To ask you, if you can afford to...

[Findawaytobehappy]

To still pay your cleaners/gardeners etc if they have to self isolate?
I think everyone needs to try and do what they can to help people to keep going in this unprecedented situation.

That’s all

@GeorgieTheGorgeousGoat I wouldn't consider you a CF at all and I'm sure most parents would feel the same. Our Childminder has been in the DC's lives since they were both tiny, she's partially raised them! She only provides wraparound now which is covered by DP's childcare voucher so fortunately we can continue to pay her that whatever happens.

I would pay ours.

We don’t have gardeners or cleaners but run a business with 2 staff . They will be paid in full . We will need them when we restart , presuming we will probably have to close as some point.

Yes definitely. IMO if your own income hasn’t changed then you’re not at a loss by still paying the cleaner or gardener. The majority of people who can afford to pay for these things in the first place are financially comfortable and aren’t going to be struggling if they still pay their cleaner.

I’m in Ireland with schools closed and while our CM minds only our dc and in her own home, we’ve agreed she won’t have them for a few weeks at least. We’ll see what the situation is then. She’ll still be paid as normal. I know that’s a lot different (more expensive!) than paying your cleaner and not everyone can still afford to pay their child care provider but those who can really should.

I made the decision to stop having the cleaner, who has worked for me for a decade. I am paying her half pay at the moment, and will review in a couple of weeks, but suspect will she not be coming back any time soon (we’re dealing with a lot of co-morbidities).

She said she didn’t want paying, but I am fully aware that she recently reduced her workload enormously, because of her age, and only kept a few of the easier ones. I would expect to keep giving her half pay for maybe 3 months?

I realise that’s definitely in the “because I can” category.

Many, many people will not have 'gardeners' and/or 'cleaners', OP. I imagine those that do will make whatever arrangements they're willing to in respect of payments. Nobody is going to post otherwise whether it's true or not.

I think you must live in a rarefied bubble which is why the general anguish of many typical posters, focused on losing their own jobs and being unable to pay bills, has escaped you.

Pretty insensitive really.

What a ridiculous comment @LyingWitchInTheWardrobe how the hell do you get that from the Ops two posts?

Georgiethegorgeousgoat I've been worrying about the same thing. DH works with me as a childminder and we have no savings so, if we are forced to close, we are in trouble.

One of our parents has already told me he will continue to pay us and that we must not worry. It's incredibly kind of him and I struggled to thank him without crying, tbh.
I think most parents do understand, although not all will be in a position to take the same decision and we will be equally understanding with them.

I reserve my anger for the insurance companies who blithely promised to cover us for loss of earnings in the event of a forced shut down and have done nothing but wriggle and prevaricate when they realised they might need to pay out, for once

I don't think it's insensitive. Yes, the OP is probably in a minority but it is still a real situation and I absolutely take my hat off to all of you who are continuing to pay staff.

We can't afford a cleaner, gardener etc at the best of times so it's not a consideration for us but I'd like to think that if we were in that situation, we would continue to pay. As it is, DH (service industry) has a real potential of losing his job and my wages just won;t keep us afloat. I'm fucking terrified. We have an elderly neighbour, on his own with no family. I have offered to pick up shopping for him during this time but I can't afford to pay for it so have advised him that he needs to find some way of covering his costs. Last night I had another neighbour fly at me in a rage because of this. Thinks I'm stone cold heartless and should not only be paying for this man's groceries but cooking for him too. It's a horrible situation.

I can't go on holiday in 3 weeks due to being told to self-isolate for 14 days once I get there so have cancelled it but have paid our kennels several hundred pounds today. I would like to use them again once this is all over and only hope that they survive. So difficult for businesses like this.

Lady at kennels said that they don't have a cancellation fee and a lot of people didn't offer to pay anything.

It might be wise to include a note explaining that this is an Ex Gracia payment.

This 'new mode of living' could go on for a very prolonged period and if precedents are set without this, you might run into difficulties in law.
It has already been said that even if we have a slowdown over the summer, the Autumn may bring another wave of infections so don't start something you may regret without taking precautions on paper.

I think you must live in a rarefied bubble which is why the general anguish of many typical posters, focused on losing their own jobs and being unable to pay bills, has escaped you

Insensitive of me to suggest those of us that can afford it, continue to pay people in similar positions to those people that you mention in your post?

Findaway Your cleaner has to stay home for two weeks, not one.

@janecope if the cleaner lives alone it’s still 7 days. Only if you’re a household is it now 14.

Your cleaner has to stay home for two weeks, not one

Incorrect. The people she lives with have to isolate for two weeks. She has symptoms, so she has to stay at home for a week.

I can’t believe all these posts on fb ‘please still do this, that and the next thing’ we’re all worried about our jobs! Why would we pay things unnecessarily just to be nice?

We have a cleaner but we haven't heard anything from the agency. I think we will pay.

I can’t believe all these posts on fb ‘please still do this, that and the next thing’ we’re all worried about our jobs! Why would we pay things unnecessarily just to be nice?

Of course - the horror! Why would you want to be ‘nice’ to anyone at a time like this? Why on earth would I want to show any gratitude to the lady who saves me a massive amount of time each week, always shows up and does a great a great job and I can afford to do so?

I've postponed our cleaner and will stop sports clubs, but are currently lucky enough to continue to pay our monthly fees to keep the spaces/ assist them.

I don't have a cleaner and I am worried about my own job security but due to supermarkets having lack of stock I have started to buy eggs from a local farm. I think I'll carry on doing that anyway. If supporting a local business in a small way is all I can do then that's something.

So long as my own income remains the same I will continue to pay pur dog walker, regardless of whether she can walk the dog or not - for as long as I am able. I am wfh permanently now so, in theory, could walk the dog myself as I do already on the the days she is not booked for.

She has been brilliant in terms of her flexibility and how much the dog adores her and walking with her. I would want to try and do what I can to support her in staying in business because I hope she will be there when I return to office work in the future.