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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think no, there should not be additional support for people who are on holiday in Spain

272 replies

paellaandpies · 27/07/2020 16:10

If you dashed off on holiday when it’s bleeding blindingly bloody obvious that this virus has not gone away but was just subdued by lockdown, no you shouldn’t be entitled to any extra help with having to quarantine when you come home!

Some of us haven’t seen family for months, we have taken pay cuts and lost jobs, we haven’t rushed into pubs and bars and onto beaches, precisely because we do not want to see a second spike.

If you choose to go on holiday and to travel, that’s your right and your choice and it’s not illegal, but you should have been isolating on your return anyway. Those of us who have been more restrained do not want to catch it because you couldn’t wait a bit longer for a holiday, and you’re spreading it all over the place when you get back. If you chose a holiday, you can deal with the isolation to keep everyone else a bit safer.

AIBU?

OP posts:
chocolatesaltyballs22 · 27/07/2020 17:10

Oh fucking hell, not another holiday bashing thread. Yawn.

FourTeaFallOut · 27/07/2020 17:11

No jealousy here. I'm not bothered - I hope people enjoyed their time away - I just don't think we should be compensating people when their risks don't pay off.

GilderoyLockdown · 27/07/2020 17:11

The unfortunate reality is that if people are going to suffer financially due to quarantining, at least some of them will avoid doing it if they're able. Thus increasing the risk. We do not have infrastructure or sufficient police to enforce quarantine on everyone who is supposed to.

So however irritated we may be and however undeserving we think them, if we want compliance we are going to have to fund it one way or another. Either we think it's worth paying for, or we dont. That is the choice we frame and the only sensible way to frame the issue.

jasjas1973 · 27/07/2020 17:14

You can't get SSP for quarantining, so those with employers who won't help or the self employed/on ZHC will be tempted not to isolate.... completing wrecking the whole point of CV.

Its not enforced, so if the choice is pay bills or isolate.........

The Govt allowed travel after all, perhaps they should have been a little more cautious?

FourTeaFallOut · 27/07/2020 17:14

But those same idiots risk takers - the the ones who went on holiday knowing they couldn't afford to isolate if it came to it - are the same ones who would take the compensation and then still be out and about the next day.

VictoriousSockPuppet · 27/07/2020 17:15

I wouldn't have out it in those terms, Fluffybutter, but I did love your post.

The santimoneous, self-righteous, smug, holier-than-thou, extrapolating the information they wish, adding rules on, judging others (it's ok... the OP says the key workers mentioned above may be allowed to be exempt).

Driving me nuts!

You just want to shower them in biscuits, don't you!

DancingInDespair · 27/07/2020 17:15

My opinion: anyone currently in Spain (ie were there prior to the announcement) should get paid quarantine in some form. Anyone arriving after the announcement is on their own.

jasjas1973 · 27/07/2020 17:15

Sorry, should have said Isolate not CV.

MarshaBradyo · 27/07/2020 17:15

Most people tell their work (mates) where they are going. It’ll be up to the employer to deal with it when they get back.

And if they haven’t told anyone what’s to stop people taking this chunk of money and still go in?

No jealousy just at limit of funding.

GreytExpectations · 27/07/2020 17:17

YABU the guidelines allowed for holidays. The restrictions were lifted. You cant blame people for following the guidelines. That's just as bad as telling people they are stupid for going to Primark when it's been re-opened and shoppers are now allowed

LangClegsInSpace · 27/07/2020 17:17

YABU.

I don't have much sympathy for people who have decided to jet off abroad in the middle of this, but it's not about what's fair, it's about preventing the spread of the virus.

If people are returning from Spain and can't afford an extra two weeks off work then they won't self isolate. Simple as that.

GilderoyLockdown · 27/07/2020 17:18

There are likely to be people who would take payment to quarantine then not do it, but this doesn't change the reality that there are some people who would quarantine if they could financially afford to but not otherwise. The question is whether we are willing to pay for these people in order to lower the risk to the rest of us.

jasjas1973 · 27/07/2020 17:18

The govt is paying employers to take back furloughed staff (even though they would have anyway) and Boris wants GPs to give bicycles to the obese... clearly no shortage of funds!

AmiSpan · 27/07/2020 17:18

Crikey - I think some people are very harsh on here. I’m in Spain at the moment. I can WFH and am happy to quarantine even though the island I’m on has less cases than my nearest city. I don’t need or want anything from the govt or indeed anyone. I have travel insurance which covers me for COVID and am obeying all local laws and will comply with all English laws upon my return.

However, I do think that a lot of people are surprised at how quickly things changed. One minute they were being told that it was ok to travel, the next they were given five hours notice of a fairly major change.

Would you really prefer that people couldn’t pay their rent/mortgages/bills or struggle to feed their children in such circumstances? I find that mindset very difficult to understand. I can understand people travelling post change having no complaint as they knew they had to quarantine upon return and travelled anyway but I do have some sympathy for those who travelled before the rules changed and will now suffer financial detriment due to this sudden change.

