When Mum can’t turn up for the school play at Christmas
The school system is remarkably unable to link up with parents and bosses when it comes to Christmas.
A few weeks before Christmas we get notes about Christmas plays and concerts (a must do for at least one parent in most households) and to cap it all a lot of schools close at lunchtime on the last day of term meaning someone has to pick the children up mid-day
Parents have constructed ‘The Perfect Christmas Fantasy’. But it is a fantasy. It works well as a fantasy, but is really hard to make work in practice!
Add in to this mix, if you are a teacher, that you probably have children at different schools plus commitments to your own school, and the whole thing starts to become a logistical nightmare and not a celebration.
While it is OK in some firms to disappear down the pub, it can be a bit tricky to try to organise an early finish for a school run or school play. We are always afraid the boss won’t be happy about it.
There is no overall legal right to time down the pub or the school run but bosses can find it hard to deal with everyone wanting time off to party or do family things.
For tips on how to deal with Christmas (and your child if you can’t make the school play) check out our special Work Life Balance Blog – entitled Balancing the Bump.
About the Author Annabel Kaye
We founded Irenicon in 1980 to help employers make employment law work for them. We were always a mixed disciplinary practice – something quite revolutionary at the time. Over the years we have worked with some wonderful organisations, pushing the boundaries of how employment law can really be made to work without restricting the flow of the organisation.