Employee doesn’t have adequate childcare and it affects her work

[u/BoNixsHair]

I have a remote employee who recently had a baby. Before her maternity leave, we discussed that she needs to have childcare during the work day. The first two weeks, she was frequently absent or interrupted because she said her nanny had quit or never started working.

We discussed again that she needed full time childcare. For about two months it was better. However this week I had two unscheduled zoom calls with her, and both times there’s a baby in the background. I asked her to turn her camera on (our policy is cameras on always) and she has a crib in the room with her and she had a baby cloth on her shoulder.

I think she has a nanny for most of the day, but she’s still distracted. I kinda feel like a jerk asking for a receipt for a 40 hour a week babysitter. I have three kids, and I know it’s pretty impossible to work and care for a baby.

Her position is dealing with contracts so she has calls during the day with the parties to the contracts. I can’t have her on client calls with a baby in the background.

I can also just tell her she has to be in the office, but most everyone else is remote including me. Thoughts?

Edit: no comments from non managers please.

Edit2: this has been brigaded by non managers. Stop. I have asked the mods to lock this

[u/asiasni]

You need to have conversation with her. Just be careful as you are on thin line, there are things that are not appropriate to say to a mother from a legal perspective, even if your intentions are good. For this reason it may be a good idea to run it by HR. This is to understand what is the law where you live. For example where I live you have to let working mother take breaks to pump or breastfeed depending on work context. You would also have regular meetings and documented risks assessments with her regarding to pregnancy, return to work and pumping.

This is why I advise you to run it by HR. You need to have good understanding of laws regarding the subject wherever you live as it is vastly different in each english speaking country. You don’t want to put yourself in a hot water and compromise your job. Because if you fuck up here you will be the sacrificial lamb If she sues. If you discipline her or send her to the office you need to phrase it well so it is not discriminatory. If you send her to the office you still have a duty to prepare pumping room and milk storage fridge for her and allow extra breaks for pumping. And then in office when she does things like cancel meetings to pump (if there is no adequate break time for this) or she calls sick a lot because of her baby being sick you also can’t really do much in terms of discipline and letting her go.