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Self employed rope access tech.
Went in this morning to pick up my kit as we have been stood down for the foreseeable future.
Knew it was coming but that doesn’t make it easier.
Currently doing the maths with the Mrs as to whether she picks up an extra shift a week (A&E ACP contracted for 30hrs p/w normally) or I try for a job at Tesco round the corner.
Made a bit trickier as our dog walker informed us today would be her last day until things ‘clear up’ a bit so have to factor stuff like that in.
Am hoping that the rumoured assistance for the self employed comes to fruition and isn’t as hard to claim as solving the DeVinci code...
Site Investigation / Geotech here. We are basically shutting up today despite a lot of the industry seeming to think its business as usual. We have reporting to do for those of us who can work from home but decided we shouldn't be sending crews out.
Not a fun decision bit kind of a relief to be honest now its been made
Work in food manufacturing so we need to continue supplying to feed the masses.
I don't think we have every been as busy to be honest.
We are trying to do all we can to separate workers on the factory floor but production lines are unfortunately not designed for social distancing.
Building sites in Cambridge appear to be carrying on; which seems pretty daft in the current situation.
Wife looks after 17 Kia Dealerships; they are likely to go down to a skeleton crew just providing servicing & repairs as necessary to keep Kia driving nurses etc on the road. Kia are also keeping a register of people who need a service but can't get one, so they won't have their warranty invalidated if they miss something scheduled due to the lockdown.
Went in - desperate hour getting some stuff organised and then we got sent home
Self employed, work from home when not travelling. My day to day life is almost completely unchanged by the new rules - I didn’t realise I was under virtual house arrest all these years. Apart from 1 hour on a bike instead of 4.
Government help for the self employed seems easy to me - just give everyone a universal basic income payment and claw it back through tax returns later if necessary. Sunak is making it much more complicated than it needs to be.
Another gardener here, I have checked with all my clients to make sure they are happy for me to be still working on their gardens. I am avoiding all the very small gardens and vulnerable clients, gloves on all the time, no coffee/drinks/snacks accepted, no pets outside while I am there, i only use my own tools anyway. Pretty much a normal day for me really.
2 days there’ll be a rethink on wtf happens to MOTs – probably extensions by 6 months for everything about to expire.
Not really as garages are allowed to work, booked my car in for mot next week as it runs out on 4th April.
I just dont understand. It say "all non essential businesses and premises must shut". Its even underlined.
Why the hell are people still trying to go to work?
Do you sell food, fuel or medicine? Do you fix transport? If not, you need to go home.
Its not ambiguous, its clear as can be. Said before, virus wont kill us, stupidity will.
No, I can't be arsed!* +
* I might be an asymptotic COVID-19 carrier (or very mild, I have something), been isolating since this time last week, after better half instructed to stay away from her NHS work and now been told to have another week away from work because symptoms ongoing.
+ It was a week booked as annual leave ~16 months ago.
My guidance is taken from this which is very clear to me that I can go to work as I can't do my work from home:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/full-guidance-on-staying-at-home-and-away-from-others/full-guidance-on-staying-at-home-and-away-from-others#closing-non-essential-shops-and-public-spaces
Yes, was in very early. We are a 'hub' school, and though not yet full of children from other schools, there is a lot of planning and organisation to do in preparation for the first group to arrive tomorrow, and then increasing through the week.
Easter holidays are cancelled, and I suspect before too long weekends will go too.
Who cares; we all need to do something.
I just dont understand. It say “all non essential businesses and premises must shut”. Its even underlined.
No, we didn't understand either. Some of what we do is classed as essential, some isn't. So I went to work to find I wasn't needed to do the essential bit, for now at least.
I work for HM Government by the way. Literally everyone is figuring it out today, now the details have been clarified.
I'm based from home with a maintenance job that covers a 1/4 of the UK.
I've been told to keep working but only cover breakdowns for essential customers and no routine checks.
Not that keen on traveling as far as I have to but most customers aren't that keen on having me on site thankfully.
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I just dont understand. It say “all non essential businesses and premises must shut”. Its even underlined.
