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[quote=Anonymous]Sick leave is not personal leave.  It is more like an insurance benefit that only kicks in when you are ill.  Accordingly, it is unethical to call in sick when you are not sick but just need some personal time.  You may not get caught, but most employers do suspect and think less of employees who use all their sick days every year or who make a habit of using them on Fridays and Mondays.  Don't squander your personal integrity and your employer's trust in this way.

As a working professional, I totally understand how personal tasks can occasionally pile up and become a source of stress and distraction.  My kids' nanny works almost as much as I do, so I would expect her to face the same challenges.  I don't want her to feel like she loses out by being a responsible employee and I want her to give me as much notice as possible when she wants or needs to take off.  For that reason, in lieu of sick leave, we provide paid personal days (in addition to the usual two weeks vacation) that she can use for any purpose, including sick leave, mental health days, additional vacation, snow days when she can't make it in, etc.  We also pay out any unused personal leave at the end of the employment relationship, so a nanny who wants to save her personal leave in case of serious illness would not feel like she lost out in the end.  It has worked well for both parties.  We do make it clear that we don't want the nanny to come to work with a fever or a stomach virus, but I have never had a nanny who seemed to be abusing the policy.

OP, I would suggest that you explain what you posted to your boss and ask how she feels about converting your sick leave to personal leave that can be used for illness or other purpose without distinction.  Assure her that you understand the importance of not coming to work when you are too sick to care for the kids and assure her that if you use up all your paid leave for reasons other than illness, you understand that you would have to go without pay if you ever became too ill to work.  Particularly if you have been in the job long enough to build trust, most employers will accommodate this.    [/quote]

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