'Essential' workers calling in 'sick'

[twinkletwinkle00]

What would you do?

My wife and I both work for businesses considered essential. She works for a bicycle company and I work for a food seller (online, specialised food so not a supermarket or anything along those lines).

We have two young children who aren't in nursery/school as we don't want them to be in contact with others if we can help it.

We're currently splitting our days and doing 3 each for our employers (one of us works on Saturday). We both work for small independent businesses with no cash flow issues, who realistically could shut up shop for a couple of months and get through fairly unscathed. Both our bosses want to keep making money which I understand but I really don't think it's fair for them to value cash over the health of their workers?

Would we be unreasonable to happen to come down with symptoms that require us to self-isolate? We could get a mortgage holiday and juuust scrape by on SSP. What would you do? I just don't feel it's right to put ourselves at risk like this. I wish our bosses would just close and take the government grant. I just feels so unfair.

Sorry if this should be in the coronavirus topic... I couldn't find it!!

@JingsMahBucket

@twinkletwinkle00 YANBU and I don’t think you’re being selfish either. It’s all well and good for others posters to accuse you of trying to commit fraud or shirk work, but life isn’t that black and white. You and your spouse’s jobs fall into the grey area. Yes, delivering gourmet food is not essential, really, and could be reasoned they should shut.

The only way it could become truly “essential” is if they pivoted to doing deliveries of staples and helping other shops like farm shops, etc to do joint food offers, etc. The bike shop is a bit iffy but I still understand where you’re coming from there.

This. Agree 100%.

Parental leave/annual leave/carers leave ?

Ask the nurse inundated with patients next week whether gourmet food and bicycle repairs are essential and I think you'll have your answer. I can't fucking believe the government aren't making this more black and white for businesses. Obviously they are all going to take the piss if they can get anyway with it.

I think gourmet food and bike repairs are closer to being essential than off-licences, especially when alcohol is available at other food shops.

I'm an NHS nurse.

If it weren't for a bike repair firm I'd struggle to get into work.

My DH is still going to work. He is considered a 'key worker' but in industry and not frontline at all.

Tbh we haven't even contemplated him self isolating for no reason. It would put too much pressure on others and there may be a time when he does need to genuinely self isolate for 14 days.

I know it's hard at the moment but we just need to get on with it and take all the precautions possible. Wash hands and don't touch face and stick to the 2m rule should really lower the risk.