OK I’m adding myself to the slightly confused list as, before reading that guidance (which I have just gone and found on the gov.uk site) I thought it was a focus on shutting down retail outlets. But yes that guidance is clear, but I don’t think that was the message given out last night and conflicts with the info @windyg posted, also from the gov website.
Either way my work is essential so I’ll still be going in, but it’s not as clear as I thought it was.
Supernova I like that suggestion. Only issue with universal basic income is the potential large amount of money being paid out in the first place.
Gardener/grounds person and yes, was in work today, as mentioned in the other thread, only my boss and I, we don’t work closely to each other and only one allowed in the ATV at a time. We’re keeping our distance from everyone, being outdoors and working in this weather is great for mental health
I work for a large Civil/Structural/Rail/Environment /Building Services Consultant - been told all of our offices are closed from tomorrow.
I've been WFH since last Tuesday as Mrs has mild asthma and kidney issues.
Self employed gardner, I worked today in total isolation. Just me in a huge garden- No contact with anyone.
Mrsbeanz is key worker in an office, I have far more chance of catching something from her than working on my own .
this was always my interpretation, given that the proscribed list of businesses which MUST close was very specific (i.e. other businesses, not specifically mentioned, which aren't public facing can stay open if possible).OK I’m adding myself to the slightly confused list as, before reading that guidance (which I have just gone and found on the gov.uk site) I thought it was a focus on shutting down retail outlets.
this quote on BBC News site:
But on Tuesday, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said those who cannot work from home should go to work "to keep the country running".
Well, I've been told I'm back in tomorrow, I work as a lorry driver for a builders merchants. If you ask me, it is beyond stupid. I'll be making my opinion that they are putting corporate profits above the health of their staff, their family, and everybody bloody else in the country loudly known.
It amazes me how someone can work from home (look after themselves) can throw their staff under the bus. When this is all over, and life is back to normal, they can fin another ****ing driver.
It amazes me how someone can work from home (look after themselves) can throw their staff under the bus
I understand the sentiment - we are office based but it's mainly managers who have laptops to work from home, everyone else who actually does the work has been coming in on public transport for the last few weeks. To be fair, we closed the office today
Yup, working this week. Self employed and my main income comes from the event industry so that’s the next six months with no work, so have to take work as it’s offered. Would love to be not working, but yea, money for food and such like is pretty handy
I am self employed fitting kitchens and bathrooms. Most of my customers have postponed. Most of my supplies have to be ordered in advance and that is now not possible because most have shut their doors.
Yes, went in today, even though I've got this week as holiday.
Electrician, working for a large social housing provider doing repairs to tenanted houses.
I volunteered last week, got called in today for a briefing, and to pick up PPE, which wont fully protect me. A DIY style disposal dust mask wont be filtering out the virus I reckon!
We have to ask if anyone in the house has a cough, a temperature, or is self isolating due to a possibility of them having it. We can refuse to go in if they have.
There's 13 of us (all trades) covering 20000 properties.We are only attending emergency calls, and, to be fair, the amount of calls we had last week was minimal, as people dont want anyone around their house, so they are putting off the little jobs we usually do.
In all cases we have to put on gloves, mask, plastic hair cover and overshoes. The tenant will be asked to open windows before we enter, then they must go into one room, away from where we are working. If anything isnt an emergency, we can refuse to do it.
Tenants do ring up and exaggerate the fault, so filtering the calls out doesnt always work.
What has annoyed me a little today was I found we're doing this for 3 weeks, which is fine, and we're getting a small bonus for doing it, which is nice, but the other 200 or so staff are going to be paid full pay for sitting at home for the next 2 weeks+.
But overall, I'm happy to do it, I'm out and about, and thats got to be better than sat in front of a screen all day, or worse still, getting the DIY done at home.
Key worker status for me so no change and no option to work from home.
Most of our products are used in the fresh produce market so things are going a bit mad.
Anyone else feel some people are using using the excuse to skive off work?
Got a few people in self isolation the same people that the first to try and get out of work
Self-employed plasterer here. Got work this week on my own in an empty house. Nothing else definate booked in after that though. I can’t see many people wanting tradesmen in their houses for a while unless it’s essential maintenance. I have enough money to ride it out for 2-3 weeks, but after that I’ll have to apply for supermarket/ delivery job or go back to farm work.
