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?

It’s a shame to see posters who claim to work for the NHS using mental health insults such as ‘deranged’ on this thread.

It's a shame to see a teacher make it clear that she sees multiple jobs as less valuable than her own. Wonder what message that sends to our children.

and no one has really sacrificed anymore than anyone else

The family of hospital staff who died due to working with covid-infected patients without adequate PPE would probably beg to differ.

@CrustyNupple

It's a shame to see a teacher make it clear that she sees multiple jobs as less valuable than her own. Wonder what message that sends to our children.

I quite agree but how strange to use that as some kind of justification. A race to the bottom indeed.

Wait till OP finds out NHS staff get 50% off at Domino's and 20% of at Nando’s.... and have done for years!!!

I don’t see why the point about “teachers should be entitled to a discount” needs to be accompanied by attacking the contributions of others. The entire NHS has probably gone through a bigger change in the past months than it has its entire 70 year history... and that has involved everyone. I’m pretty confident no one has been furloughed.

You sound horrible!!

Haven't RTFT but OP isn't a teacher because she'd have known without question that teachers are key workers. I suspect this is another goady post designed to incite everyone to attack teachers as the bad guys again. It's a MN sport these days.

Longwhiskers14 is spot on.

Average 18 hour days OP?
Care to elaborate?
I'm not saying it's not hard work but 18 hours a day every day?

I work for the NHS, I don't know one person whose job hasn't been impacted by the pandemic.

In the same way that you claim to have worked 18 hour days, there are plenty of teachers who haven't done much for months (including my next door neighbour high school teacher at a grammar who has been in her garden sunbathing at every opportunity or redecorating).

Which is the same as yes some NHS staff have got off lightly in COMPARISON to others. Obviously the front line staff (including cleaners and ward admin staff) have disproportionately been exposed to greater risk, but as a previous poster said - likelihood is their jobs didn't change massively day to day except for additional protocols etc, but the risk, hours and expectation absolutely did. As did the changes to policy wherein visitors could t attend. Doctors and nurses in my trust had to hold iPads up for relatives to say good byes. That's just horrific and not what anyone signed up for. Had to worked with reduced staff (as they were all getting sick) too.

However background NHS Randoms such as infection control, Rota coordinators, payroll, medical staffing, finance (yes someone has to pay for the additional PPE and work our coatings), procurement (people who find and sort out the additional PPE or ward equipment such as ventilators needed), complaints team (dealing with patients who were cancelled etc) appointments staff (rearranging 6m worth of patients is a thankless job), IT (trying time instigate telephone and video appointments at a moments notice without the infrastructure or equipment) IT trainers (to train the docs on how to use the aforementioned), governance teams (making sure patients are kept safe and the right procedures are followed, department managers (keeping track of cancelled/moved patients and making sure no one is lost, working with docs to ensure safely staffed wards and on calls, doing risk assessments for pregnant or BAME members of staff and finding them safer areas to work in, training other redeployed staff other areas, still being expected to report performance figures etc).

Your post is jealousy filled and demonstrates your lack of understanding, knowledge and quite frankly compassion for fellow professionals.

We could equally ask why your day was so severely impacted when you actually had to teach less people as only had the key workers? And the work was already set or planned? But we're not insensitive or aware of all the other things that go along with teaching.

Also, NHS discounts have been around for long before covid. Would you like my code for 5% off a random chocolate company, or 10% off shielas wheels? It's pennies in the grand scheme of things!

Plus as a teacher OP would know that teachers get discounts for stuff too and always have done. But she wouldn't, because she's not a real teacher and is just whipping everyone up.

Quite honestly, you can piss right off with your nasty, bitter attitude.

You think being a psychologist is easy? You have no clue what you are talking about. You sound like a vile human being.

It is time to drop the title keyworker in my view (and I am considered a 'keyworker' btw) it is divisive and no longer necessary.

I don’t really mind who gets discounts and who doesn’t, and I admire anyone who’s done a good job during a difficult time, but I wish we could stop using the word ‘heroes’ to describe people who are essentially carrying out their paid employment. It makes it sound as though no sacrifice would be too great for them, which is quite an unsound message.

Ironically some admin and all managers in my hospital have been working absolutely flat out to make the necessary changes happen at our hospital. You don’t have to be in full ppe at the patient’s bedside to have worked hard through Covid. I’m a manager and I worked weekends, bank holidays, felt huge guilt leaving dc when all their friends’ mums were home with them. I didn’t take annual leave until this week. During that time, everything was stepped down and many nurses and doctors had no patients so were making bloody TikTok dance videos.

Key workers are those who are vital for the continued running of essential services. That includes admin. That said, I have a secure job so feel uncomfortable with all the freebies - many were companies looking for a pr opportunity though! Staff asking for freebies pissed me off though.

Just to clarify the nurses are getting a pay rise. It was agreed last year and means they'll get a pay rise next year too.

"Hero" is the most overused word of 2020. Second only to "safe".

As a 'fellow' teacher (I also don't believe OP is a teacher ) I apologise on behalf of all the teachers who aren't bitter arseholes.
We get lots of discounts through our unions that are comparable to the NHS ones.
We also get a shit ton of holidays! No they're not paid but they are great and a perk of the job (well deserved but still great).

I gather you don’t teach anything related to business studies or marketing. Companies can offer whichever discounts to whomever they choose. Or no discounts. It’s just a sales gimmick. If you don’t like it, don’t shop there or contact the companies and explain your thoughts on the matter. They may even appreciate your insight.

Must be nice to be able to go shopping for a new car (although with your 18-hour days I don’t know how you find the time). Many, many people are losing their jobs and worried about how they will keep a roof over their heads, let alone buying a new motor. I can’t imagine they will be shedding many tears for you that you can’t get a half-price pizza.

@cutie101

No more critical in covid than at any other time. He does IT for their website, nothing to do with getting water to the consumer though

THIS kind of thing pisses me off. 'They're ONLY admin'. I am public sector admin. Let me tell you, if I didn't do my job (worked all through Covid) then the whole bloody government dept would fall apart - because we are the ones that do the groundwork to enable those that are 'customer facing' or 'the face of...' to do their bloody job. AND we are the lowest paid. So IT for a website - which is the way people get information nowadays - is unimportant.

Im an nhs admin worker and I can assure you we have worked as hard as frontline workers during the pandemic.

@Mookie81

As a 'fellow' teacher (I also don't believe OP is a teacher ) I apologise on behalf of all the teachers who aren't bitter arseholes. We get lots of discounts through our unions that are comparable to the NHS ones. We also get a shit ton of holidays! No they're not paid but they are great and a perk of the job (well deserved but still great).

Don't include OP in your apology, because she's clearly not a teacher! No teacher I know would ever denigrate any NHS worker like this over a few freebies.

One is a solicitor in the public sector and the other works for a water company in their IT department

I used to work in the legal department of a county council. There was a call-out rota for solicitors in 2 teams - the ones who worked on child protection, who were invariably called out over Christmas to deal with emergency protection orders, and the highways lawyers who'd deal with things like builders who thought they could put up scaffolding that blocked a road, effectively closing it. When there were floods, the same solicitors had to work all night making sure that the council were meeting all their statutory duties while not exceeding their powers.

And if you'd ever seen the amount and complexity of the IT involved in getting clean water to homes and businesses and treating waste water, you'd realise that a water company's IT people are absolutely essential.