Still no sign of who key workers are or two parent rule?

[Drogonssmile]

As an NHS worker whose husband earns double what I earn, if the rumours are true and both parents need to be a "key worker" for children to attend school or nursery, then I'll be off from Monday and on unpaid leave for the foreseeable future.

The idea struck me though, and I wouldn't do it myself, what is to stop someone in my situation going off sick with stress due to trying for sort out childcare etc and getting paid full pay for 6 months? (NHS sick pay).

Also I work 5 hour days, this could change as things progress I suppose, so once I’m finished he could work then

@TheCountessatHotelCortez Three of my closest relatives are front line NHS staff. You all do an amazing job and everyone would put their own family first. People expect ridiculous things from healthcare staff that they would never ever do themselves. I hope you can find a way to use your skills and help people but if the gov are unable to support you to do that then it's not your fault.

Tbh, over the next week the full scale of this is going to start to become apparent. Managers will begin to realise (if they haven't already) that insisting employees come in potentially spreading the disease creates a bigger problem for their business than accepting a slightly lower productivity with their employees wfh. Increasing numbers of companies (and individual employees) will decide that combining wfh and childcare is a better option than sending their kids in to mingle with other kids. Particularly as it will certainly be childcare rather than teaching.

@meadowhay thank you, I suppose there is no guarantees that DH company will survive either way no one knows but at least if he can work w few more weeks it will allow us to get some money set aside

It should be both parents are key workers , otherwise you create as situation where Mr Solicitor gets to wfh in peace, while a single parent looses their job due and the only family income due to no childcare.
We need key workers to be able to work it’s not a nice perk for the other parent.

I guess if the numbers are unworkable for schools with every family with one key worker provided child care, they could look at a hierarchy of sorts. Ie. Dr’s, nurses, health care professionals full 5 days childcare, then reduced from there as not all key workers will be as desperately needed. Clearly that would take some working out. But stops essential healthcare workers being less available or having to quit as some posters on this threads circumstances would dictate.

I’m potentially a key worker - that is less essential and I’d give up my cover if required. Of course they’ll always be those that try it on.

Mr Solicitor married to Mrs GP I meant to say.

countess, you are in an incredibly difficult position. Do speak to your school. If they realise that you would have to quit work as frontline nhs staff to mind your kids they will take them in.

I have filled out the questionnaire today which didn’t ask anything about who works where so assuming this will come next, I will make decisions based on what comes next and that’s all I can do but I haven’t slept for 2 nights hardly worrying about it

Mr solicitor married to Mrs GP aren't the worry - Mr solicitor would likely be allowed to wfh. Mr train driver and Mrs care home worker are the concern - they far more likely to face real financial ruin in Mrs stayed at work and Mr took unpaid leave.

FWIW, I'm a teacher who has volunteered to do extra hours to help key workers' kids. Mr solicitor sending kids in would irritate me whilst volunteering to risk my own health, but I'll swallow that if it means Mrs care home worker can still go to work without having sleepless nights!

This stinks of men thinking childcare isn’t their job. Thousands of people are taking unpaid leave because their jobs just don’t exist for the time being. All these “can’t possibly work from home” men will have to find a way. I imagine their companies will find a way to let them work from home when half their workforce don’t come in.

The schools could have closed completely and taken no children. They’ve stayed open to take a tiny minority of key worker children purely as a safe place to leave them. Not so your fella can go to work.

I cannot agree with this anymore if I tried.

What a fucking sad day to be a woman, I tell you.

Don't worry Mr Important Job Banker, the womenfolk will sort it out amongst themselves. Fob the children to off to the nursery-nurses to wifey can go get her pin-money.

It's a global pandemic.

It's an emergency service being set up to help those in an emergency. Billy Big Balls with the oh-so high paying office job isn't needed, and he is a not an emergency.

I'm a teacher. Our school have already said it's two keyworkers and I hope to stick to this. My husband will be home on unpaid leave. Fuck knows how we'll pay the bills but the entire country is going to be in exactly the same position. What are they going to do, bankrupt all 66 million of us?

Repossess every house? Who the fucks gonna buy them when everyone else is skint and we're in the middle or depression?

Wee bit perspective dear.

I’m NHS clinical staff and it looks like I’ll be doing the same. This has been very badly thought out.

My child goes to a special school over an hour away from home. It’s open for NHS kids but his transport has been cancelled and the before and after school club cancelled. So he can’t get there.

My partner earns 3 time’s what I do so he can’t take unpaid leave or we can’t survive. So there’s me taking unpaid leave instead, once I’m out of bloody quarantine anyway. 1 less member of staff working in the NHS in this tough time. Time’s that by how many NHS staff are the lower earner in their family. I bet it’s loads due to how low the pay is!

Boris has just made an awful situation so much worse!

Mr train driver and Mrs care home worker are the concern - they far more likely to face real financial ruin in Mrs stayed at work and Mr took unpaid leave.
@PerfectParrot I understand what you are saying , however why should Mr married train drive get a better deal than Mr single parent train driver?
At least Mr married would have the care wage coming into the household.

The people saying it needs to be if both workers are key workers, ok - but know that there will be a lot less NHS staff to care for you if that's the rule. That is what will inevitably happen. I would have thought people would prefer to have as many healthcare workers working as possible to treat them and their families.

This isn't about what's 'fair'. It's about providing essential services for the population.

Ahh such a difficult time. Just spoke to my DH about it. I'm a teacher he's not, he's currently WFH.

If it's one keyworker he wants to send the kids to school/nursery everyday. I want to send them on the days I have to be at school and have them home the other days and manage. That's what the rest of the population are having to do. We are lucky to be getting paid at all.

I think he's being selfish.

Is this voluntary or not?
I'm a key worker. Husband isn't. He's self employed and earns twice as much as me. I work 2 days. If my daughters school decides both have to be key workers for her to get a place, will he have to stay at home? Doesn't seem fair. Two none key workers could be earning 4x as much as me working at home.

I don't mind doing my bit at all but think my children should be offered a place so we can financially keep some stability

Doesn’t seem right that mum is a nurse key worker, dad unemployed, have two kids but qualify to send there kids to school. Dad could be in house with kids. So many flaws in this system, will be open to abuse. Will really only work if both parents are key workers or single parents

why should Mr married train drive get a better deal than Mr single parent train driver?

Try thinking of it a different way. One household is getting whatever support is necessary because if they don't people will literally die. The other isn't getting the same support because no lives are on the line. It is emergency funding to save lives. Both households are benefitting because they know they have access to decent medical care if they need it.

We could simply guarantee the household income for all frontline staff to solve the problem, but that would take time to set up. Time we simply don't have.

And, frankly, nobody should be quibbling about financial assistance being offered to key workers - even if it is being done in a roundabout way.

@Shopkinsdoll why can't there be a condition that both parents need to be workers? That would stop the situation you have described

I've said on other threads that things like shift work need to be taken into account. Both me and DP work in nhs mental health services so assume we are key workers. However I suspected things may start going tits up around a month ago (mainly that his parents could get ill) so started to craft out shifts so that one of us is always at home. As such we probably wont be sending ds to preschool (if its open) on Monday anyway.

If there is a parent able to be home with the children then they shouldn't be sent in. And I agree with it being 2 key workers too, it's a pointless exercise if over half of the school is still attending.

@PerfectParrot thank you - that's exactly what I wanted to say, I'm just not eloquent enough! Everyone benefits by ensuring key workers can actually go to work. Who doesn't want as many NHS workers as possible to be working in the NHS?!