12/2021 09:36

Depends where you work and age of baby. If baby is unwell and resting/sleeping of course you can respond to urgent enquiries/emails.

If you work in a flexible role you can do as much as you can while baby is at home sick and then make up the rest of the day once they've gone to bed or absorb into other days like others have said.

I would be able to as long as I didn't have any meetings I actually had to attend. Rest of the work is paperwork, reports, emails etc.

When kids are sick a lot of the time they need comforting they're not bouncing off the walls.

lokijet · 20/12/2021 09:43

Yes - i have let team members do this and trust they will do their best to make up the time

There is also parental & family leave available though sone is unpaid

Gingerbreadhoose · 20/12/2021 09:46

I have loads of team members who have sick kids at the moment and I'm fine with them working if they feel able to (but not if it's too much for them).

And I don't mind when they work either. One of mine is doing bits when her toddler naps and in the evening and that's fine with me.

We are all WFH anyway. We have always been a remote organisation, even pre covid.

CheddarGorgeous · 20/12/2021 09:47

No, not because of work output but because of the wellbeing of staff. Parents can't divide themselves between work and caring for sick infants, it's too much stress on them.

WalkingOnSonshine · 20/12/2021 09:47

I wouldn’t be able to work from home with my sick baby. If he’s too ill to be at nursery, then he just needs cuddles and to sleep on me.

Whenever DS is sick, DH & I both wfh and do half a day each working and the other half looking after him.

multiplemum3 · 20/12/2021 09:47

Mins are fine with it, as long as the work gets done they don't care.

Lazypuppy · 20/12/2021 09:47

No of course not, you can't focus on work and look after a child, let alone a sick child

middleager · 20/12/2021 09:48

I used tp have to take the day as leave or find a relative to step in.

LadyR2D · 20/12/2021 09:48

No, I'd be expected to take carers leave. Childcare is not your employers issue.

3cats4poniesandababy · 20/12/2021 09:50

Yes and no.

Yes when my LO is ill or waiting for a PCR test but otherwise fine I do 'work'. But on the understanding I will not be fully working. Equally I will work late to catch up.

Obviously if I'll needs constant holding then I may only check my emails occasionally.

But this is all of goodwill. If I took the piss then this option would be removed. I also always tell them/ask at the start of the day i never just do it.

Marmite27 · 20/12/2021 09:50

Yes, I’ve done that before. However we have family leave - usually 5 days a year we can use for this kind of thing. It’s increased to 10 this year due to Covid).

When my two had chicken pox one after the other we worked at home between us (and grandma kindly pitched in with some animal leave). Tbh all they did during the day was sleep, eat and watch tv.

Coronado2 · 20/12/2021 09:51

I work from home with school aged children here whether it's the school holidays or they are sick and my manager is fine with it. With a toddler or baby I wouldn't be able to do my work and so she wouldn't be ok with it, but I wouldn't be trying it so it would matter that she wasn't ok with it. I would say DD is ill, I'm going to need the day off.

DuneFan · 20/12/2021 09:52

I'd be able to make up the time flexibly if it was a part day. Have often picked poorly child up at 2ish, done a few hours around naps and finished off after bedtime.

Not for a full day or extended period though, I would have to take leave for more than a few hours.

Itsalmostanaccessory · 20/12/2021 09:53

With a toddler or baby then no, you cant work and look after them when they're sick.

MilduraS · 20/12/2021 09:58

There's only one person in my team with young children and she's a hard worker. She's been allowed to work from home when her children have been off sick or childcare has been cancelled. She's flexible when our employer needs it so it would be a piss take if they didn't give her the same flexibility in return. There's no chance she's sat at home pretending to work, she's not that sort of person. I think that's always the biggest fear for managers.