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)

No-one is saying to get rid of lawyers. Or accountants. Or that they are not valuable or essential.

Just that maybe some of them can manage to get the really urgent stuff done from home, while shoving a sandwich in front of their kids and putting cbeebies on the TV or Oak academy on the tablet for a week or two until the hospital shit calms down a bit.

If you are Governor of the Bank of England, or a lawyer working on an urgent child protection case then yes - you are key and please do go to work tomorrow!

Someone running the payroll in a small company who could do it on Saturday morning instead, meh.

Just that maybe some of them can manage to get the really urgent stuff done from home, while shoving a sandwich in front of their kids and putting cbeebies on the TV or Oak academy on the tablet for a week or two until the hospital shit calms down a bit.

Isn’t that also true of lots of nhs staff working from home though?

Also, if the ‘really urgent stuff’ takes 10 hours a day, on top of all the other stuff, then how are the basic needs of the children being met (let alone education)?

@Schoolchoicesucks

No-one is saying to get rid of lawyers. Or accountants. Or that they are not valuable or essential.

Just that maybe some of them can manage to get the really urgent stuff done from home, while shoving a sandwich in front of their kids and putting cbeebies on the TV or Oak academy on the tablet for a week or two until the hospital shit calms down a bit.

If you are Governor of the Bank of England, or a lawyer working on an urgent child protection case then yes - you are key and please do go to work tomorrow!

Someone running the payroll in a small company who could do it on Saturday morning instead, meh.

Exactly the point I've been trying to make: we cannot judge how essential someone's work is or whether their children need to be in school based on sector. Especially not based on flimsy knowledge of the vague area of their work garnered from their children attending the same school. We need to all try to do as much as we can and that is it: random threads judging virtual strangers that people know next to nothing about are ridiculous. Presumably the school have a robust process and will not allocate places to people who do mot need them. Why not leave it to them? Why do people assume they know better than the schools who will have seen evidence of the type of work being carried out by these parents?

As I said I have no school-age children so I understand that people are stressed so perhaps losing some objectivity but this really is too much of the judgey pants on this thread!

Financial services are those services regulated by the FCA. Consumer credit, investment banking, payment processing, pensions, insurance etc.

Accountancy is not one of those services.

@Dinocan

Of course accountants are essential. What do you think happens if people’s accounts aren’t filed? They keep the economy running. It’s their busiest time of year, very time consuming and requires absolute concentration and absorption. One mistake could cause a major fuck up for a business. I’m not surprised accountants are using KW places if they’re offered tbh.

They work in the mornings, evenings and weekends like everyone else if they have taxes to do. Or they juggle some hours in the day between them if two parents. Using KW club enables them to with during the day time hours uninterrupted which is a luxury, not essential.

If the nhs staff can do their work from home without compromising patient safety, then maybe their kids should also be at home. I've seen quite a few posters saying theirs are.

If the urgent stuff takes 10 hours, then the "basic needs" of the child can be met in the other 6+ waking hours of the day? Short term, obviously.

Longer term, if your urgent work is taking 10 hours a day, consider hiring additional resource to split the work.

Polka, you are the most stressed person on this thread and it’s not really apparent why you are so overinvested in this, as you have said, it doesn’t really impact on you in the slightest

Schools generally had about 3 hours to receive applications and review them. They have to rely in good faith on the honesty of the parents. There was no time for them to carry out a robust process.

@ceeveebee

Financial services are those services regulated by the FCA. Consumer credit, investment banking, payment processing, pensions, insurance etc.

Accountancy is not one of those services.

Hahhaaa who do you think does most of this work?

You said earlier I think that your husband works for a Big 4 firm yet your don't know this?

@ceeveebee

Polka, you are the most stressed person on this thread and it’s not really apparent why you are so overinvested in this, as you have said, it doesn’t really impact on you in the slightest

Riiiight. Ok. I'm not remotely stressed, but thanks for your concern.

I am an accountant and never crossed my mind to state myself as a key worker!!

