#isitOK

I think probably not, given that I have to ask - but am I allowed to get a bit fooked off about the colleague with the kid that's sick?

 

last leg stylee, do you have an #isitOK you want to air?

As someone who does not have kids, I think being a bit f****d off is fairly reasonable.

 

What irritates me more is colleagues that claim that they should have preferential treatment for summer/Christmas holidays because they have children.  They are truly terrible, terrible people.

Invent some children of your own, they’re a great excuse to spend an afternoon down the local and who is ever going to accuse you of lying?*

 

 

 

*this may be a trifle easier for men than women #checkyourmaleprivilege

 

stay at home until the thing is better, not come and go - I would rather be told on Monday, you're in the shit for a week, than half arsed shite yes, no, yes no

well quite, Tanget - you can't get childcare, so you aren't coming in - I get that, but I'd rather you just stayed away until it was sorted out, some certainty

 

for the record, I am a seccie, not an FE

Fussers it’s fine. I used to get a bit narked too. Actually that’s probably not a great benchmark!

 

i had a colleague who’s child was always miraculously poorly on a Friday. It was our busiest day at court so everyone else suffered. Then she whined that I got long complex trials briefed to me and it wasn’t fair. I pointed out that most trials sat 5 days a week so that would be kind of difficult with her work pattern and having kids was a lifestyle choice I’d decided against. 

What irritates me more is colleagues that claim that they should have preferential treatment for summer/Christmas holidays because they have children. 

 

This.  And half-terms.  And in the mornings and afternoons.  I get that there are practicalities with having kids but there are people who make such a song and dance about it and they can fvk right off.

Some people obv are not suited to being parents and working at the same time so end up expecting colleagues to do a chunk of their job for them. Those people should either stop working, cough up for child care or not have kids

Panda - Fussers point is that parents get more time off than annual leave because time off because little Johnny has a cold doesn't come out of annual leave and little Johnny's parents' time off comes at cost to us the childless.

It's probably something to do with the fact that employers are basically humans too and recognise that:

  • children are kind of necessary for society to continue to function ("I have vowed never to have children because [insert tedious trendy BS reason here]" protestations notwithstanding) and
  • it is not always particularly fun and relaxing for parents to have to look after children at the best of times, and unbelievably not fun when they're sick. 

TBH, I am quite grumpy and anxious today due to the egg freezing hormones that I am injecting into myself, but if I am ever lucky enough to be a mama, I deffo want to be a housewife.

“It's probably something to do with the fact that employers are basically humans too and recognise that:

  • children are kind of necessary for society to continue to function ("I have vowed never to have children because [insert tedious trendy BS reason here]" protestations notwithstanding) and
  • it is not always particularly fun and relaxing for parents to have to look after children at the best of times, and unbelievably not fun when they're sick. “

Except it’s never the employer who suddenly gets lumbered with extra work, it’s the colleague who has his / her own shit to deal with. And if a parent doesn’t enjoy looking after a sick child they can make some arrangements and go to work. 

"And if a parent doesn't enjoy looking after a sick child they can make some arrangements and go to work."

There speaks a person who presumably has never had a child suddenly become sick on them. Also, what kind of parent enjoys having a sick child on their hands?

“There speaks a person who presumably has never had a child suddenly become sick on them.”

So what? The point is that you visit your problems on your colleagues who are not being unreasonable if they get narked especially when it’s all last minute

 

So what? Sometimes it's just not reasonably possible to "make some arrangements" and go to work. Especially when the child gets sick "all last minute".

I think we're going to have to agree to disagree. While plainly some colleagues take the piss (and it does sound as though your colleague might possibly be in that bracket) I do think you're being somewhat unreasonable in adopting what sounds like a blanket approach. My wife and I always agonise before taking time of for illness (less so for our children than for our own, it must be said) because of the impact on our own and our colleagues' workload. I doubt we're the only ones to do so .

if someone being off for illness is a huge problem it strikes me as a management issue rather than a burn the sick people and their families issue

 

if a colleague is off then I do my best to cover and if it can't be done it can't be done

 

I guess this doesn't work so well if you are an A&E doctor or whatever

This is such a bullshit argument for lawyers in the first place. No one ends up doing someone else’s work due to absence unless that person is off for days on end, it’s not like you take over conduct of this bit of litigation or that corporate deal for half a day while the partner/associate whatever goes to the GP with their kid. All that happens is some work gets delayed for a day or so until the person catches up. 

