Key worker rant

[cutie101]

What qualifies as key worker really annoys me.
More to the point the people who benefit from discounts and privileges even though they havent been in critical roles is getting to me.
Yes frontline staff have been absolutely amazing and deserve it, but what about the admin person who works for the NHS, or the optician, or the psychologists etc..their jobs haven't been impacted at all, but they benefit from the same discount as the true heroes. Im a teacher and have honestly never worked more than I have since March, in every day looking after children of key workers and vulnerable children, plus creating and recording lessons, making work available online, marking all work each day as well as so many other things...really annoyed me that looking in a car showroom the other day, those who work for the NHS get the staff discount at the moment, but not me. I am more than happy for the doctors, nurses, paramedics etc to benefit, but random admin who have been working from home or even furloughed...
Likewise I know a couple, both who worked from home throughout, just like so many other people. One is a solicitor in the public sector and the other works for a water company in their IT department. Again neither job critical during this time, but because one works for a water company and the other in the public sector, they are both classified as key workers so their children could carry on going to school, nursery etc.
I'm grumpy and ranting, but does anyone else feel the same?

Personally I’m pretty glad I have water to drink. Don’t think we’d survive long without it.

yes but dont get the major discounts that nhs heros get (wording courtesy of a car company)

I’m not going to talk to your wider point but as an nhs psychologist who has just completed another 11 hour day (I get paid for 7.5) I’ll have to disagree that I’m not a keyworker. Mental health services have functioned throughout the pandemic supporting both patients and staff whilst dealing with massive service change, new ways of working and changing demands.

Tell it to the younger members of staff who sat at home alone for months on end supporting the most distressed clients all day every day via video therapy while stuck in their studio flats alone.

Honestly the pandemic has pushed us all to our limits and I think it’s easy to lose sight of others struggles when we are caught in our own.

I'm NHS admin. NHS staff cannot be furloughed, we've had to work through as well in often very stressful conditions supporting front line staff. No working from home for me.

but what about the admin person who works for the NHS,

When I was a secretary during the mexican flu I worked at least 12 hours per day, and the extra hours weren't paid out or anything. The doctors schedule cannot change itself and we were flooded with phone calls with complaints et cetera. Medical staff doesn't work in a vacuum, they need their admin staff as part of the engine to make it possible.

OP isn't saying that teachers aren't key workers, she's saying that she finds it frustrating that some key workers are given discounts but not all. Including some that have not been obviously front line key workers. I appreciate her frustration but don't begrudge those who do benefit- they've mostly had a shitty time of it, or a less shitty on the actual work front but equally shitty on the furloughed pay reduction/worry of redundancies/juggling important work with homeschooling front.

It would have been fairer perhaps if those literally on the front line in terms of putting themselves at risk for the public good had been issued some kind of letter/card to "unlock" discounts at those places generous enough to offer them.

It's the inequality of it that irks her. Why should only some key workers benefit but not others when the category considered worthy encompasses such a wide range of situations?

NHS "random" here, and I worked to the bone during the immediate impact of COVID and I continue to do so today. I'm in a senior position, so to be somewhat excepted but doubling my hours was certainly not what us "randoms" sign up for. Whilst many people were enjoying lockdown with their families, I was holed up in my small house with two kids who I barely had time to feed, let alone teach!

Look at Teacher Discounts, if you're feeling left out and get yourself their prepay visa which gives you cashback at many retailers. For example, you can get a 10% discount code for Waterstones for online purchases plus an extra 6% if you pay using the prepay card. If you are a member of the NEU, there are discount available to their members probably the same for other unions.

Companies that are giving discounts to NHS workers will in many cases be doing it for the PR but I think NHS workers are diserving of a some perks. They were working in extremely, stressful underfunded conditions pre-covid.

absolutely if tjeir work is covid related in this context. Generally they do an amazing job, but surely our clap for heroes etc is referring to those frontline staff who have been working to save lives?

The keyworker list is endless, a company can’t offer discounts to them all.

The discount isn't because they were furloughed and earned less money though? We would also therefore be in that situation as my husband was furloughed for a couple of months.

So become an NHS worker if it’s so worth getting the discount

The jealously of key workers is so weird.

I don't get it.

I don't know what discounts are available, are we talking a reduced cup of coffee? I mean what even is it.

Surprised you don't think keeping the water going is key :/ it's more or less the most basic thing there is.

Anyway. No discounts here. Didn't send kids to school. DH is key. He knows 3 colleagues who have died.

What discounts are you after? I am quite good at finding voucher codes.

Pathetic post tbh.

I work for the NHS in mental health services. To suggest that certain job roles have not been affected at all is ludicrous and just highlights that you have no idea what you are talking about. We have had to completely change how we offer a service, I have been working from home more - something we have never done previously and it’s not a job that can easily be done from home so the stress to staff is immense! Mental health services have been significantly impacted by covid and are likely to be for a long time coming.
Of course everyone thinks they have been worked harder than the next person, but to make flippant judgements just highlights your lack of knowledge and bitterness!
My mum is a teacher, she gets access to a lot of staff benefits that I don’t in the NHS, I’m not crying about it tho.
I think of NHS staff were given the option of a half price pizza or an acceptable and fair pay rise then I know what they would choose.
Get a grip and grow up!

Why are you letting this bother you so much? Who actually cares about the criteria for who gets a discount at dominoes or not? It doesn't affect you personally does it? Anyway you've got a stable safe job and income (and a pay rise), which is a lot more than some people right now.

some schools seem to have done a lot less than others. I was averaging an 18 hour day from mid April to mid July.

@Inituntiltheend

Well sure you are getting a raise and the nhs are not ? Is it not nice they are at least getting some sort of discount and appreciation?

Not due to Covid though. That's a Tory spin job. That raise was agreed before Covid and followed years of no raises - in effect, taking paycuts as inflation didn't care our wages were static.

Tories playing one public sector off against the other - don't fall for it.

I'm not comparing how much we have worked, I am saying some people are benefitting from things for doing their regular everyday job in a completely unchanged way.

It's not something I can get het up about. There are pros and cons of every job - financially and otherwise. In our area teachers actually get substantial cash gifts as a end of year thank you. NHS don't get anything like that and the cash gift I expect is way more than the cumulative 10% off the odd pizza or sex toy which the NHS can get. And that is on top of a reasonable salary. Many other people work as hard in jobs with as much responsibility and get no such bonus. Live and let live I say. It's not something to fuss about really.

Averaging an 18 hour day? Sure you were

the teacher pay increase has been in the pipeline for a while and is nothing to do with coronavirus.

cutie101 Just stop. If you want the discounts these occupations offer then join them.

My job didn’t change during lockdown. I still went to the same amount of hangings, drug deaths and robberies but if you want my 10% off in Jd then join the police.

I moved from private sector for 30 years where I got bonuses and lovely presents from my boss and hour long lunches. . Now I'm in NHS with half hour lunch, no bonuses , no expensive pressies. Fuck me I deserve a half price dominos 😂

The people who work in admin are 'true heroes' (usually heroines). They're awesome. Some of the most key of "key workers" are on a band 2.

IT workers are key. Prescribing, results, scans, records.

You're demonstrating massive ignorance here.

The NHS, and those who work for it, has been appreciated recently because it's a health service, and we're in a health crisis and it's free at point of use.

Exactly, all these people should be benefitting. And yes NHS admin for example are important, but the industries you have named have done more frontline work and seem to have been forgotten in this.