Wwyd - work or no work ?

[Mydoghasbettereyebrowsthanme]

DH has moderate chronic asthma , and reduced immunity . Has been unable to work . Is being furloughed at 80% . I am on a zero hours contract , as of today being furloughed also. 3 DC off school . We were not in the most secure of footings financially before this and have no savings or safety net. I have an opportunity to work my other job more hours ( emergency key worker) which means it would keep us afloat and stop us worsening our financial situation. DH has valid concerns that it is just not worth the risk to him . Even with safeguards in place (stripping and washing and changing as soon as I walk through the door , restrictions and PPE at work etc) AIBU to want to work ?
Any advice appreciated xx

If you could manage I wouldnt work

When you mean a worsening financial situation. To what extent? Is it to the point you’d have to take out loans to survive or go heavily into your overdraft or will you just be struggling on the lower income for a while?

Well we have bills like everyone else does of course , we rent our house . We have no savings and we are in receipt of tax credits to top our wages up . We will of course , be eligible for applying for council tax deferring , and hopefully rent deferring but that does mean it still has to be paid later on in the year. We were running close to the wind with not much spare at all and I feel like we are taking on too much ...ifyswim

Getting a loan out or any other form of credit is no an option for us also

I’d work but be super super careful. We need all the emergency assistance we can get at this time but you also need to safeguard your family.

Thank you x good good point xx

What does the NHS say about the risk of CV for his conditions? If he’s not in the shielding / isolating groups then he really should be following the advice for the low risk groups otherwise he could be shoring up trouble for later. Only severe asthma / immune problems are covered because regular exercise does help improve both lung function and immunity. My mum is on medication that actively lowers her immunity (severe autoimmune condition) but even she’s not considered high risk as the dose isn’t high enough - the GP told her to exercise in daylight as otherwise she could make her osteoarthritis a whole lot worse.

Does he have any helpful suggestions about how to manage this?

Tough decision op though.

Can you live frugally without the extra work? If you can I wouldn't chance it.

My DH is in the need to be shielded category. I’ve been told there is no government advice for me to not go to work so I can’t get any assistance. I’m terrified of bringing it back to him.

OP if I was furloughed I would happily stay home to keep DH safe, regardless of the financial struggle. I would rather live on rice for a year than risk losing him.

Do you really need to do it? Whilst we all still have bills I think most people's outgoings have reduced due to no travel and nothing much to spend our cash on.

Good point Makeitgoaway- our outgoings have reduced hugely ....we can live very very frugally and of course Haveitheright that is a good point - it's not worth it if he did get very ill. I am sorry to hear you are not being furloughed - so sorry - apologies for complaining xx GrumpyHoonMain- I have no idea which category he is in - not shielded as he did not receive a letter. He is asthmatic and does not have a spleen which classes him as immunocompromised so he has a flu jab every year . So I suppose he is in the same category as a normal over 70 year old ? ?

Okay so in that case provided you follow precautions you can work.

You can work even if he needed to be shielded to be honest, but I wouldn’t have risked it.

When you say work “more hours” I assume that means you’re already working there for some hours? So wouldn’t the risk be the same for the hours you’re already doing there?

Hi - my second job is on a PAYE ad-hoc basis - emergency veterinary clinic so it has key worker status and therefore I can work as many or as few hours as I like. As opposed to my 'day' job which is district nursing and not key worker. Hope that makes sense ! Thank you so so much for all the advice and comments - I think I will hold fire , wait two weeks after lockdown , and have had conversations with landlord and council etc and then reasses then . Thank you all - stay safe everyone and much love

District nurse is not a key worker?

You can't work if you are in Furlough

No I am being furloughed from my regular day job as a district Veterinary Nurse (not key ) but can also work as an emergency veterinary nurse - key . Hope that helps xxx