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 interesting how much it varies by schools. No way would they get a school space here.

YABU, many of the pp to this thread seem to have no real idea of what accountants may be doing or why it is essential that the work continues, and a load more seem to have posted simply to have others tell them how wonderful they are for not taking up a KW place.

@LadyJaye

You do know it's the height of tax season for the self-employed and small businesses, don't you?

Many accountants will be working round the clock to ensure their clients return their SAs on time and don't face fines.

Reading the guidance, I wouldn't interpret anyone up to their eyeballs in personal tax returns as a key worker. Busy and tired, yes, but you could say that of many people.

However, I might interpret someone in payroll as a key worker (and typically, payroll will be done by a bookkeeper and not an accountant).

Yanbu OP people are really selfish increasing transmission like that.

Tax return season. The wish it wasn’t but there you go!

its important work - but they do that from home. Its not a 'key' worker

"We either have a lockdown or we don't."

I've had phone calls from two people who I help with their benefits. They've had renewal forms. They have to be back in by the end of the month. I phoned the DWP and they still have to be in. My visit will come under a one off support visit. I'll have to go on public transport and get a special delivery in the post office, twice. But in reality it's completely unnecessary and could be put off for a month. But the DWP won't have it and other government departments won't either. So no, we aren't having a full lock down. A few extra children attending school isn't the issue, especially in London, judging by the scenes over NY of packed bridges, all adults, waiting to see the fireworks.

God, how very limited some people are in their understanding of the world.

YES some accountants are keyworkers. YES some financial services workers are key workers. Of course they are!

Some of you need to learn to use google rather than yet more examination of your own arseholes.

I worked from 7am until 10pm last night because of breaks for homeschooling during the day

Well lucky you that your job is flexible enough that you can start and end it at those times, and are able to take breaks throughout the day.

What would you do if you needed to be sat working at your desk 8am-6pm? Would you have your kids working at 7am and til 10pm on their schoolwork? Would you leave them to their own devices for the 8am-6pm hours you were at your desk?

Who does the accounts for the school you’re talking about OP? Who’s going to pay the bills and claim grants to ensure the school has hot water and pays staff through lockdown? Lots of public sector organisations employ consultants from the private sector because the public sector has been destroyed by government.

I’m an audit manager working in accountancy practice and we’ve been told we don’t qualify as key workers - even when it’s government requirement to file accounts / tax and I’m horribly busy and can’t have any time off to homeschool 🙁

It's pretty essential if HMRC want to get any tax in to pay for this shitshow.

Because vat, payroll, accounts, corporation tax, inheritance tax etc all still need preparing, calculating, filing and paying.
Tax keeps this country moving its how we pay for all social services.
Maybe your company can lay off the accountant and stop.pauing your salary and you don't think accountants and payroll providers are essential??

Accountants also often handle payroll. And payroll can't often be done from home due to the sensitive confidential data involved. So all those folks have to still go in. Lockdown.. ha!

Someone told me the other day that I should be furloughed as my job isn't key and every business should be closed that isnt a hospital or supermarket for 1 month. I process payroll, for the company she works for. I asked if she expected to be paid during that time - of course she did. People don't understand the support staff needed to actually carry out these jobs!

@BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz

I worked from 7am until 10pm last night because of breaks for homeschooling during the day

Well lucky you that your job is flexible enough that you can start and end it at those times, and are able to take breaks throughout the day.

What would you do if you needed to be sat working at your desk 8am-6pm? Would you have your kids working at 7am and til 10pm on their schoolwork? Would you leave them to their own devices for the 8am-6pm hours you were at your desk?

Yes, so lucky to have a full on stressful job and have to juggle the kids. I have been on calls all day and only nipped to check on the kids every hour or so, but mostly they have been in their own and have managed. They have to. Because we are in a fucking pandemic And what self employed accountant has no flexibility and must be sat at their desk between 8-6?

Of course, they're key-workers.

I presume staff want to be paid? Who do you think processes the payroll?

I presume furloughed staff want their furlough monies and the firms furloughing them want claims made to the government to recover the costs?

The Government have made it clear that deadlines must be adhered to, so VAT returns, Payroll submissions, tax returns, etc all have to be prepared and submitted on time as normal.

Banks, Companies House, lenders, etc still want to see the formal accounts submitted to them by the usual deadlines.

Businesses still want their book-keeping, accounts etc to be prepared. They want their invoices raising, they want their customers to be chased for paying their invoices, etc. Their suppliers want paying for goods supplied.

What a stupid post.

@infinitediamonds it depends on the individual school.

I know people in a wide range of roles who were/are classed as key workers some of them people wouldn't think as essential.

It’s January!!

Well given that said person seems to have been active on fb all day i'm assuming they aren't run off their feet with tax returns!

Why do people on Mumsnet think they're qualified to decide who is a key worker and who isn't?

KW has been defined (deliberately) wide to maximise work output and minimise the opportunity for parents to ask for flexible hours or parental leave.
No requirement on employers to grant (even unpaid) leave or flexible hours requests.

Accountants, bankers, lawyers, HR, marketing, IT, project managers etc - all caught within the definition (for some industries).
Even if WFH.
Even if not related to health or social care, food distribution, utilities etc.

Classic approach of a government that has prioritised business over the NHS and shown zero understanding of what is actually happening in schools.

Try to remember this when the next election comes round.

(And I say all this as someone classed as a KW and resisting pressure from my employer to take a school place).

@hannahbull

To be clear, I'm not suggesting it's not an important job, but given that this person works from home, surely that puts them in the same category as many other office workers who are WFH and having to home school their kids? And surely, the fewer kids that are in school the safer it is at the moment?

Totally agree hannahbull

I think the terms keyworker and essential role have been conflated - to most people keyworker covers life and limb - emergency services, teachers, supermarket workers and delivery drivers etc, utilities workers. Other jobs may be essential to that particular organisation, but are not essential to either the country or life.

As a PP said, the whole point of the keyworker rules is to absolutely limit the number of kids in schools. My LA has made very clear that only if there is no other option should you be applying for a space, and that other option includes a home-working key worker (which by the way I am with my DH key worker (emergency services working out of the home)). So I am doing a job that is Critical to National infrastructure (central gov) at home, with the kids at home, because that's the rule. It sucks and it's difficult, but I would not want to game the system by trying to bend the rules so the kids can be at school so I can get on with work uninterrupted.

Oh OP. You’ve obviously never been self employed or run a business. 🤦🏼‍♀️

However, I might interpret someone in payroll as a key worker (and typically, payroll will be done by a bookkeeper and not an accountant).

The post refers to a self employed accountant working from home. That suggests a small business accountant. Such people usually do everything, book-keeping, payroll, accounts, tax returns. It's only really bigger firms with several staff where you'll have book-keepers doing the payroll etc.

I'm a fully qualified accountant, working on my own, and have been an accountant for 37 years. I can spend day after day just running payrolls at some times of the month. Added into that, at present, I also have to make the furlough claims for which we only have a 14 day period, i.e. December claims must be made by 14 January. That puts an enormous amount of pressure on just a few days.

If I didn't do payrolls, I wouldn't have the clients for the other work, such as accounts and tax returns. Small business clients, sole traders, etc., usually want a "one stop shop", a single person or firm to do everything for them. If I only did accounts and tax returns, they wouldn't engage a different book-keeper to do the payroll - they'd engage someone else to do the whole job, they don't want to be faffing around with different people doing different parts of the job.