can I insist in WFH in this situation

[helloMickey]

Content warning (added by MNHQ)

I work in a hybrid role though work can be done fully from home.

DC (13 years old) has poor mental health and did attempt to commit suicide 2 weeks ago. Adamant, they will try again. Loads of people involved now (camhs, crisis team, ss). Been told I have to provide 24/7 supervision due to ongoing suicide risk. Been WFH since it happened but work are now making noises and asking me to find a babysitter or someone else so I can do my hours in the office. I have no family and a babysitter for a suicidal teen is completely inappropriate. DC will not be able to cope with a stranger ATM. I have no way of knowing when the situation will improve. Do I have any legal right to WFH in this situation and if so, on what grounds? Google wasn't helpful.

I manage my workload fully from home despite the hugely stressful situation. I was just hoping my LM would be understanding. But maybe I expect too much esp since it's open end.

Join a union now. They can’t help with anything going on before you were a member but they can going forward. If you seriously think you might be going down the road of disciplinary action/sacking you’d be mad not too. There will be other benefits too. It doesn’t matter whether or not your workplace recognises them or not, you will still be represented by them.

I would suggest you take leave, even if it isn't you that is stressed, you are dealing with suicide watch.
Give 100% of yourself to your DC, until they can reach a point of being integrated back

To those saying she can't do her job at home and keep an eye on the child - I vet she still does more work than those office based folk that seem to have fag breaks every hour!

I do! or those on endless catch up chats at the water cooler! 😃

I hear the argument about being signed off but follow that through……you can’t stay on stress leave indefinitely and companies are allowed to speak to you every week and understand your situation. I believe most companies won’t go past about 4/5 months and then they will mutually settle and while you will have some money you will be without a job. Companies protest themselves and while morally may be grey certainly aren’t legally wrong…..

Yeah no. I work in a large multinational and there is a smal, handful of those who smoke and we work just as hard in the office or at home. Your view is a bit specific.

Maybe in 1995. There are zero smokers in my office.

There’s been some good advice on here in between the criticism. I think you have 3 options:

• just refuse to go in and hope they don’t sack you. At that point you can always argue you are protected from discrimination by association due to your daughter. See https://www.acas.org.uk/disability-discrimination/types-of-disability-discrimination
• go off sick
• ask a GP to sign you as well enough only to WFH. This isn’t that unusual

I hope you’ve got some more clarity today OP.

There are a few in mine. And even more who think they’re paid to that nonsense for half the day then suddenly have too much work to do 🙄

I would get signed off work for two weeks and make sure they’re explicit about it being due to your poor mental health at present, rather than just writing stress or a vague reason (my note said needs to rest when it was stress).

A mental health problem can be classed as a disability and your employer must then consider reasonable adjustments they could make to ensure you aren’t disadvantaged. e.g your anxiety is made worse by the stress of your child being unwell so a reasonable adjustment would be allowing you to work from home so there isn’t more stress amplifying your anxiety.

I’m not for a second suggesting you lie if you think your mental health is fine but I would personally struggle to maintain good mental health if my child was as poorly as yours.