Sick Days and Emergency Child Care

What do you do with the kids when you are working?

It is important to think about a course of action before a situation arises and line up help as a back up. Having a contingency plan in place will save you time and energy, not to mention a lot of stress!

Here are some ideas for you to consider:

Find a Solution in Advance

Take turns staying home with sick children when necessary.

You may also be lucky enough to have parents or in-laws living in the area. You will be surprised at how wonderfully supportive they can be. If possible, don't call on their help for the whole day, maybe just a few hours to handle the important matters at work and then work from home if necessary.

Talk to neighbours who are stay-at-home mums or family members. You may be pleasantly surprised how many people are willing to help out in this situation.

Split the Day with Your Partner

Another alternative when children are sick is to split the day. You can go to work in the morning, from 7:30 until 12:30, come home, and then your partner can go in and work from 2:00 until 8:00.

Save Your Sick Days

Try to save your sick days so that you don't have to take unpaid days although you can receive carers leave (taken out of your sick leave) if you need to take time off to look after a sick family member – ask your HR department about what arrangements can be made with flexible leave practices.

Short notice child care

Many babysitting and nanny agencies offer short notice or emergency care services to families on sick days. Do some research and put together a list of agencies and contact them to figure out how the system works and what you need to do if you do ever need to call on one of these providers. You’ll feel more confident about the decision if you register and contact the providers in advance.