‘Your Child’s Illness Not An Excuse’: Company’s Controversial Memo On Leave Fumes Internet

Parents with young children often struggle to balance work and personal life, especially when dealing with caregiving responsibilities. A recent memo from a company has intensified this issue, sparking widespread discussion online. The memo, which has gone viral after being posted on Reddit’s antiwork subreddit, introduced a policy that penalises employees for calling in sick due to their child’s illness. The user who shared the photo of the memo wrote, “Where would you report this kind of behaviour?”

The memo reads: “Attention all employees: Calling out because your child is sick is no longer a valid excuse to miss work and will now result in a write-up. We do not employ your children and as such their sickness is not an excuse for you to miss work. Go team!”

The backlash on social media has been swift, with many questioning the fairness and empathy of the company issuing such a controversial policy. While the company and the country remain unnamed, the post has ignited ongoing concerns about the employee rights and the difficulties of managing work alongside caregiving responsibilities.

One user commented, “Certain things make you roll your eyes and say fine. I’ll do it. Other things actively breed resentment and will make you work against the company. This is one of those.”

“The more posts like this I see the more the veil lifts and the modern slave owners appear in full view. This is not just work or a job anymore,” another user noted.

Someone suggested, “”Calling in today. Personal Day.” It keeps the child out of the conversation and it maliciously complies to the spirit of this legally questionable notice,” while another sarcastically proposed, “Bring sick child to work and get everyone else sick. Make sure they stay in the manager’s office.”

A user took it far and commented, “I think you should be legally allowed to hit people for this.”

A commenter reflected, “I don’t need a valid reason to call off work. I try hard to be on time but sometimes life happens. I do understand employers getting frustrated with frequent call offs though. That being said, the reason doesn’t matter. I can call off because I like cake. This sign comes off as poor management but maybe I’m mistaken.”

Many users called out for the company’s name to be revealed, with comments like, “Why protect the company name? Expose them for human cruelty in the workplace” and “Stop covering the names of these trash employers.”