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)

@Parker231

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.

Absolutely this. And some of those key worker parents will be doctors, nurses, teachers, so that’s really going to screw them now they have to stay home with a self isolating child

Key worker provision should be for doctors, nurses, police officers, super market works etc WHO CANNOT WORK FROM HOME

It isn’t though. Plenty of nhs workers can wfh and I don’t see much outrage about them taking up places.

I don’t believe the official list makes any distinction between those who can wfh and those who can’t.

Many jobs can be done from home whilst looking after your DC’s. Likely to be stressful and not easy but doable in the short term.
The problem is too many people thinking their job (or their DH’s) is too important/critical and then sending their DC’s to school and adding to the problem.
These people will be the first to complain when schools don’t reopen properly for months.

@TheKeatingFive

Key worker provision should be for doctors, nurses, police officers, super market works etc WHO CANNOT WORK FROM HOME

It isn’t though. Plenty of nhs workers can wfh and I don’t see much outrage about them taking up places.

I don’t believe the official list makes any distinction between those who can wfh and those who can’t.

Exactly. The school criteria should be whether the parent can work from home or not. If they can wfh, then dont send the kids to school, regardless of their job/employer.

Likely to be stressful and not easy but doable in the short term.

If people had confidence that it would be short term, that would be one thing.

But they don’t. Neither do their employers. We all know what happened last time. So hardly surprising that people are choosing to take places if they can to avoid months of this shit.

My GP, consultant and even dentist have given me phone appointments while working from home. Do they not deserve places for their kids?

TheKeating - I agree but it defeats the objective of trying to reduce cases in schools if too many people carry on sending their DC’s to school.
It’s also totally unfair on teachers and the TA’s.

Who knew accountants could be so controversial 🤷‍♀️ DH says his profession not had this much attention in years 😂

I agree but it defeats the objective of trying to reduce cases in schools if too many people carry on sending their DC’s to school.

Sure, but what are you going to do?

If your employer is piling the pressure on (because productivity went down last time and they can’t afford for that to happen again and guess who’s in line for redundancies if it does)

And you watched your child decline in terms of behaviour/education/mental health last time

And you know in your heart of hearts this is going to go on for months.

How realistic is it to expect people to not take up places? No-one will be paying their mortgage if they have to give up their job or picking up the pieces of the impact on their family.

@thekeatingfive agreed. Last time my DH dared to schedule an hour in the middle of the day to spend with the kids - you know like a lunch hour out of his average 17 hour day at that point. This was only for about 2 / 3 weeks.

He was criticised for being unavailable and "because you are spending time with your children" and told he was removed from a leadership call as they couldn't rely on him being around. This is at a huge organisation in the UK - one of our leading financial services brands yet this is the reality of how a senior professional can be treated.
The same organisation is shortly to get rid of 20% of finance worldwide. He cannot afford to be viewed as unavailable at this point in time. My organisation is not so in the dark ages and allows more flexibility but the reality is it's still a 12 hour day. Its al very well people saying just do it later/ around the kids etc etc if we don't get our work done we will lose our jobs, that is the reality and I will do all that I can to maintain our stability.

Busy or non-financially minded doctors might need accountants, I dunno

that's why the government need to clamp down on who can and cant send their kids to school. so its fair.

what about people who don't qualify for key worker status - we have deadlines and stresses. i cant say to client on a multi-million pound project, sorry i cant do that because i've got to home school. they don't care - I've just got to do it. It's tough.

i work for a very small company - there's no one else who can pick up the slack, there's no leadership team (apart from the owner). if the company goes under that's all of us out of a job - who cares about that?

if we all sent out kids in because it's tricky, then there's no lock down and no stopping the virus spreading is there. why are some people more important than others - when they're effectively in the same boat. critical key workers, i get it - they need to keep people alive and with food! an accountant, not so much...if taxes are delayed, or people paid a little late, its not the end of the world (or no worse than loads of non-key workers losing their jobs and not being able to fee their families anyway).

i actually think if such a huge organisation is being so ridiculously un-understanding as to remove people from the leadership team for taking a 1 hour lunchbreak in the situation we're in, they need calling out on that - not piling on the pressure on teachers and the community!

I personally wouldn't want to work for such a company - sounds hideous!