OldLace · 27/07/2020 17:19

Yanbu

MarshaBradyo · 27/07/2020 17:19

clearly no shortage of funds!

Haha yeh we haven’t spent much yet.

Laiste · 27/07/2020 17:22

paellaandpies Mon 27-Jul-20 16:51:54

Well - I guess I would rather be a self righteous twat than a selfish virus spreading twat, @Fluffybutter**

Ah. ''Virus spreading''. So that's your real issue. With a bit of halo polishing thrown in. Dressed up as a thread about not agreeing with financial support for those stung by the situation this weekend.

Maybe save the ''virus spreading'' froth and aim it at the government members who saw fit to allow travel, not the people who took them up on it.

jiskoot · 27/07/2020 17:22

YANBU, I work with a lad who jetted off to Spain on Friday, it was booked about a month ago. First plane tickets were cancelled by the airline so he bought another flight instead. He's on annual leave for a week then has another week at the end of August so now has a month off fully paid. Because of his 'stupidity' and inability to wait a bit longer for his lads holiday he gets a month off.

I've worked throughout...had some time off booked for this month which I now won't get because we haven't got enough staff in. When do I get a break?!

user1497207191 · 27/07/2020 17:23

@GilderoyLockdown

The unfortunate reality is that if people are going to suffer financially due to quarantining, at least some of them will avoid doing it if they're able. Thus increasing the risk. We do not have infrastructure or sufficient police to enforce quarantine on everyone who is supposed to.

So however irritated we may be and however undeserving we think them, if we want compliance we are going to have to fund it one way or another. Either we think it's worth paying for, or we dont. That is the choice we frame and the only sensible way to frame the issue.

You could say the same for the 3 MILLION self employed who fell through the cracks in Rishi's crazy furlough/grant support schemes. Lots of people saw their income crash to virtually nothing, found they weren't eligible for support (despite pay "the right" amount of tax) and faced the choice of losing their businesses and homes or carry on trading against the rules just to put food on the table.

None of this is fair and the Govt can't bail out everyone who's been hit (or so Rishi told those 3 million!).

MrsDrudge · 27/07/2020 17:23

@BoredHoolet
The Government didn’t force people to go on holiday when there is a global pandemic. The Government guidelines are quite clear that foreign travel requirements are subject to review, and quarantine can and will be imposed if rates rise in a particular country.
If people choose to take the risk then they should be prepared to take the consequences. No one actually needs (rather than wants) to travel abroad.

starfishmummy · 27/07/2020 17:24

@BatShite

Also the only person hit by the quarantine thing (in theory) that I know, is a frontline NHS worker who booked last minute once it was declared 'safe'. Says her mental health was massively suffering and she deserves a break. I can't disagree with her tbh..

But apparently, she doesn't actually have to actually quarantine because shes needed at work? Not sure how that one works.

I can understand that someone needs a break. However a break does not mean you have to go abroad. Getting on a plane during a pandemic is a person's choice. The British taxpayer should not be expected to Pay for what essentially is someone's lifestyle choice.
MarshaBradyo · 27/07/2020 17:24

so now has a month off fully paid

Whilst I can see that colleagues will get irritated at least it’s the employer stumping up not the tax payer. So if they want to it’s up to them.

user1497207191 · 27/07/2020 17:24

@jiskoot

YANBU, I work with a lad who jetted off to Spain on Friday, it was booked about a month ago. First plane tickets were cancelled by the airline so he bought another flight instead. He's on annual leave for a week then has another week at the end of August so now has a month off fully paid. Because of his 'stupidity' and inability to wait a bit longer for his lads holiday he gets a month off.

I've worked throughout...had some time off booked for this month which I now won't get because we haven't got enough staff in. When do I get a break?!

That's the stupidity of his employer though, isn't it, to pay him for the 2 weeks quarantine that presumably they don't have to. Public sector by any chance???
trappedsincesundaymorn · 27/07/2020 17:25

Some of us haven’t seen family for months, we have taken pay cuts and lost jobs

Add losing a parent to Covid to all of that and maybe the thought of those 2 weeks in the sun was the only thing that kept them going. But hey those people haven't suffered enough so lets kick them some more. Hmm

StarcourtMall · 27/07/2020 17:25

I booked a trip to France a few weeks ago, due to leave mid August. Luckily I made sure everything was refundable so now I will be cancelling as French cases are increasing and there’s no way DH and I can quarantine for two weeks, plus the kids will have to go back to school.
Those who are saying holiday in the UK - good luck with that - there is very little choice out there for UK holidays right now unless you want to pay ££££££.
Looks like no holiday for us this year (like many others). It’s shit and I hate being stuck at home but it’s not the end of the world.