To think all keyworkers should have their tax stopped for the next two years

[marysuzairn]

All of those that worked throughout covid need to be rewarded. Why not just stop all tax for every nurse, care worker, teacher (and assistant), gas engineer, pharmacist etc. They kept the country going and weren't just at home on 80% pay (and actually better off with less outgoing). Isn't it time to now reward them appropriately?

Perhaps we should only count the people who were actually KEY workers rather than the broad umbrella term it turned into. You know, nurses, care assistants, teachers, supermarket workers, tesco delivery drivers etc.

Key worker is the new vegan; the very first thing they tell you is that they are one

Haha, it's not as bad now, but a few months back it seemed there were a lot of posts on social media especially along the lines of, can someone recommend a plumber please I am a KEYWORKER, or under takeaways posts saying oh I'm so hungry where I'm working a lot as a keyworker with the expectation of social media kudos or free stuff. Bizarrely the local pub did a takeaway scheme of if you buy a meal you can pay for another that will go to someone in need. A lot of people donated thinking it would be a family who had lost their income, or even the homeless; but no, keyworkers who had been working throughout and still had money coming in. The mind boggles. Yes a lot of people do a fantastic job, but there are a lot of people struggling now, and it seems very crass. Me and DH would be a lot better off though, on top of our savings from less outgoings during lockdown.

As a supermarket worker it'd be ace. But absolutely impractical. Same idiots who say we should all get 4 weeks extra holiday.... And where do they think we'll squeeze in a 4 extra weeks? 😂! I can barely get my current holidays in

Please do explain to me who, when every country in the world is in financial crisis due to an unforeseen pandemic, we owe this money to and why we can't tell them to fuck off and claim on their disasters insurance?

Too late OP the welsh have staked their claim on the money tree in westminster

And btw I worked full time as usual - in addition to home schooling my children because the teachers - on full pay - weren't doing so. I also had to take a 10 percent pay cut and lose my bonus so what do I get back?

Perhaps we should only count the people who were actually KEY workers rather than the broad umbrella term it turned into. You know, nurses, care assistants, teachers, supermarket workers, tesco delivery drivers etc.

But each of those need "back office" support. They needed garages/mechanics to keep their vehicles moving. They needed payroll clerks to prepare and pay their wages. They needed banks to pay their bills. All needed back office IT support to run the telecoms/internet networks.

NOOOOO! The economy would collapse! To outing to say what I do but as part of my job I HAD to go to work, royal mail havent stopped, transport hasnt stopped, the list is huge, who would pay their extra wages?

Have you any idea of the debt of this country?

@Alexandernevermind

Key worker is the new vegan; the very first thing they tell you is that they are one.

Haha! This is absolutely true, I have on multiple occasions overhead supermarket workers discussing their keyworker status.

I'd much rather more support was given to the estimated 3 million self employed who've fallen between the cracks and have virtually no income at all and very bleak futures. Far more deserving than people with above average incomes, virtually guaranteed jobs, and decent pension schemes.

I have worked all the way through covid, actually harder then ever before because everyone else was closed, I’m not classed as a key worker apparently even though my job is a critical job so this idea wouldn’t be fair to others who have worked hard all the way through but are not classed as a key-worker your idea would be too hard to roll out and unfair on many.

"7:39TheHoneyBadger

Perhaps we should only count the people who were actually KEY workers rather than the broad umbrella term it turned into. You know, nurses, care assistants, teachers, supermarket workers, tesco delivery drivers etc."
But what about the nurses who didnt work. What about the tesco workers who didnt work. Our local tesco took on lots of students because a lot of their normal staff couldnt work.
A lot teachers didnt work either. Some only worked one week in three.

@IsAnybodyListening - Cease with your logic, we all know us finance folk all bath in champagne, live in mansions and drive a Bentley.

I wasn’t furloughed but have wfh more than full time for the past 4 months with children underfoot and whilst home schooling. I’ve done my bit too - what about me?

Where does this stop? And how on earth will we plug the hole in National finances with huge tax cuts for parts of the population?

@TheHoneyBadger

Perhaps we should only count the people who were actually KEY workers rather than the broad umbrella term it turned into. You know, nurses, care assistants, teachers, supermarket workers, tesco delivery drivers etc.

And who'll be in charge of this new definition? You?

What a daft idea. Sorry OP, but no.

Especially since you don't want to include finance people - presumably including payroll and accounts staff - the very same people who would have to administer this crackpot idea. As if we haven't had enough to do with working out who gets paid what, for how long, and how and by whom, dealing with the sudden VAT changes the govt sprung on us, and figuring how the hell to pay anybody or anything because there's no money coming in.

The country would be even further up shit creek than it already is if it weren't for 'finance' people.

A lot teachers didnt work either. Some only worked one week in three

whatever you say love.

The furloughed are the new benefit scroungers!

It's true honey. In our area we had a hub for keyworker kids so the teachers only had to work one week in three as only a handful in. I'm talking juniors here. In high school the kids only got two pieces of work a week on teams and none of it marked.

I've worked full time from home all the way through as has my DH, while homeschooling a 6 year old, working from early morning till late night. Had to accept a 20% pay cut for the privilege with no reduction in hours and way more work.

But I don't have 'keyworker' status. Getting a bit fed up of all the 'keyworker' entitlement to be honest. You weren't the only person working, you were able to access childcare, you were able to access discounts and special status in supermarkets while the rest of us unfurloughed folk stood in queues. In the early days of lockdown that meant working till 7pm, going to stand in a queue getting the scraps left over in the store, then heading home and doing more work till 11/12pm.

I'm in private sector, no hope of a pay increase any time soon but this month my money will go up to 90% of what my wage should be instead of 80% so yay!

"and weren't just at home on 80% pay (and actually better off with less outgoing)"

This is just a variation on the usual benefit bashing. The furloughed are a new group to be bashed.

Dh, keyworker, is happy to pay tax.

The country would be even further up shit creek than it already is if it weren't for 'finance' people.

Exactly. It's funny how people wanted their bank accounts to work, their cards to work, their salary/benefits/pensions to be paid, their insurance company to pay up for their holidays etc. Yet OP thinks the people who made that happen aren't 'key'.

And I have absolutely no connection to the finance world, but I find it really strange that people like to demonise anyone who works with money.

Also some of those nasty finance folk are the people at the end of the phone who help your grandparent when their spouse dies and makes sure that they have a friendly voice to speak to, sometimes the only human they get to speak to. And they might be 20 and on a pretty poor wage or 35 and trying to support a family etc. I listen to some of these calls as part of my job and believe me, these folk have one of the hardest jobs going. And i'm also going to say that nurses aren't poorly paid in general. some might be for the roles that they do, some were doing 12 hour shifts at the front line. others had very little to do, they are people just like everyone else. MY Dh is a trained nurse but now does a different front line NHS role for very little more that a starting salary in call centre, he loves his job even if it does pay very poorly.

Putting the issue of “who to include” to one side. It’s very easy to give and very hard to take away. People will get used to the extra money making it hard to take away and it would be labelled as a “huge pay cut” when the tax break ends.

Full disclosure: I am a key worker.

I am loving this thread. When you realise it's the exact same kind of reasoning that we had for Brexit, you understand what actually is wrong in this country