Single mothers must always remain employed because they are generally alone in their crusade in bringing up their kids in good environments while growing them healthy. Because of their very difficult situations, most of the times they even need to work extra jobs just to make ends meet. Unfortunately, some single mothers would find that they don’t have backup child care options in case they have to care for their kids but have to go to work. So whenever emergencies strike such as the child getting sick, this can be a very frustrating and alarming at the same time on the part of the single moms.

If you are a single mother, you know that the sad thing about being a single parent is not actually being alone in doing your job as a lone guardian for your kids. Many single moms don’t literally want to live with their exes anymore and prefer to remain single. So it is nevertheless the time that you need to care for your sick child yourself and yet you can’t leave your job which can be very exasperating. We can’ blame you because we know that a mother’s care cannot be replaced by doctors’ care whenever a child gets sick.

So if you happen to be employed in a company, what would be your contingency plans in case your child needs a mother’s care? The answer therefore is knowing the available options and your rights as a single mother and an employee.

The first thing that you need to do is knowing your company’s policies about moms’ right for child care. If your company doesn’t have an existing policy for this, you can either take an emergency leave or a vacation which everyone is allowed especially on emergency cases. No legitimate company would hold off your right for an emergency leave especially if your child is ill and need your attention. Restraining you with this right, your company can face legal actions if you take this to court. On the other hand, let’s not talk about the possibility of charging somebody at this point. What you should know is how you can manage to not abandon your sick kid while making your employer realize you are still beneficial to the company.

To know this, the best thing that you must do is talking to your company’s human resources department personnel to know your options. You can ask the following questions.

Questions You Should Ask   

Because you really need to know how you could keep your work if ever you need to care for your sick child, asking these questions won’t hurt you but will really inform you better. Even you are new in your job, your right as an employee, a mother or a single mother will start as soon as you sign your contract.

Don’t expect that child care is normally included on job contracts because most often the contexts of job contracts are about the employees’ duties in following the guidelines of the companies as employees. So ask your company’s human resources about your rights and your possible options for you to know what to do in case emergency case arises. However, you must remember that companies’ guidelines are not actually alike. Some companies offer more venues for their employees and have more considerate policies while other companies are only adhering to pure business goals. These are what they call the “no-work-no-pay agencies”.

On the other hand, you can always write a letter to your employer and request for consideration if you think you’ve got nothing to lose. Employers understand that single mothers are also being prioritized by our government so you have a great chance that you get positive answers from them.

One more tip. If you really want to know face on about your company’s schemes on single mothers’ options under your company, find someone in your office who is also a mother or a single mother and ask her. The single mother you talk to may give you ideas on what to discuss with your company’s human resources personnel.