 

If its longer than that then clearly kid is ill inwhich case you are a cvnt for begrudging the time off in the first place

 

i can see how it would be an issue for seccies or whatever but most of them do fvck all most of the time anyway and I’ll bet still get to fvck off at half five so my sympathy is limited.

Thing is, I don't think my colleagues do get narked. Because they're not toss-weasels. But then, as Zero Gravitas says, I'm not working in TK Maxx or wherever and causing them to have to do extra shifts - perhaps you're in a different position.

I remember knocking off early once because it was dungeons and dragons night and I had to get halfway across the city so wanted to miss the traffic.  People actually got funny with me, despite the fact that I have covered for them numerous time while little Percy had to be taken to the doctors or something.

its a bloody cheek and a double standard.  People without kids can have emergencies too you know.

it might not have really been what you said, Tangent - but you can't surely think it unfair to be passed over for promotion in favour of someone who doesn't take as many sick days (lets leave the kid thing out of it for a mo)?  

He was probably the only healing spellcaster in his guild and they couldn’t go on the scheduled raid against Trenzalore the Great with only offensive warriors. 

Or am I getting mixed up with Warcraft here?

On that basis, let's go the whole hog and stop and pretence of promoting mothers. They keep on taking all those months of maternity leave after all, and that is even worse because it is like planned sickness.

Soz that’s bollocks. It might have been the reason cited (and I doubt even that unless it was eg the day before a listing they were running or something) but it will be more to do with the other 364 days’ actions than going to a party on the 365th. 

Can people with sick children not just work from home? Kid either in bed or miserably watching Disney films, laptop out and tootle tootle?

Personally, I would really like the opportunity to take mat leave. I don't want the baby that goes with it, but I'd like a year off with full pay then half pay for however long and some SMP going on in the background. I'd have a grand old time. Just need someone to certify the upduff form, buy some fake bumps and jobs a good un. Although I'd need to keep referring to Petunia or Taquin forever after which could be awks, but I guess that's where the Fridays off come in?!

"I know someone who, pre-children, got passed over for promotion for leaving the office to go to a family celebration. On a Sunday."

 

Was he a Catholic priest?

Personally, I would really like the opportunity to take mat leave. I don't want the baby that goes with it, but I'd like a year off with full pay then half pay for however long and some SMP going on in the background. I'd have a grand old time. Just need someone to certify the upduff form, buy some fake bumps and jobs a good un. Although I'd need to keep referring to Petunia or Taquin forever after which could be awks, but I guess that's where the Fridays off come in?!

hehe! exactly. 

Had a colleague who had 3 kids one after the other, full mat leave for each one.   Plus special hours when she was 7 months + preggers because she didn't want to travel in rush hour, plus special hours when she was back at work again for a variety of child care related reasons.   It was like the whole department was organised around her sprogging choices. 

Zero try doing my job as in conveyancing you'll get X is off because their child is sick and here's their horrible completion that is happening today.  If you're lucky X will call you and talk you through it when they can.  Similarly if I'm ill I end up working out what needs doing that day and what completions are due before deciding whether to go to work or not.

I'm not bothered by people with children getting preferential treatment for holiday during school holidays as I tend to avoid going away then because it's so expensive and busy.  The only time it's a minor irritation is if I want a week off in August for Cowes Week.

panda?29 Oct 18 12:29

“It's probably something to do with the fact that employers are basically humans too and recognise that:

  • children are kind of necessary for society to continue to function ("I have vowed never to have children because [insert tedious trendy BS reason here]" protestations notwithstanding) 

Children might be kinda necessary, it isn't necessary for you to have them.