Working from home/non essential work?!

[1Pinkfluffyelephant]

Just looking for some clarity on this. DH has continued to work through both lockdowns and we are currently in Tier 4.
The guidance from the start, I believe, was work from home if you can and non essential work/shops shouldn’t be open (correct me if I miss understood this).
If your DH was in a job that wasn’t essential - think building/construction but not for something that is essential, for a friends small family run business... would you think that this company should not be operating and employees should be furloughed or what ever the equivalent is this time round?
What would your feelings be on this also with two young DC’s in the house especially with the currently numbers increasing and likely to get worse after this Xmas/new year period?

I thought it was work from home if you can... If you can't work from home, you can continue to work outside the home.

Of course your DH should be working if he can. If the nature of his work means he has to go out to work then that’s what he should do. Furlough is for companies where there isn’t any work to do or less workers are needed than usual - hospitality closed in most areas, entertainment industry etc.

If it's work that's able to continue from home, of course it should continue. If not, the entire economy would grind to a halt with the entire workforce on furlough, rather than just half of it! It would be madness to stop any more than the businesses that are risky to continue operating F2F.

Other than needing an income to support a family, I see no relevance to having children or their ages.

It is guidance, as you say, that people who can work from home can be encouraged to do so by their employers. It isn't law. And no, non- essential businesses are not required to close down, but they may not be able to offer services or goods. Closed shops, for example, can require staff to attend for stock taking or other non- public facing work.

Not all businesses can claim furlough payments, and even if they can, furlough only pays for part of the employees wages - it doesn't generate the income a business requires to stay in business and retain the jobs. That's why so many places are going under - not enough income.

And as for whether construction is essential or not, that really depends. What you consider essential isn't the same thing I might.

Feelings don't come into it. If he doesn't want his job, he can resign as there are plenty around who will.

Agree with everyone else, he should be going to work.

I think this is a misconception that has partly come around with the belief that "keyworker" and "work outside the home" are the same thing.

Even in the first lockdown, unless your business was specifically told to close, you were allowed to work outside of your home if you had a job that couldn't be done at home.

(And plenty of keyworkers also work at home).

I do agree....it’s great he has a job and certainly wants to keep it.
For me I think I just worry about him bringing something home to the family. One DC is vulnerable so in the first lockdown schools were obviously closed and I felt like we were all safe in our little bubble and although he was out earning money (I bring in a good income too) he was going to do a non essential job that involves coming into contact with lots of people, although mainly outside but sharing of equipment/driving machines/ lifting things together that means you are not able to social distance, therefor risking catching covid and bringing it home.
There have also been several occasions where he has said they haven’t had much to do so a few of them have all shared a vehicle and gone to a diy shop for ‘supplies’ for something to do etc all of which is unnecessary and can be avoided. I think it’s more the little things like that which have made me question is what he is doing is actually essential. Please don’t get me wrong, we’re lucky he is working as I know thousands of people aren’t able to etc but obviously sometimes you have still concerns about things and I have been questioning my self.

He should be going to work of course he should.

My DH is in the building/construction industry (nothing essential like an electrician or heating engineer) hes self employed so his work is pretty essential to us. Thankfully a lot of people/ firms do think hes essential as hes been working none stop leading up to Christmas and is booked up already until the end of March.

I would be happy my partner is working.
I would ask him to try and be as safe as possible, so not lift sharing etc.
Being outside mainly is great, lifting heavy things with others outside isn’t really a problem,
And wouldn’t count as a close contact.

So if his work isn’t ‘essential’ what do you think should happen OP?

You don’t have to be an essential worker to go to work in tier 4. You just have to not be able to work from home and your employer is still operating. They should be following the sector specific COVID guidance though, and from what you’ve said it sounds like they probably aren’t. If you look online you can find it.

He should be working but the company need to assess the risks so only those who need to get supplies do so. Maybe they only need two people to safely lift supplies so only two people go, or they go in separate vehicles.

My DH is in construction, he was furloughed in March but went back mid may and has been back since. He is back on 4th January and doesn’t think he will be furloughed again in the event of a lockdown even like the March one. Construction like many other trades is essential and can’t be done from home so they need to work but the employer should have measures in place to mitigate the risk.. Dh wears a mask and is temperature checked daily.

Didn't Boris use construction as an example where people can still go out to work in tier 4? So on that basis he shouldn't be furloughed unless there is actually no work to be done.

Looking at it from the perspective of an employer (DH runs a small business) if there is still work to be done they need to run the business as close to normally as possible (they still have overheads for the business not just waged). If staff are furloughed or they temporarily cease trading then other competitors may step in. Working now is also about protecting your long term livelihood. Obviously masks and sensible precautions should be taken & your DH should raise any concerns about unsafe working practices or alternatives with his employer- it is in their interests as well as your DHs that staff stay well.

If you have DC at school that’s a potential transmission route . If your DH is working a lot of time outside that’s the least likely environment to contract Covid.

Life doesn’t come without risk and immediate concerns need to be balanced with longer term wellbeing too. It’s a stressful time and unfortunately no easy resolutions.

Im sure in an ideal world we would all like to stay home and be in our own bubble , whilst still being paid and having job security , but the reality is that is not possible for most
All jobs are essential to a degree and we are not in a lockdown where its only nursers , drs etc that work

OP, the whole purpose of the furlough scheme is to keep companies going, not to keep people safe at home.

The guidance is DEFINITELY NOT that companies should shut just because they are non essential, it wasn’t in the first lockdown and it isn’t now.

The economy is in huge huge trouble as it is, and we’ll be paying for this for years -
any business that can keep going must keep going - that is the expectation of the government and anyone sensible.

The directive is to work from home if you can - or go to work if you need to.

You are misunderstanding some fundamental things here.

Why would anyone want to argue that their work is non essential?

It was never decreed that workplaces should close apart from specific industries (e.g hospitality) for most it's wfh if possible. Whether it's deemed possible will depend on the work and the employer.

If he can work he should be working.

Of course he should be working. I work in manufacturing of non essential goods, we are still open and doing good business. I cannot WFH in my industry so I am in a factory every day. Any business that can operate should be or there will be no tax money to pay for the NHS.

I work for a very similar business. Some of our work is essential but a lot isn’t.

It’s Christmas shut down at the moment but we will all be back in full time 4th Jan

Furlough is for when a business has been ordered to close (hospitality/non essential retail in tier 4 etc) or when work has dried up due to Covid. Furlough is not so everyone else can stay at home.

Sorry op you are being unreasonable, it's unrealistic to expect everyone unless work is essential to stay home indefinitely.
My job is non essential since March I've been furloughed then back full time then wfh some days then flexi furlough plus wfh and work in office .
I agree if you can wfh it should be allowed but it's not always do able .
We can't realistically stay home it's been 9 months and it could be another 9 months who knows .
Be careful what you wish for he could be out of a job .

Absolutely those of us who have jobs that genuinely can't be done from home should be working. With the exception of those working in sectors forced to close.

Furlough isn't designed for the purpose that you imply.

Isn't it only non essential shops that stay shut? Other workplaces remain open?