Help need a good excuse to call in “sick” to work

[colourPink]

My toddler is unwell - high temp etc. if i say I’m off to look after him I don’t get paid (and lose £130 a day!) but if I phone in sick I do get paid.

However, I’ve had to do it a few times this year and not sure what illness I can have this time. Advice? (I’ve had quite a few colds/ sickness bugs/ ruiner infections..)

What's a ruiner infection? I'd go with migraine or D&V.

Always start a job with both sets of great grandparents & grandparents still alive and kicking add to that a few additional aunts/uncles and you’ve got yourself some compassionate leave and special leave for funerals.
Ignore the holier than thou pp’s your boss & colleagues don’t care about you or your sick child in reality so fuck them!
Its about time UK employers brought wages up to living standards than employees (usually women with children) wouldn’t constantly get fucked over and feel the need to lie 😏

Please don't defraud your employer to steal £130 that you aren't entitled to. It's dishonesty like this that makes employers less willing to employ women of childbearing age, which contributed to upholding and reinforcing the patriarchy.

I'm with you OP.
Sometimes other people just don't get it, do they?
Telling the truth nowadays doesn't always pay.

Diarrhoea.....
No one expects you to come in with a bout of severe diarrhoea.
It could be something you've eaten or it could be IBS.
You've taken anti diarrhoea tablets, but they haven't worked.

Good Luck

I never understand the comments on these threads questioning the poster why they can’t leave their child with someone. All of my family and friends work and I certainly wouldn’t expect them to look after my sick child and catch the bug themselves.

OP I’d go for sickness bug. Say your toddler has it and has passed it onto you.

Small children are often sick. It's not about the next decade, it's that toddlers often get anything going around because their immune systems are not mature.

I hate when posters put even more pressure on a mum with a sick child needing to lie to their workplace if they want to get paid. It's WRONG.

The OP's child won't have the immunity issues he has now when he's a teen. But in the meantime there are thousands of mothers facing this problem, like I faced 30 years ago, and laws have not changed to protect us.

I second diarrhoea and sickness you’ll be able to take an extra 48 hours off after illness has passed (bonus if little one is still unwell for the next few days) and because 1 days Illness always looks sus but if your off a few, more believable I think.

Can the child's dad not look after him?

It's annoying that men just get a free pass.

Or people who are fed up with picking up the pieces when 'that employee' is 'off sick' again.

Colleagues having to do their work for them

Managers having to rearrange rotas, arrange cover, cancel appointments etc etc

Parents seeing their child's education disrupted

Service users having their appointments cancelled, rearranged or with someone else who they don't know and might not be as effective because they don't know them well.

If really desperate I would say migraine or stomach bug.
Lots of single days off are more suspicious/red flag than a couple of longer spells off.
Can you occasionally just about afford to take the hit on losing a days wage?
I dont think you can get away with this too frequently as employer may flag it.
It sucks, I know how stressful it is. Is there absolutely noone who could step in? DCs dad, grandparents?
A few employers do offer paid carers leave, I have friends in the police and banking who do but they are in the minority.
If its possible to find a more flexible job where you can work from home, work flexible hours/accrue flexi time than that might be a better option for employment right now.

If you continue to do this you might find yourself permanently unpaid as you exceed the company threshold for sickness and end up being managed out via HR processes.

Maybe even...hand and foot to mouth?

@colourPink

Several times already? You’d be on a performance tracker at my work, and given they are not genuine you could be sacked.

It’s concerning how many people would just lie in this situation. I’d be honest and take a parental leave day unpaid. Unfortunately this is one of the situations you will face when you have children.

You have to do what’s best for your kid and there have been a few suggestions on this thread. And for those saying she shouldn’t do it BECAUSE the employer WILL FIND OUT, how will the exactly find out that she didn’t in fact have a stomach bug/ headache/ migraine/ whatever minor illness she is forced to fake for the day?

This is a problem for the company, not for a mum with a small sick child.

The problem is companies don't want to employ too many people knowing, as they do, that there are staffing problems. People get sick, go on leave, have children that get sick....

They maximise profits by giving executives large packages to "streamline production", which means employing the minimum of people and getting the rest of staff to double their work. And it works.

Your post is an example of how "streamlining" works. People turn on colleagues if they need too much leave because of sick children, and line managers are stuffed because they don't have enough available personnel.

It's a race to the bottom, where mums with small children always lose.

I’m sorry you are going through this. It’s really hard x

Why are you assuming the dad is around? Jees some of the responses on here are ridiculous. I’ve been there OP I know how hard it is.

Be honest , the other employees are not there to subsidise your childcare .

Migraine. Minor illness, right. Tell that to those who suffer 100+ days a year and end up malnourished from the nausea, or in hospital with hemiplegic migraines that mimic stroke symptoms.
Lie if you want, but ffs don't keep minimising migraine. Because it's not just a headache.

Be honest and find a solution for next time. Maybe he’s well enough to go some of the times.

I would say one or two times of saying you have a bug or D&V is ok. People on this thread are naive to think employees don’t do this, even when they don’t have kids!!!

But if you’ve done it multiple times recently. I would either - ask to use a day of annual leave OR take the hit financially. If you have no leave left, can you purchase a couple of extra days annual leave that they then take from a few pay packets so it’s spread out?

It sucks having little kids and being the one to always have to take time off work. Is your manager generally supportive? If not I’d be looking for a different job. Mine are always fine with me taking annual leave or making the time up so I don’t have to feign illness.

Not all employers use it.

Take annual leave

I’d hate it if you worked for me. Lying like this is just crap. We all have kids , we all have lives, I hate people who try and manipulate the system to the detriment of others.