Hey so I’m 18 years old and work at a local fast food place. (Think burgers, hotdogs, sandwiches, that type of thing). My aunt and uncle just got married so I agreed to watch my aunts son Kason for the week for their honey moon. They offered me far better money than I make at my job. I requested the week off and every single day off approved except for Thursday (today).
I texted this coworker of mine (Julia) to ask her to cover my shift. She agreed. However, this morning my general manager Kathy calls me and says Julia is out sick. She says its my responsibility to either get that shift cover or come in. It wasn’t Julia’s responsibility because she had a doctors note.
I text several of my coworkers. They either don’t respond or say no. I text Kathy and tell her I can’t get the shift covered. I had no one else to watch Kason because my parents and sister were not home. She said that she never approved this vacation day because we were so short staffed and I would get written up for an unexcused absence because I didn’t have a doctors note.
I call the restaurant and speak to Jeremiah (the assistant manager on duty). He tells me to just “bring the kid in and have him sit in one of the booths”. So thats what I did.
My shift was 8 hours long. I know this may seem ridiculous because Kason is only 5 years old. But I had him sit in a booth and I let him have my laptop and watch movies. I brought tons of juice boxes and bought him food whenever he was hungry. I made it about six hours into the shift until Kathy comes in and sends me home. She says that what I did was a major liability to the company and I may be fired. Even though I did exactly what Jeremiah and her told me to do.
I came home crying and explained the situation to my mom who became rather upset about me having Kason sitting in a booth all day. She calls my aunt to explain the situation from her and now she’s even talking about coming home from Hawaii early. She said “I can’t believe I let a little girl be in charge and now my honeymoon is ruined”.
Everything is falling apart even though I did everything right. I took a vacation from work to watch the kid. I got my unproved shift covered. I tried my best not to get fired. I went to work. I listened to Jeremiah. I made sure Kason was entertained and had food all day. I worked up front and could see him all day. This is all Jeremiah’s fault. I should have never listened to him
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Hey so I’m 18 years old and work at a local fast food place. (Think burgers, hotdogs, sandwiches, that type of thing). My aunt and uncle just got married so I agreed to watch my aunts son Kason for the week for their honey moon. They offered me far better money than I make at my job. I requested the week off and every single day off approved except for Thursday (today).
I texted this coworker of mine (Julia) to ask her to cover my shift. She agreed. However, this morning my general manager Kathy calls me and says Julia is out sick. She says its my responsibility to either get that shift cover or come in. It wasn’t Julia’s responsibility because she had a doctors note.
I text several of my coworkers. They either don’t respond or say no. I text Kathy and tell her I can’t get the shift covered. I had no one else to watch Kason because my parents and sister were not home. She said that she never approved this vacation day because we were so short staffed and I would get written up for an unexcused absence because I didn’t have a doctors note.
I call the restaurant and speak to Jeremiah (the assistant manager on duty). He tells me to just “bring the kid in and have him sit in one of the booths”. So thats what I did.
My shift was 8 hours long. I know this may seem ridiculous because Kason is only 5 years old. But I had him sit in a booth and I let him have my laptop and watch movies. I brought tons of juice boxes and bought him food whenever he was hungry. I made it about six hours into the shift until Kathy comes in and sends me home. She says that what I did was a major liability to the company and I may be fired. Even though I did exactly what Jeremiah and her told me to do.
I came home crying and explained the situation to my mom who became rather upset about me having Kason sitting in a booth all day. She calls my aunt to explain the situation from her and now she’s even talking about coming home from Hawaii early. She said “I can’t believe I let a little girl be in charge and now my honeymoon is ruined”.
Everything is falling apart even though I did everything right. I took a vacation from work to watch the kid. I got my unproved shift covered. I tried my best not to get fired. I went to work. I listened to Jeremiah. I made sure Kason was entertained and had food all day. I worked up front and could see him all day. This is all Jeremiah’s fault. I should have never listened to him
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> 1. I took my 5 year old cousin to work with me. 2. My mom, aunt, and manager are all very upset because of this.
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Contest mode is 1.5 hours long on this post.
NTA
Your manager literally told you to bring him. This is management’s fault, not yours.
NTA. Take a deep breath. You tried your best. 🙂
NTA you just listened to what management said, and kept the kid occupied as best you could
It sounds like you offered to watch the kid BEFORE you got time off approved. That’s really the root cause here.
If your plan was to be with the kid the whole time but you couldn’t get all the days approved then you explain to your aunt/uncle that you can’t take him and figure out a different plan.
And if sht happens and you simply cannot avoid it, then you take the unexcused absence. There is a ton of stuff that a 5yo can do in a very short period of time (I’ve had two of them). You turn your back for 20 seconds or use the restroom or you’re busy with an order and Kason decides to go for a walk outside without telling anyone. It could have gone a lot worse than it did.
I would say that at the end of the day, it’s your decisions that led to it, not others’.
