To think accountancy isn't a "keyworker" job?

[hannabull]

One of the parents at school is a self employed accountant who works from home, but sending kids into school. The other parent works out of the home (not a key worker) how is this allowed? Claims to be an essential worker (doesn't work for the nhs or anything, just accounts for small businesses)

It's actually really difficult though, isn't it? Say the parent is an accountant who has a large payroll to run that day, which affects the pay of thirty, fortty, a hundred people. If this isn't done it can cause serious problems and it can't always be done from home (IT issues, records not being accessible, confidentiality issues). Set that person against a doctor working in a non- urgent setting,band perhaps the accountant should be seen as the 'key workers'?
Although if you contrast that with the accountant who perhaps has management accounts to prepare at the end of the month which could be put off and probably isn't urgent against the nurse in a and e - well yes, the nurse should have priority.
It isn't exactly cut and dried, and I'm not really sure how anyone can make judgements about others' 'value'

Sorry for the typos - forty and and not band

The child might be adopted, need mental health support, be in a problem household, DV etc. None of which you would know about but enough for the child to be in school.

There could be a range of valid reasons for a child to be in school that only school know. What ever the reason he has satisfied the criterion the school require.

@YouJustDoYou

What patronising shit. You have no idea who you are speaking to and come out with this moralising bullshit? think you should be ashamed

So you agree in an emergency situation an account gets priority over a doctor? It's literally what we had to decide yesterday.

Nobody is saying that accountants do more to treat patients than doctors do. But the doctors and nurses and many millions of others won't get paid without accountants to audit accounts and file them, submit tax returns, and keep the financial framework in order in general. Do you really not understand that this underpins the entire economy?

@YouJustDoYou

Until the midwife wants her paycheck then goes on strike

Okay, let me explain it to you simply. One of our nurseries had to go down to skeleton staff yesterday. Ratios mean yo legally can't just let all kids in, you HAVE to abide by legal ratios. In a 24 hour emergency, would you allow the midwives child in tomorrow so the midwife can work that day, or the accountants child so the paycheques can be processed in 3 weeks time?

We had to prioritise both parents CRITICAL, so bith doctors/medical/nurses etc came first. Then police. Etc. God forbid you ever had to make these decisions. "Er, yes, sorry Dr Jones, you can't work in paediatric today, people need to be paid in 3 weeks, so you have to stay home and look after little Jonny, we've given his priority slot to someone else". FFS.

Oh get a grip. This is pathetic and nobody said that.

idk it depends in which context, like if they coordinate for small businesses or even vital retail chains then yeah I think it is kind of important as it contributes to the function of that business.

I'm an accountant, I'm dealing with year end, stocktakes accounts etc. I certainly don't class myself as a key worker. That's a joke! Myself and my key worker partner are homeschooling as best we can whilst working long hours. I am shocked that accountants are sending children in to school when they are happily wfh! Get on with juggling it, otherwise this lockdown is going to go on for ages!

@frankie246

I'm an accountant, I'm dealing with year end, stocktakes accounts etc. I certainly don't class myself as a key worker. That's a joke! Myself and my key worker partner are homeschooling as best we can whilst working long hours. I am shocked that accountants are sending children in to school when they are happily wfh! Get on with juggling it, otherwise this lockdown is going to go on for ages!

The duration of lockdown has very little to do woth compliance (wh

(Which has been higher than expected) and much more to do with Government policy.

@PolkadotGiraffe

Wow. It's amazing how ignorant some people are.

"staff needed for essential financial services provision (including but not limited to workers in banks, building societies and financial market infrastructure)"

I doubt many of the posters here have the faintest clue about how financial markets function or what is required to keep them going. Which is fairly shocking as it's the industry that contributes the most tax revenue of all in the UK - this is what pays for a huge chunk of the NHS, social care, education, welfare, etc. And without this work you don't get paid, your furlough or benefits don't go into your account, you cannot withdraw money from your bank, there is no money to fund public services. What is the definition of keyworker if it is not that society doesn't collapse without that industry?

This naivity about how things get done and who gets them done is shocking and perhaps explains some of the disrespect against crucial professional without which society DOES NOT FUNCTION. Accountancy and law are needed just as much as medicine, that's why these have always been the three professions. If any one of the three disappears society does not function.

