Please give me examples of "non essential" jobs that you or friends/relatives are expected to do because those jobs can't be done from home ...

[ChicChicChicChiclana]

A car wash was open on my high street today (London, most hard-hit borough).

I understand that the workers there want to carry on working because they are getting cash in hand and the business is probably not registered in any way (so they can't be furloughed).

They had customers. WHO??? If I can live with long straggly greying hair, I can live with a dirty car.

So, the people who are still working outside of your home - and aren't seen as a key worker - what is your job, what are you having to do?

The government haven’t asked non-essential businesses to close as far as I was aware. I believe the advice for employers was to work from home where possible.

It is tricky as I’m sure many businesses would rather close but would go bust if they did. Meanwhile I think the government wants them to stay open so they can prop. the economy up.

Yes, blueberry.

And I'm just trying to get a grasp of who these are.

I think around my friends and family and everyone is either 1. self employed so therefore unemployed at the moment 2. a key worker 3. someone who can wfh, 4. someone who is employed but their employer can't function at the moment so they are furloughed and 5. - I don't know who these people are.

So am asking who comes into the 5 category?

Well from my clients, this would include

• warehouse packing & delivery (not food)
• manufacturing plant
• recycling plant
• call handling for industrial services (like a business call centre type thing)

Well for a start self-employed builders, gardeners, window cleaners etc. Being self-employed doesn't mean you can't work.

Also a live-out nanny that I know

Our production staff are still working, doing staggered shifts to minimise the number on the premises at any one time. Manufacturing (not ventilators!)

Oh yes, and my window cleaner

Wish my cleaner would come - she can't work from home but has decided that she would rather just not come to work here. DH and I both still working full time, really miss the service.

DH manages a gym. He can do a lot of stuff from home (although nothing like his normal job clearly as they are closed) but still has to do site visits every few days in order to be compliant with insurance and check meter readings etc. There must be a lot of people doing stuff like that.

I think around my friends and family and everyone is either 1. self employed so therefore unemployed at the moment

Yes but why aren't they continuing to work if they can't work from home?

Someone came to service my boiler yesterday. Not an "emergency". But not something which he can do remotely either.

My sister works in a call centre that deals with complaints. She can't work from home as she needs some specific computer piece of programme, something along those lines. Her home PC can't facilitate it and her work doesn't have enough PCs for everyone to take one home. They're very busy at the minute, they need the staff.
I know someone else that is going into work for a very similar reason - can't access the work physically at home but the work itself still needs done. She's going into the office a few days a week.

A family member is an outreach worker for a homeless charity.

Not classed as a keyworker but there are still homeless people and obviously the job can't be done from home.

I tell a lie, her job is on the keyworker list. Don't know why I thought it wasn't!

Plumbers, Joiners and plasterers can't work as they are not allowed to go into someone's house that was the guidance - only essential workers were allowed to go - has it changed?

I used a car wash today, completely contactless and the card reader read my card through the closed window.
One man on his own operating it and I did it on the way home from picking up a prescription.

My neighbours have a fencing company in doing their back fence.

Info from gov.uk

Almost everyone I know who is self employed works in the performing arts or sport. So nothing doing right now.

I know people who are, for eg, freelance photographers - well no one is wanting wedding and family photos taken just now so they are unemployed.

Skilled tradesmen who do work in domestic settings - say, builders, electricians, plumbers - everyone has put that on hold for now quite wisely. But the tradesmen and their employees or sub contractors have nothing to do.

As I live in the south I don't have much experience of large scale manufactring industry. Are the car plants and other big factories still going?

Plumbers, Joiners and plasterers can't work as they are not allowed to go into someone's house that was the guidance - only essential workers were allowed to go - has it changed?

I thought they were always allowed to work as long as they can observe social distancing?

Surprised anyone would have a non-essential boiler service just now.

Work carried out in people’s homes, for example by tradespeople carrying out repairs and maintenance, can continue, provided that the tradesperson is well and has no symptoms.

www.gov.uk/government/publications/further-businesses-and-premises-to-close/further-businesses-and-premises-to-close-guidance

Its anyone who cant work from home for whatever reason. There will be thousands of them if not more. Manufacturing, delivery people, postmen, office workers who dont have laptops or cant work at home, cleaners, anyone really.

I'm currently in the fourth category on furlough. But my place of work has not been instructed to close, the directors made the decision to close due to business declining. They're currently looking at ways to reopen with social distancing in place but it depends if we will have customers. We manufacture luxury household goods that we sell through retailers, so our products might not be high on many people's list of priorities right now.

Are the car plants and other big factories still going?

Ford's in Dagenham have just taken on 600 new workers to build ventilators.

Well I guess that goes in the essential category then Worra.

Surprised anyone would have a non-essential boiler service just now.

Why though?

As long as you keep away from the person working in your home, I can't see a problem.