Seems to me that the key worker definition is being interpreted by some as any job where it's inconvenient to home school at the same time...

@catrina123 it is hideous but it also pays our mortgage and not exactly the best time to be looking for a move unfortunately.

it is hideous but it also pays our mortgage and not exactly the best time to be looking for a move unfortunately.

And they’re definitely not alone.

No company signed up to facilitate their staff to care for/home school their children while doing their day job, in the longer term. It just isn’t feasible for them.

As a short emergency last March, okay. But now, a year on, looking like it will last months again, this expectation becoming normalised, no fucking way.

Gilbert and Sullivan once wrote a song that included the words "when everyone one is somebody, then no-one's anybody". Exactly this is happening now with the key worker definition.

@QualityRoads

Gilbert and Sullivan once wrote a song that included the words "when everyone one is somebody, then no-one's anybody". Exactly this is happening now with the key worker definition.

Brilliant!

Accountant is absolutely essential- payroll, furlough, HMRC everything - but even if they’re at the top of the key worker list they shouldn’t be using schools. But then no one should. If schools are shut then they’re shut. No exceptions otherwise it just starts conversations like this about who is more important than someone else.

If nhs workers have school children that means they can’t work then use bank staff and they can stay home feel so sodding important.

Same as supermarket discounts and priority hours. We’re NOT all in this together if there’s different rules for different people. I’m glad we have a fantastic nhs system but sick of having it shoved down our throats what angels they are like it’s not their actual paid for job.

All jobs are essential aren't they? Companies don't pay people a wage for shits and giggles.

@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

THIS. I work with schools and am a chair of governors and governor to a total of 4 primary schools - all are reporting at least double the number of children being sent in this time around.

It means that schools are now being asked to do the impossible - safely teach the children sent in AND do remote teaching of the rest. All this under threat of reporting to Ofsted by parents who aren't entirely thrilled by it.

We're never getting out of this at this rate - Johnson accepts that all schools are vectors of virus transmission and then effectively keeps them open.

All jobs are essential aren't they? Companies don't pay people a wage for shits and giggles.

Well exactly.

The whole concept of a ‘key worker’ list is totally redundant now.

It made sense last March when TPTB were thinking, if everyone downs tools for six weeks, who can we absolutely not do without.

But now? For months and months again? No.

People need to be facilitated to work. Companies need to be facilitated to keep raising taxes to fund these essential services. We can’t just switch it all off for the foreseeable. The consequences of that are mindblowing.

So this two tiered system of schooling we have now is highly discriminatory and unfair. I don’t blame people for trying to game it and it won’t be long before those who can’t are rising up against it.

So this two tiered system of schooling we have now is highly discriminatory and unfair

Is it? Surely it's more nuanced than that.
My dc will be in school soon, I am currently on AL (accrued because I worked so many extra days).
I can sit with my dc 1-1 & ensure they understand & complete their work. That attention is invaluable & they will not get that whilst in school where they have teachers running ragged or are being supervised by support staff or where a parent cannot juggle f/t work at home.
I'm a key worker & last lockdown I worked 3 (1 at home) days & could just about manage to work in the mornings, evenings & weekends in tag team with DH to ensure we could spend a lot of time homeschooling. Obviously my dc lost a few skills but they also skipped quite a few stages in reading so I think they gained a lot.
However this time I am full time, have more responsibilities & DH also has had to take on more.
I would love to have the opportunity to be furloughed but it's not available to us & if my dc struggle when they go back to school I will seriously consider leaving my job so I can home educate them.

Last time my DH dared to schedule an hour in the middle of the day to spend with the kids - you know like a lunch hour out of his average 17 hour day at that point. This was only for about 2 / 3 weeks.

Companies should not be allowed to get away with that.
DH had leave canx (due to others who were ill) so worked xmas eve, NY eve etc. Had 2 days off over the xmas break & has been doing 60 hour weeks (those extra 20 unpaid) however he would never be criticised for taking lunch.

That attention is invaluable & they will not get that whilst in school where they have teachers running ragged or are being supervised by support staff or where a parent cannot juggle f/t work at home.

Plenty of kids don’t have an engaged available parent.

I’m not denying home schooling can’t work well for some, but in the current circs many are being forced into it with no time, resource, ability.