calling off work on days I wasn't hired for.

by Michelle
(Pa, USA)

I was hired for mon-fri. With 1 sunday a month 6-10am. No overtime, so we have to leave early during the week.
Now they want us to do this on Saturdays too. But every other week. I would be driving to work 6 days a week twice a month. But not overtime. I would have to cut during the week somewhere.
I have a problem with this, because I don't have a babysitter on weekends, and my husband works Saturdays. I told them this, and they said if I refuse thats me resigning. Therefore can't collect unemployment since tynically its quitting.

If I just call off on the saturdays schedule to work, and they fire me, for calling off, can I collect unemployment?



Michelle,

Although PA will allow a quit for personally compelling reasons .. they also require that you make every effort to preserve the employment .. that would include at least trying to find a babysitter for Saturdays.

You need to be able to prove that you tried.

And trust me, if I were in your situation .. I wouldn't quit. I'd be trying to find a babysitter and if I had to call in .. I'd again explain to the employer that it was because you couldn't find one.

In other words, if you feel like you have exhausted every effort to find care for your children .. I'd still want the burden of proof to fall to the employer, simply because it's easier to show that you were not fired for misconduct if the "care of children" is involved than it is to prove that you had good cause to quit because of an action of the employer gave you no other choice, but to quit.

And did I mention that you should be documenting everything .. especially your efforts to obtain childcare ..