YTA
YTA for expecting a five-year-old to sit in a restaurant booth for eight hours. Even with a laptop and movies, that’s not a good day for a small child. You should have just accepted the write-up (one write-up at a fast food joint isn’t the end of the world) and stayed home with your nephew for his sake.
YTA, that is insane. Your manager is shit, the right answer was to stay home with the baby.
In my experience, the person who covers your shift is responsible for said shift..
Bringing him to work was not the right thing to do, but I think you were trying your best to make everyone happy and it’s not on you. Some older more experienced people set you up to fail and that’s on them. First Kathy, that’s BS. You arranged to have your shift filled, it is no longer your shift or responsibility. It was clearly agreed and communicated that Julia is working it. Good job being responsible. Once Julia calls in sick, that’s on the manager to fill the shift or figure it out, it doesn’t revert back to your shift now. Jeremiah should know you can’t have a kid in a booth all day. No owner or proper manager would think that’s professional. Good on him though for trying to accommodate although it really was for selfish reasons on getting you to come in.
So if you have informed them you have prior child care commitments and you can’t come in, and you had your shift filled they should not pressure you to come in. That’s taking advantage of you, some people would have told them to go f themselves. As far as your aunt coming home, geeze, you left him in a booth in eye sight, not home alone while you went drinking. And honestly your mom should have been there to provide advice or assistance.
So take it as a life lesson, but you did your best and tried to please everyone. In no way I think this is on you besides maybe knowing and being strong enough to tell your boss no, but who knows how that would have turned out. Kathy sounds like a bad manager.
ESH. Your manager is an AH for misleading you. Your aunt is sort of an AH for what really seems like an overreaction. While I agree that you shouldn’t have done this, at this point its not an emergency to have to rush home for, it is simply something that needs to be discussed and handled over the phone. If you are uncooperative, however, and defensive then I do think it makes sense for her to rush home as it shows you lack regard for your cousin’s welfare.
And you are an AH for a few reasons. 1) you did not get this time approved before agreeing to take your cousin. 2) you thought it was ok to put a 5 year old in a booth for 8 hours. That is not at all fair on the child 3) you are making this about yourself instead of thinking about your little cousin and your aunt and uncle 4) you are placing the blame on everyone else instead of taking any sense of accountability. Time to grow up.
NTA, when someone calls out, it’s the manager’s responsibility to get shifts covered. I think this whole thing about expecting employees to get coverage is bs.
Realistically, IF you brought him to work, what would happen if he needed a diaper change or started crying or how would you even do work? Carrying him everywhere? There is a LOT of stuff in that environment that can hurt him or worse. It’s like bringing your dog to a kitchen and then just letting it slide. Tell your aunt and uncle you can’t do it anymore or quit your job and watch him. It’s their honeymoon and child and their job to find reliable babysitters for him.
Okay, as a former manager at a restaurant who kinda had the same thing happen, NTA.
Honestly, I would’ve rather taken the hit and worked short staff than have you bring the kid in. From this one instance and the way Kathy and Jeremiah reacted, they’re horrible bosses.
You’re 18, don’t cry over horrible bosses and crappy work situations. Please look for another job right away. Don’t tell them anything until you have another job lined up, then give your 2 weeks. If they try to come at you, tell them you felt unappreciated and cornered. You put in vacation time to take care of a young relative, you had a replacement lined up who fell through, then they practically forced your hand to show up and then freaked out at you for doing what they told you to.
No, just no. Find another job.
Was the shift that you had covered by the other employee approved?
NTA – You did everything you could with what you were dealt. You’re still a kid yourself, you listened to the people in authority and they let you down. Now they’re trying to use you as a scapegoat because you did what they said.
You’re not an AH. You’re young, and just learning what it’s like in the working world. It’s a hard lesson, but often times managers are not your friend. Many don’t see you as a person with a life, feelings, and needs. You know now that it’s better to accept the write-up, but I understand why you were afraid to do that in the moment.
It’s supposed to be the manager’s responsibility to cover shifts when there isn’t anyone else to, anyway. They wanted to offload that responsibility onto you, their employee, instead. Again, managers do this often.
It’s unfair of your family to blame you for this. Start looking for a new job now, one with better management.
ESH.
Bringing a 5-year-old to work with you was a huge lapse in judgement, even if it was the (assistant) manager’s suggestion.
Meanwhile, the whole “you have to get someone else to work your shift” rule, even after someone already took your shift, is bullshit. The company is taking advantage of young people who haven’t learned to stand up for themselves. Screw them. If you get fired from that place it’ll be a blessing.
Meanwhile, your aunt is being a big ol’ drama queen with her “ruined” honeymoon.
Everyone involved needs to take a big deep breath and chill.
It should have been on the manager to get the shift covered as you’d already got cover agreed and that person had a sick note. You made work aware of the situation, they gave you incorrect advice, that too was on them. NTA.
NTA – I don’t think bringing the child with you was the right move but you are literally a brand new adult. Decisions like this AND standing up for yourself against other adults (especially ones who are older/authorities) takes practice and experience. I think you just need to know that you did the best you could with the tools you had, and learn from this for next time.
