Wife had to take time off work to care for sick Daughter

inspector_monkfish

feelinggood wrote: »

Have you discussed this with your employers? I've known people to work for Far Eastern companies, and all have been accommodating.

not all far eastern companies are the same as japanese...

i had a brief meeting with HR whilst my daughter was actually in hospital, and they did say i could have time off (unpaid) if i wanted, but in the current climate, i know for certain it would not go down at all well with my immediate bosses.... plus i earn about 75% of our combined salaries, so it would really hurt.

redpete

inspector_monkfish wrote: »

her condition is not something I would like to dump on the average childminder. Specialist training is required to look after her, which members of staff at her school are currently doing.

she does have a childminder that we have used before the operation, and she would probably be ok with her for the odd half hour before or after school, but not a full day.

Apologies if it's been suggested already but I haven't read the whole thread...

Have you contacted Social Services to see if they have a list of childminders who could take on your daughter? It is not an absolute truth that "childminders cannot take on a sick child", with the appropriate training and controls it is possible. My wife has cared for ill / disabled children as a childminder which has involved, for example, feeding via nasal tube, administering oxygen as required and some physical therapy. There might even be some financial support from Social Services to contribute to this care.

space_rider

Redpete, it depends on the child minder. When I was looking for childcare for my daughter I couldn`t find a child minder who would take on the responsibility. She has been resusciated 13 times, 3 times by me. Has seizures, a heart condition, breathing condition and needed various medications etc. I had respite first from the hospital by trained nurses and then she went to a social services special needs nursery. When my unpaid leave ran out and I was due to return to work, Social services didn`t want to know as they couldn`t provide child care for me to work. In the end she went to the local school nursery and then was picked up by her own sister and looked after for 2 hours 3 times a week. Her sister was still at school herself but I knew she would be able to see to any needs she had. I also tried private day nurseries and they didn`t want the responsibility either.

Every winter I worry how ill my daughter is going to be and if this is the winter that my employee tells me enough is enough and I have to leave. I have been chopping and changing my hours for 6 years now.

inspector_monkfish

redpete wrote: »

Apologies if it's been suggested already but I haven't read the whole thread...

Have you contacted Social Services to see if they have a list of childminders who could take on your daughter? It is not an absolute truth that "childminders cannot take on a sick child", with the appropriate training and controls it is possible. My wife has cared for ill / disabled children as a childminder which has involved, for example, feeding via nasal tube, administering oxygen as required and some physical therapy. There might even be some financial support from Social Services to contribute to this care.

tks 4 advice
it'll certainly be worth looking into

space_rider

[quote=[Deleted User];24785179]My wifes a nurse and this is what she is subject to. After three occurences, your on stage 1 sickness review. and it escaltes if you have any more sick.

Personally, I think its the wrong way to do things. In the past, my wife has been forced to go into work ill because she over the sickness limit which is never right for someone whos looking after ill people. Also, a few years ago she broke a bone in her hand on a faulty swing door in the hospital -yep, this is one sickness too.

Worse still - one of her colleagues was subject to sickness review after taking time off with depression following the death of her mother. Nice one, eh?[/QUOTE]

Cheers Paulfoel, I`m in the process of getting my registration back so I can practise as a nurse again. I will just be doing bank nursing so I can work as and when I can.

dippy3103

Your local childrens infromation service will have a list of childminders that can look after children who need extra care. The one for the area i live in has a fantastic website to search on.

Hope your daughter recovers soon, it must be difficultfor you all.

TotallyBroke

I see no reason why she cannot go to a childminder either. If she is well enough to be left in the care of a classroom teacher that has 20+ children for a few hours once or twice a week. Then she is well enough to be left in the care of a person that will only be looking after 3 children.
If the school insurance is able to care for the child then the childminders should be too. You would have signed a form giving the childminder permission to administer medicine if needed. So you only need to show her/him how to care for your daughter. I'm guessing you are still paying your childminder as per the contract.

inspector_monkfish

TotallyBroke wrote: »

I see no reason why she cannot go to a childminder either. .

But you do not know her symptoms, so you are not in a position to say whether she can or cannot. I am. Trust me, she cannot at the moment.

If she continues to make good progress, then this will become an option maybe in a few months.

Jami74

Oh dear, what a terrible position to be in. I guess it's one of those really awful situations that you don't plan for because you don't expect. I have no idea how we would cope if one of us had to take extended periods of time off work to care for a poorly child and like the OP I would probably ask here to find out what options there were. It also wouldn't occur to me to question the legalities of a sick note/letter/prescription that a Dr wrote for me or a member of my family. It sounds like you can only hope that the school will be accomodating (and yes, to some it sounds unfair that the school would pay while she takes time off to look after a sick child but if my employer offered this I wouldn't turn it down), if not then unpaid leave or part time hours could be asked for or maybe your wife would consider ending her employment for the time being and seeing if you are entitled to tax credits etc. Either way it seems likely that you'll be worse off financially.

Hope your daughter improves quickly and that you'll get all the support you need.

TotallyBroke

TotallyBroke wrote: »

I see no reason why she cannot go to a childminder either.

inspector_monkfish wrote: »

But you do not know her symptoms, so you are not in a position to say whether she can or cannot. I am. Trust me, she cannot at the moment.

If she continues to make good progress, then this will become an option maybe in a few months.

No you are right I do not know her symptons and you do. But can you say that a Teacher that is responsible for many children with possibly no medical training or certificates is the best childcare solution for a sick child. Whereas a childminder that is first aid trained and possibly one that has chosen to develop their medical knowledge to look after sick and disabled children is not.

I really think this thread can be put to bed now. Your initial questions have been answered and you have dismissed them and any suggestions of what you can do to make the situation easier and better.

You originally asked what your wife's rights were in regard to being off work and getting full pay. The answer is None. She can have the right to having compassionate leave at no pay but she has no rights to be off work on full pay. The only thing your wife can do is speak to her employer and see what they can suggest for her.

The thing you can do is speak to your employer and take time off to look after your daughter, if you find yourself being penalised later on due to this then you can come back and people will advise on putting in a formal grievance against your company.

Good Luck and I truly wish your daughter recovers soon.