Mum splits opinions after asking child-free colleague to work Christmas Day shift
9 December 2022, 11:27
The woman said that while she feels 'terrible' she will struggle to find childcare for Christmas Day.
A single mum has split opinions online after revealing that she has asked her child-free colleague to work a Christmas Day shift.
The unnamed woman, who shared her story on Mumsnet, explained that she is a single mum of an autistic four-year-old and getting childcare for him over Christmas Day would be expensive for her and distressing for him.
She and her colleague, someone she says is a friend, were told by their employer that while they both usually get Christmas Day off, one of them would have to work a three hour shift on the festive day between 7:00am and 10:00am.
The employer told the pair that they should work out arrangements between themselves.
The single mum said that while she feels "terrible" for asking her colleague to work the shift, she still asked her to withdraw her application for holiday on Christmas Day as she and her husband do not have children.
Writing in the 'Am I Being Unreasonable' forum on Mumsnet, the woman explained: "Ok I feel terrible about this but me and my colleague who I get on with quite well normally have both requested Christmas day off but our manager has said that only one of us can have it off and that we need to sort it out.
"I have asked her to withdraw her request as she and her husband who have no kids normally go to her husband's parents on Christmas day but they also go every week so it's not like they never see them whereas I, on the other hand, have a four-year-old Autistic son.
"He normally goes to nursery but his nursery closes one week before Christmas and doesn't open until next year the shift in question is a three hour shift between seven and 10 in the morning so she and her husband could still be at his parents for lunchtime whereas because I am a single mama and the nurseries are closed I have no one to watch my son.”
The mum continued: "Yes I could pay someone but it would be extremely expensive and he would most likely be very distressed with having someone he is unfamiliar with in his home, plus it would be difficult for the said person as my son is non-verbal.
"I do feel bad asking her to do this but if she won't then I am going to have no choice but to leave my job."
The message sparked a debate among the forum users, and while many sympathised with the situation, others said that she shouldn't assume people are more available to work if they don't have kids.
One person commented on the post: "Oh yeah I forgot! If you don’t have children then Christmas and family means absolutely nothing to you!"
Another added: "Whoever requested it off first should have it. You can’t just say people with children have a right to Christmas over people without. It’s not her fault you have childcare issues, sorry. You can ask her nicely but she’s not bound to agree."
Others were more sympathetic to the single mum's situation, with one commenting: "If she works this year then you need to do next year or new year etc. I’m future you perhaps need to make alternate arrangements well in advance of have a back up. You can’t assume you’ll have Christmas off every year forever."
One person argued that the issue should be dealt by the employer.
They wrote on the post: "Your manager really needs to deal with this - both of your requests ought to be put in and they should consider each, lazy management to ask you to decide amongst yourselves.
"As you have a dependent can you take this as dependents leave? I guess your colleague won't have the same reason for wanting it off."
Read more:
- Why Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher don't give their children any Christmas presents
- Woman admits to finding Christmas presents from her husband and opening them all
- Why you should never put your Christmas tree next to the radiator