Also worth remembering there are many different types of accountant. DH has done both commercial and reporting roles. Reporting never stops. Never. And in the banking sector it was the accountants last time who had to answer the governments call for the loans to be rolled out.

There is a significant difference in levels and roles and yes some are critical.

I’m very familiar with the running of financial services firms, I have been an approved person in consumer credit firm, and no the big 4 do not “do most of the work” - being a consultant or an auditor to a financial services firm is not the same as working in one.
Anyway over and out, agree to disagree and all that

I find that some parents will try anything to send their kids to school and not have to look after them during this nightmare time.

I'm managing to work and look after my kids, and under the broadest definition Im a keyworker.

I would say that keyworkers are those on the front line, whose jobs cant be done from home. Eg police, nurses etc.

Your accountant friend is just being lazy, as are so many.

Just my opinion.

@ceeveebee

I’m very familiar with the running of financial services firms, I have been an approved person in consumer credit firm, and no the big 4 do not “do most of the work” - being a consultant or an auditor to a financial services firm is not the same as working in one. Anyway over and out, agree to disagree and all that

I never suggested that Big 4 accountants maintain the financial system, to be clear; I said that I'm astonished that someone who claims to be married to one doesn't understand that many accountants do not work in practice, and do roles which are critical to making sure society continues to function.

The Big 4 doing most of that work would be an unmitigated disaster!

I’ve been an accountant for 25 years! I don’t need to ask my DH

@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

Well said

This has to be one of the most annoying threads I’ve ever read.

Just my opinion.

I am reminded of that ‘opinions are like arseholes’ line.

They work in the mornings, evenings and weekends like everyone else if they have taxes to do. Or they juggle some hours in the day between them if two parents. Using KW club enables them to with during the day time hours uninterrupted which is a luxury, not essential.

Totally agree in theory. However at this time of year for many accountants there simply aren’t enough hours in the day. Dh used to have to work well into the night and day when he was in a large team. If this person is a one man/woman band they don’t have any colleagues to pick up the extra. If they have to get x tax returns in by x date and it’s going to take x hours to complete the work it might not be possible to work around their child’s home/zoom learning. Our school has required us to sit and support our dc during their home lessons. Unless the op knows them well enough to know they are taking the piss I wouldn’t judge. IME most schools are being quite strict with spaces so I don’t think they would allocate without good reason.

The best solution will be to lift this lockdown and no school ASAP ideally before February half term ora t the least let all workers set extra childcare costs against their tax bills - 100%, during the pandemic. It could be a mumsnet cause particularly as it helps women who ften end up being the ones killing heir career because they husband is not equally looking after the children hour by hour. Then we could hire some of the almost 3m who are unemployed and all the students desperate for jobs to do 4 or 6 hours in our houses babysitting a day and doing the online lessons with the children whilst people close a door to their bed room and just work without a single break all day which is working life for many who cannot do any work with a child around.

Ahhhh, this is so annoying!! No one is saying accountants aren't critical, of course they are. People need to be paid and tax returns need to be sent off. The issue is though that (in the main) they're NOT jobs that can't be done at home, juggling (difficult as that is) children and their home learning.

My husband has a difficult and busy job and often works very long days - and is often on long conference calls and hosting workshops with international government departments, but he can still work from home. I work full time too but we have to juggle both our jobs with the child care and home schooling.

It is totally impossible - and it's taking a toll on our mental health, but it is what it is!

Key worker provision should be for doctors, nurses, police officers, super market works etc WHO CANNOT WORK FROM HOME (or a few people who do work from home but have to make extremely sensitive phone calls - possibly social workers etc). As well as vulnerable children obviously.

key worker provision shouldn't be for people who (in their view) have jobs that are so much more "important" than anyone else's and who work 36.75 hour days with not even a loo break let alone lunch!

One of the schools near us has already had to send a key worker class home as three have now got Covid.
If people don’t start keeping their DC’s at home unless absolutely possible, the lockdown will continue much longer.