To think that a solicitor is not a key worker?

[Sandiepatterson]

Grrr, three sets of parents at our school are solicitors. Not family lawyers dealing with courts but plain old private client wills and trust lawyers. They most definitely could WFH but no, they've ALL sent their kids to school.
AIBU to think they are being unreasonable?

www.thegazette.co.uk/wills-and-probate/content/103547

The Government (Ministry of Justice) states video technology should be a last resort and people must continue to arrange physical witnessing of wills where it is safe to do so - hence a wills solicitor being on their list as a keyworker.

Love the reference to Casson v Dade case authority from 1781 - maid in a carriage witnessing a will through a window when a horse pulling the carriage reared up offering her a line of sight at the moment of signature still being relevant in 2021.

No way. I didn't say that. To be fair, death bed wills are reasonably rare and do not mean you need to be in the office 5 days a week

They aren't that rare actually. And it's not just death bed wills but arranging wills for elderly, people losing mental capacity, ongoing probate disputes etc...

The solicitors and accountants that I know who have sent their kids to school are WFH and are completely taking the piss and putting teachers' lives at risk, and contributing to the problems with staffing levels in hospitals

What do you mean by 'taking the piss' @Nelle? How do you know they are capable of competently doing their jobs whilst teaching and caring for their kids?

The solicitor who gets the legal paperwork in place to stop abusive dad talking toddler from hospital is just as crucial as Dr who put the plaster on her broken arm. Domestic violence, child abuse, crime doesn’t stop in a pandemic some areas are busier than ever. The other school mums won’t know that solicitor does that or have vague idea they do ‘family’ work - there’s this thing called client confidentiality. Instead of clapping they get mums like Nelleporter criticising them. The Law Society Guidance linked P1 is quiet clear and sensible. Most solicitors can wfh and are but those who are using a school space are clearly dealing with stuff the Government feels is essential.

@NellePorter

The solicitors and accountants that I know who have sent their kids to school are WFH and are completely taking the piss and putting teachers' lives at risk, and contributing to the problems with staffing levels in hospitals

What makes you so sure it's possible for them to do their job and homeschool at the same time?

There are certain elements of my job which I can't do with a small child present never mind engage in homeschooling. I'm wfh but using a school place 3 days a week when I'm delivering live lectures all day. I've spoken to the school directly and they agreed it was the best thing to do.

Who do you think deals with estates of the people who are dying making sure that remaining family members aren't then plunged into financial difficulties? You can't just say nope all wills and handling of estates is on pause.....

The government decides key workers stop judging others and focus on your own family unit.

The first two posts after the OP sum this up:

Not this again!

and

YABU

I’m a teacher- I am working from home. My children are in early years so open to all but if that changes they will be going in as key worker children even though I’m at home.

I cannot teach 4 lessons live online with a 1 and 4 year old at home.

@NellePorter

The solicitors and accountants that I know who have sent their kids to school are WFH and are completely taking the piss and putting teachers' lives at risk, and contributing to the problems with staffing levels in hospitals

How do you know what work they are doing and whether they can do it with their kids around?

Because we've been friends for a very long time and I do the same job as one of them, we work for the same company. They are very pleased with themselves that they have managed to offload their kids. Meanwhile my other friends who are teachers, nurses and doctors are struggling to cope in schools, and having to take time off when bubbles burst because there are so many children in school who don't need to be there.
I agree that there are some people in these types of jobs who can't work from home, or who are actually critical to the Covid response. I only commented on the people that I know.

@NellePorter how many 'solicitors and accountants' then? Two? Three? Hardly collapsing the key worker schools offering!

Yes, I only know a few. I also know a few teachers in different schools who have said that they have lots more children than the first lockdown, hence that comment. Also LAs are sending out letters asking parents to consider if their children really need to be there. So I (perhaps incorrectly) assumed that it was not just a few of my friends who had taken advantage, but indicative of the wider population.

@NellePorter

Yes, I only know a few. I also know a few teachers in different schools who have said that they have lots more children than the first lockdown, hence that comment. Also LAs are sending out letters asking parents to consider if their children really need to be there. So I (perhaps incorrectly) assumed that it was not just a few of my friends who had taken advantage, but indicative of the wider population.

Yes. There are more children in school this time. More people are taking up key worker places but that doesn't mean their parents are taking the piss. The nature of peoples roles might be different at this time of year ( mine certainly is) and many employers just aren't being as flexible or accommodating.

There is also a significant increase in vulnerable children attending this time round. DSs school has 3x more then they did in March.

@Thisisworsethananticpated

I’m over the bitter phase , really Seeing what Covid is like (fucking awful) I’m relieved to be home and safe , relieved my kids are home We are making adjustments so I can work and homeschool , I’m knackered but resigned

I’m truly grateful if the genuine key workers who are working in at risk environment , I’m not saying that to be a virtue signalling wanker
I genuinely am . So many people are risking so much to keep things going
I feel guilty all the time

But the professional services and sahp who send their kids in because they can , because they can exploit a loophole are in my opinion shady as fuck .

Nothing will ever persuade me that a Soliciter needs the same support as a doctor , nurse , teacher , bin man , bus driver , supermarket delivery driver
Nothing

And there are some major class and gender issues coming up too

What about a solicitor working for the Department of Health to deliver the Covid- response - eg ventilators contracts - Nightingale hospitals contracts - vaccine roll out contracts.

Who is working 12 hour days and is on conference calls all day - often arranged very last minute.

They WFH but can hardly take care of a small child at the same time or supervise the schooling of a child not able to shift for themselves!

Yes. There are more children in school this time. More people are taking up key worker places but that doesn't mean their parents are taking the piss

Yes I think there are key worker families that kept their children off last time, but having seen the pressure that put on the family and what it did to the kids, aren’t doing that again.

What I am taking away from the abundance of threads on this topic is that 'key worker, 'critical worker', 'essential worker', 'wfh', 'wfh and homeschool' have lost any clearly defined definition in general public perception (because the government is trying to cover all sorts of scenarios and loopholes).

Therefore people are inventing their own definitions and rules and applying them/judging people by them regardless of what the law and guidance actually say.

Fwiw i regret my earlier comments
They were somewhat sweeping and basically - wrong

It’s an absolute joke a mum who is an optician and on maternity leave is sending her other

Hadn't thought of it before, but yes they are key workers, or most of them. I imagine a lot of the work can be done from home though, such as conveyancing etc.

Sorry, hit send in error. Is sending her other 2 children in to school, it’s just not bloody fair on others who are struggling.

As a teacher last time I didn’t send them to childcare because I was just setting worksheets online and marking and so could do that with not 2 at home. This time round teachers are doing live lessons from home so need to send their own children to school. I’m sure there are many other professionals that have changed significantly during this process and so now they need key worker cover.

@Thisisworsethananticpated

Fwiw i regret my earlier comments They were somewhat sweeping and basically - wrong

That’s big of you, no sarcasm meant ☺️

@NellePorter the only wills and probate solicitor I know (I do conveyancing myself) is not sending her DC to school. So should I assume that most wills and probate solicitors are doing the same as my friend?

The thing is people who aren't key workers are still expected to carry on working from home. Something like 75% of parents have been refused furlough apparently.
Many jobs can't be done effectively while caring for a child under say 8-10 years old. It would be bad for the child to be ignored or left on an ipad for 8 hours. People are doing their best but children vary and they don't all sit colouring quietly all day. So faced with the choice of taking unpaid leave or sending your kids to school if you are on the key worker list, what are you going to do?