A TikTok video saying parents should not get priority when it comes to booking time off during school holidays has been viewed more than a million times and generated almost 50,000 comments.
Callie posted a video to her TikTok stream saying: "No, no, you do not get priority because you chose to have kids." And while many agreed, there are also some who believe parents should get priority when it comes to booking days off for events such as Christmas.
Callie added that if the days off are so important to you: "You need to show initiative and take that time off. If somebody you work with happened to ask for those days off first I'm sorry, but I guess you'r s*** out of luck."
Kassidy Sharyn-Anne agreed commenting: "The only days I could even remotely understand are like mother's day or father's day but still request it off."
Ana Elias added: "Im so sick and tired of the entitled parents, at work especially. Constant talking down to us because WE have to change our plans to meet theirs."
Endi Patricachy said she had been denied holiday because of parents, explaining: "I was denied taking Christmas off because others had families. Like bro I want to spend it with my parents??? It’s not my fault they didn’t request [time] off…"
Lauren Shumate agreed saying: "Just because someone has children doesn’t make spending time with their family more important than when I want to spend time with mine."
OrigamiOwlGirl said: "As a child-free adult, I’m sick of being treated like a second-class citizen when it comes to any paid time off. Absolutely not. I’m taking my time off. See ya!"
But Maegen said: "I’m a mom now. However, when I was younger without a child, I’d work for holidays If it meant someone could create memories."
Henryedda Elaine Col said: "As a parent, I would love to have ALL holidays off, so I got a job where we don’t work holidays. Worked out great"
Leah Clarke said: "I don’t expect to be prioritised because I have kids, but also my job should not expect to be prioritised over my kids."
Workplace solutions expert Adam Butler, Founder and CEO of Officeology, has weighed in and shared his expert opinion on the disputed topic, “This is a tricky subject as both sides have fair points and reasonable arguments to make, however, it ultimately comes down to organisation.”
“As a parent you need to pre-empt the time you are going to need off of work to spend time with your children, especially when it comes to half-term and other school holidays. Fortunately, these school breaks are made known well ahead of time, so it falls to you as a parent to make sure you book the time off in advance to avoid the days you want being taken by someone else. Similarly, those without children should be encouraged to make sure they plan and book their annual leave in advance too.”
“The argument in the video is that some parents think they should be prioritised over those without children when it comes to paid time off. If an employer was to do this, it would come with a whole host of issues and would likely land them in hot water with the HR department. All employees should be treated equally across all areas of a business.
Of course, there may be extreme cases such as emergency hospital appointments for children or unexpected school closures that would warrant a conversation such as the one mentioned in the TikTok video, but a last minute trip to Disneyland doesn’t quite fit into the ‘extreme cases’ category.”
