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Would anyone know the answer to this:
My partner is supposed to pick up the child from school every Wednesday for 3 hours and 2 Fridays a month for the overnight contact. due to him changing jobs he is only able to get one half day off, therefore can only pick up the child 2 wednesdays a month on the week with no overnight contact and 2 fridays a month. Now we have told the mother that we will arrange after school for the 2 wednesdays he cannot collect her, to what the mother said she does not agree with him breaking the order, and that he can never put the child in childcare and if he cannot collect her 2 wednesdays there will be no more wednesdays.
Can anyone please tell me what are the fathers legal rights here? Surely he is within his rights to arrange after-school with her school? Is this considered to be breaking the order due to change of the job?
thanks!
A contact order is an order which tells the resident parent when a child must be available for contact, it is not an order forcing the non-resident parent to actually have that contact, so he's not obliged to actually attend the contact (I would say that the picking up from school is a means of enabling contact, rather than being an order that he must do so). However, if she prevents contact on days when the court order states there must be contact, then she is breaking the order.
I would be very inclined to inform her (in writing or email) that your partner will be going for a variation in the order, and if she doesn't give way (and possibly negotiate some alternative time), then do just that. I think a court would be very much on your partner's side as what he is suggesting is very reasonable - and if you do go to court for a variation, try to get alternative contact written into that, and if possible, also build in alternatives for changes in hours in future.
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