One key worker, child should stay home

[Areyouactuallyseriousrightnow]

Not sure if there has already been a thread but AIBU to think that if only one parent is key worker and other is WFH, child should be staying home as school provision is for key workers who cannot complete their important role if they have to look after child at home, not so that the other parent can continue with work without interruption?

My partner is a key worker, but I don’t consider us eligible as I am home and therefore technically can be with the children.

YABU- if there’s one key worker take that opportunity to send the child in.
YANBU- if there’s another parent at home, child should stay home.

Depends if your kids school will take them I suppose. Ours won't.
How we're all supposed to be able to do the work of a teacher/ nanny and do our own jobs at the same time is a mystery though. Very much devalues the role of teacher.

I’m a keyworker mainly wfh and that’s why I am taking the places because I can’t be screening for risk for example and having sessions with other peoples children online if mine are in the background.

I’m a social worker, trying to have conversations with parents and professionals about neglect and abuse without my children overhearing, trying to have very sensitive conversations and make complex assessments while knowing my own children are unsupervised. The irony is breathtaking.

I’m a key worker my partner is not, he will be WFH. This is fine except when I am working nights and cannot sleep during the day with three children at home who despite my partners best attempts are little noise makers!

My husband has a disability so cannot be left alone with the children so how would the two parwnt keyworker rule then? As with the facemasks there literally isn't a one size fits all model so its a case of muddling through.

Lots of mums in my school are SAHM but their husband is a key worker (supermarket worker, delivery driver, pharmacist to name some examples). They sent their kids into school during the first lockdown whilst they sat at home on their own, doing nothing. Meanwhile I WFH and had to juggle work and homeschooling two primary aged kids. I think both parents should be keyworkers to get a lockdown school place. Not fair otherwise.

Mind your own business OP.
I'm praying that this time I will be classed as a critical worker and that the school will allow children to attend with just one critical worker parent.
Yes for the most part I can WFH but I'm working..... how on earth can I deliver lectures that last 3 hours and care for a 6 year old?

During the first lockdown I had minimal teaching but that's not the case now.

@Jellycatspyjamas

Plenty people are having to take unpaid leave.

Yes they have, our household included but if the sim is to allow key workers to do their jobs, having them in a situation where they need to take unpaid leave is a bit of an own goal. Out of our two jobs, I’d be the one taking unpaid leave because we can’t afford to lose my husbands income compared to mine.

That's the same for us, I don't want to do it, but if people are complaining about us being able to access something that enables us to work, I'm too tired and drained to keep doing what I do with such blockage.

The critical worker places are to protect the work that worker provides, not the family income.

I’m a critical worker, DH Wfh. I’m (by far) the lower paid so it will be me stepping back at work on special leave because school won’t take DC.

I did my bit last time, ignoring my DC because I was committed to the work, I won’t do that again.

@OverTheRubicon

It's pretty low to sit safely working from home and take the opportunity to make life a little harder for the families of key workers, who are out having to take on more daily risk on average for far lower pay than jobs that can WFH.

I'm a single parent and non key worker so am not advocating for myself here.

The non-key worker parent is not 'benefitting'. With two WFH parents, or with one furloughed/ sahm, there can be a sharing of responsibility. As a single parent I got to experience what it's like being the only parent at home, with multiple young primary and pre-primary DCs and life was impossible. Not all who WFH can be furloughed either.

Sure, if your kids are secondary this might make sense, and of course there will be a few people who work 12 hours a week in a supermarket and take the piss by grabbing a slot.

But seriously, if you're in a two parent family and both still.employed and able to WFH you're actually among the luckier group of parents so far, so why not lay off and count your blessings instead.

My partner is a KW so I do understand the challenges, many of which apply to all families where both parents currently work and have younger children, regardless of KW status. But I now understand more of the nuance of the situation when one is a KW and the other isn’t, thanks to those who have explained.

I’m sending mine in. I’m a keyworker. Split from Dad who is a tradesman. I couldn’t give a crap what anyone thinks or if they they his Dad should go off work (he won’t)
Keyworkers have had a shitty deal in some ways throughout this. Some of my friends have been furloughed nearly all year on full pay. We’ve worked harder than ever, with zero reward. Life is ups and downs and this perk is my up.