If I don't show up for work, worst-case scenario, it costs some businesses large amounts of money and my professional indemnity insurance pays out.

If a doctor doesn't show up for work, worst-case scenario, people die.

It's frankly ridiculous to compare accountancy to medicine. They're both skilled professions, but one is rather more essential than the other.

Tell that to people when the economy collapses and they have no money in the bank, no food to buy in shops even if they had money and have no MHS at all because nobody has paid their tax.

*NHS

Comparing one of the professions to another is ridiculous. The reason these have always been the three professional areas of work is because a society literally cannot function without any of them.

doubt many of the posters here have the faintest clue about how financial markets function or what is required to keep them going. Which is fairly shocking as it's the industry that contributes the most tax revenue of all in the UK - this is what pays for a huge chunk of the NHS, social care, education, welfare, etc. And without this work you don't get paid, your furlough or benefits don't go into your account, you cannot withdraw money from your bank, there is no money to fund public services. What is the definition of keyworker if it is not that society doesn't collapse without that industry?

This has to be one of the most patronising speeches on this whole thread, it was fairly polite until you rocked up and told posters they didn’t know who they were talking to.

Some real delusions of grandeur now and superiority combined with an assumption that everyone else is a bit thick and couldn’t possibly understand how very important and busy you are.

I think there will be a clampdown on the interpretation of critical workers soon as schools being 70-80% full is not going to make a dent in the transmission of this new strain.

Could easily be doing accounts for keyworkers.

I hate threads like this, why doesn't everyone just mind their own business?!

www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jan/06/english-schools-struggle-with-demand-for-key-worker-places

This is why

Some schools will have bigger demand but I still think it's unlikely the 70-80% figure will be nationwide.

Ok

Well let's see when the attendance figures are in.

I also don't think it's rocket science to work out why the numbers are higher this time around.

@ceeveebee

Speaking an an accountant, I think it’s morally reprehensible to twist the key worker category of “financial service infrastructure” to send your child to school in the midst of a pandemic. Accountancy is easily done from home and can be done at weekends and evenings. Do people not understand that the whole point of the school closures is to reduce to the bare minimum those children who simply must be at school. This pandemic will never be over if we don’t all do the right thing

I am also an accountant although in a specialist field and agree with this. It has never once occurred to me that I am a key worker

www.leeds-live.co.uk/news/leeds-news/im-key-worker-70-per-19573865

thelincolnite.co.uk/2021/01/unless-both-parents-are-key-workers-pupils-must-stay-at-home-says-lincoln-school/

Let’s hope it gets clarified as the latest transmission statistics are indicating that the situation is an emergency. If work can be done from home albeit not to the usual high standard, then hopefully it will be.

It’s a temporary situation and hopefully will help bring things under control.

you seem to believe that the definition of a key worker is someone who works outside the home, and cannot wfh. This is not necessarily the case, as this thread shows, accountants can be key workers.

@ralphi

you seem to believe that the definition of a key worker is someone who works outside the home, and cannot wfh. This is not necessarily the case, as this thread shows, accountants can be key workers.

. I am going to work now.

@YouJustDoYou

So, are all of you happy if you don't get paid at the end of the month?

If you're on the operating table, I highly doubt your first worry will be "will I get paid?", more like "I hope I don't die". So what would you rather then? The doctor who can't work because the nursery/school denied their child a place so admin could secure that spot for their kid? Or the fact that admin/account had TO stay home because the doctor's kid got priority? Yeah, thought not.

Oh for gods sake!!

You do realise that spaces are given on a priority basis? So even if you qualify under the key worker provision, the spaces are then allocated in a specific order? For example, where I am there are three categories of key workers - doctors would fall under category 1 and be given the highest priority, financial services are category 3 so would get a space after category's 1 and 2 have been allocated. So accountancy staff wouldn't be taking the space from front line medical staff.

Interestingly, in my local authority area, in March/April only cat 1 and 2 were considered. This did change as we went through the spring and now they will consider cat 3 for spaces, as well as allocating spaces to children who are vulnerable due to not coping well with lockdown last time.