I find it helpful to reflect on situations like this and think through what I could have done differently or what I would want to do next time in a similar situation. For me, in this situation, I would say “sorry, my shift was covered so I have a commitment and can’t come in.” Never give them more details upfront than you need to – bosses like that don’t care that you’re in a hard situation.
That management is pretty bad. I agree with some other people that you might want to look for a different job – but also don’t say anything to anyone at work until you have one. Another thing a lot of us learn from bad experiences (but hopefully you can learn from us) is that companies will do what they need to do regardless of what the means for you, and it’s ok for you to do the same.
NAH. I think bringing the 5 year old to work wasn’t a great idea. Lots of opportunities for mischief, then getting hurt, wandering off etc. But you are young and had an immense amount of pressure and the threat of discipline and possibly being fired from work on you. You tried all possible routes to get someone to work your shift and everything was kind of stacked against you.
Your managers seem sloppy and disorganized for telling you two different things, but honestly they shouldn’t have told you to bring a child to work. They might have actually been liable if god forbid something had happened to Kason. And plus it’s not your managers place to tell you how to care for a child.
I think you should have stayed home because you really had no other valid choice, but you did the best you could.
I would suggest looking for a better job with more understanding managers who don’t give you conflicting information though.
And don’t be to hard on yourself. Seriously. You are young. Just learn from it and move on.
Sometimes things are just unfair in life , just move on from that place … I’m sure you can find another job easily .
NTA. At 5 he is not a baby. This is what you were told to do. And Haven’t you ever been to Asian restaurant where the kids sit in the back doing homework or playing games? JFC.
NTA. It was a long day for your cousin. As long as he was happy and entertained and not complaining I see no problem with it. You did what you had to do.
NTA you should not have taken the kid to work but ure an inexperienced kid yourself. Please know that a manager cannot require you to find someone to cover your shift. That’s what they are paid for. Your aunt should stay on her honeymoon bc her child is safe tho its disappointing your mom did not help you with guidance.
Why are they coming home early over this?!
The situation sucked. But you’re good in my books. Not ideal to have him sitting and watching movies. But you were told you could.Â
My only question is, when you got called in for your shift no one was home. But were they unreachable? And did you inform them the best you could have what was happening. Â Example calling and leaving a voicemail, texting them, leaving a note at home.Â
No one should have called the aunt unless the child had had something happen to them. That is totally on your mom for calling her. But if everyone was kinda keeping an eye on them, you were making sure they were happy and fed.Â
You at 18 did the best you could. If you didn’t leave a message for someone, or everyone c that would be the next time thing to do, even dropping by your moms/sisters/dads place of work to let them know or such. Sounds like mom was home when you got there, so she should have been able to come grab nephew from your work.Â
1 day of screens isn’t going to wreck the kid. He’s 5. Nah. Except your bosses. How they can give every day except the middle one is stupid. “Yes, I’m going to leave in the middle of my holiday to show back up at work”.  NOPE!Â
There are plenty of AH’s in this story but none of them are you!! You did everything you could to get coverage and then got permission to bring him. I have a 5 year old grandson and I know he would be completely thrilled to sit with a laptop watching movies for hours. He was safe and his needs were being met. Not sure what the potential liability would be. And shame on your Aunt for criticizing you in any way, shape, or form. Sounds like a lot of adults making much ado about nothing.
Honestly NTA but everyone involved is. You did everything you could reasonably do.
Kathy sucks for obvious reasons, your mom sucks for blowing it out of proportion, and your cousin sucks for talking down to you when you did her a favor and she talks to you like a child when you’re an adult. Honestly I wouldn’t say it’s Jeremiah’s fault either because he tried to work with you and from the sounds of it Kason wasn’t a handful or problematic.
Suggestion: next time don’t do anything for your cousin or mom or Kathy.
NTA, and lots of people have already spoken on your specific situation, but as someone who worked food service/retail for a decade there’s only 1 thing I really want to say here: it’s SO important to learn that it’s okay to tell managers no, and that a write up is not the end of the world. Also, a lot of places that are really short staffed and can’t afford to lose people won’t even actually write you up to begin with, they just toss around the threat. But learn not to care about it.
When they said you had to cover the shift again after your original pre-approved cover called off, what you should have said (what I would have said) was “I’m not coming in, and I’m not finding another cover for a shift I already covered just because she’s sick now. I’m caring for a five year old and I have to go. Goodbye.” In these jobs, you’ll find that a lot of managers (not all, but MANY) have let the power of being GM of some fast food place or grocery store get to their head, and sometimes you have to do or say something that will come off as rude to stand up for yourself. It won’t feel natural at first, it’s a learned skill, but the only times I have ever actually seen people be fired for things like this were times where the manager had already been looking for a reason to let them go and they had a history with MANY write ups. You’re only 18, give yourself some grace, and if you get fired just know that restaurant and fast food jobs are a dime a dozen and you could get a likely very similar job very quickly anyway. Don’t sweat it, just learn from it and move on