It’s just poor jealousy to have a bee in your bonnet over this.

I think for this to work, key workers are going to have to have major pay increases. I’m the key worker, but Dh earns more than me. If one of us is giving up work to look after the dc, it isn’t going to be him, we need his income to pay the bills. My pay won’t cover all the outgoings on it’s own, his will. What do you propose we do?

I know I’m not the only one in my group in this position, so could be a lot of key workers down if schools insist on 2 key worker parents for a place.

I’m a key worker, Nhs frontline, part time, out of the house for long days when at work. If my kids ( 3 under 8) don’t get in my husband will struggle to keep work, he can’t be dealing kids while on the phone to important clients. He has his own business. Last time he stayed home with the kids when I worked and was happy too for the greater good.
But this time we can’t take the financial hit. He is the main breadwinner. January is his business time. If the kids are off again I won’t be able to go to work and I am in a pretty crucial job.

• Busiest time

And just in case anyone has forgotten public sector pay was basically frozen for a decade. Therefore public sector workers are much much more likely to be lower paid

I’m not jealous, my husband is a KW so we can technically send our children in.

it doesn’t seem right to me as it’s the other parent benefitting essentially.

What, you mean not partaking in the complete insanity of trying to balance working from home with caring for and educating young children? How unreasonable of them not to want to drive themselves to a nervous breakdown when they have an alternative.

The critical worker places are to protect the work that worker provides, not the family income.

Many key workers will stop providing the key work if their family income is going to suffer because the non key worker has to stop working. You can't force them to keep working.

I’m a single parent key-worker - I actually didn’t send my child to school during the first lockdown down. I had to send them 265 miles away to my parents as my hours were longer due to people self isolating or shielding. Her dad is also in the same job. It’s not a job that can be conducted from home. I was sent without PPE to deal with potential covid positive people in confined spaces and told to ‘get on with it’. Yet apparently I’m not entitled to a vaccine unlike HR/admin for the NHS who are not even public facing. Things aren’t fair and it’s best just to concentrate on yourself instead of getting bogged done with what everyone else is up too or whether they should get a place or not.

I'm KW part time can't WFH and DH is an engineer so can't WFH either . DD5 went in on the days I was working, but towards the end they said that they should go in everyday for routine (think it helped with their planning too). At first there were 3 kids in the class including DD so no one taking the piss at all 🤷‍♀️

@Donotgogentle

The critical worker places are to protect the work that worker provides, not the family income.

I’m a critical worker, DH Wfh. I’m (by far) the lower paid so it will be me stepping back at work on special leave because school won’t take DC.

I did my bit last time, ignoring my DC because I was committed to the work, I won’t do that again.

I may be picking you up wrong here @donotgogentle but are you meaning should put going in and continue to work even if it means that lose family income then home?

It depends on the type of work.

I am technically a key worker, but can work from home. If I had young children, would probably struggle, but as my youngest is 9 years old, can work around distractions bribe with chocolate

DH also a key worker however cannot work from home, works 12 hour shifts, and it's hard when he's on nights, I'm working and all the kids are home, but not impossible. As the older two had online learning, we tried them getting up later, around 10:00 and doing school work until around 16:00 which worked better, but for the most part they were self sufficient and didn't involve much input from me.

If/when primary schools are closed, probably won't be sending DD2 to school as I would prefer her to be home if the transmission rates continue to spiral.

Our school has always been very clear that it takes 2 KW parents to qualify, otherwise unworkable numberwise and unfair.

There are always going to be pisstakers, unfortunately but it’s impossible to sort the wheat from the chaff. Some will take advantage if they can get away with it and I suppose you can’t blame them for wanting to make life easier.

I wfh part time and my husband is working from a remote office nearby - both not key workers as far as I’m aware; haven’t bothered checking tbh. It was hard doing the home schooling during the first lockdown but we muddled through and my children are KS2/just into KS3 so easier than pre school and KS1! And thankfully, my direct manager and employer are understanding - not everyone has that.

Oh, and I have 3 kids at secondary. As a keyworker, their secondary school would take them, but it's safer for them at home so that's where they will be, learning online.

Everything @MessAllOver says, I'm already sick with stress thinking how will cope.