Yep, been in. Tenant had a broken boiler. I attended with gas engineer. All kept distance and no tea and biscuits, but was otherwise uneventful, boiler now running happily again. It must be short on original parts with all the bits that have been swapped in it's four and a bit year life.
Also tidied up two flood damaged properties as it looks like their reinstatement is now on hold, making them look less like a building site from the outside.
Mrsmidlife's solicitor's office is running a skeleton crew on site with IT and a few managers, most sent home with laptops or to use whatever kit they would normally use for logging in from home. Front office now closed. There's been a run on laptops, surprisingly, so not all the new ones ordered have come through yet.
Started a new job yesterday, went in for induction, office was on a skeleton staff, around 30 out 350. Everyone working from home today including me which is weird on day 2. All site engineers are now stood down at home.
Marina/Boatyard industry - the yard is shut and access to the \marina discouraged. All the trades are off on full pay - the 6 marina staff are working as glorified security staff! I just hope the customers don't expect their usual fulsome welcome if they come within 50 metres of us!
Pharma scientist at a CRO, all non tech staff are WFH and only half to 3/5th of tech staff are in.
Not sure what we are classed as, stuff I'm directly impacting is either early stage 1/2 or long term transition to continuous so years off too.
Half supporting some vaccine work but we are using them as the delivery system for a small molecule warhead so not really applicable.
The boss (a mate) of a steel fabrication company that has just finished a job for me - which has now been postponed indefinitely 🙄, told me that he has work on for some big clients who are pointing their fingers toward “contractural requirements” to get it done. He has sent his office staff away to work from home . Workshop staff are all in and so far appear fit and healthy and keen to work.
All are on PAYE, so when the inevitable happens , it sounds like they will get their 80% wages, but from what he was saying it sounds like he has to pay it, then claim it back ? Doesn’t seem feasible, wage bill alone is around £10k + a week, but if no work is being done, then there won’t be any money coming in to pay it.
Went into work yesterday, I was told I hadn't made it onto the skeleton staff and that I was being furloughed..
So now I'm isolating with the wife and kids. Plenty to keep me busy.
It can be frustrating. We should have been working on the Spinnaker Tower in Portsmouth for the next 8 weeks, cleaning down and prepping he building for some painting works that are desperately needed in some areas (as well as because the Emirates branding is likely to need to be removed as their deal ends in June and I’d be sure if they pay out another £3mil for that now!)
If anything the shutdown of the tower and Gunwharf Quays (the retail park it’s sited in) reduces our overall risk as there are virtually no members of the public below the working areas and no contact with them when we have to move through the building.
Workers are by the very nature of what we are doing at least 3m apart and dangling up to 170m from the ground, fairly distanced from others.
Yes, there would have been the fact that any incident that required emergency response would be diverting support from vulnerable users but we’ve a zero accident record for the last 7 years and the works are relatively low risk given their nature so we were happy with that.
Our contract managers at the Council and the maintenance company we are employed through were both happy that we were in a low enough risk to carry on working however the higher level on management decided that a blanket ban on non emergency works could have no exceptions. That is what shut us down yesterday.
So I know we were not engaged in ‘essential works’ but we were in a position to effectively social distance from others and the situation actually reduced the overall risks of the task but we are unfortunately now not able to work for who knows how long.
We’ve already had a terrible spring, losing at least 50% of our working time (& therefore money) because of the series of storms and high winds we had through Feb/March & Dec/Jan are always very quiet in our industry so the war chest is more of a war cup right now.
Self employed, wife earns a bit too much for me to be eligible for UC, so what’s in the bank is what I’ve got left until I can work again. The delay in paying July’s ‘on account’ payment until next Jan is effectively an interest free loan, which is handy right now but I’ll still need to pay that in full when it’s due so it will need to be accounted for when I eventually get back to work.
Sorry for the ramble, but I guess I’m trying to say that it’s not always a clear case of ‘essential’ or not, or indeed of choosing to work or not.
The people who shut us down are all WFH, salaried PAYE types and it’s hard not to feel like they have thrown us under a bus.
Not from today. I shut up shop yesterday as I'm the only one of the team that can go out (one asthmatic with asthmatic wife and one with the virus at home).
WFH from today until I go on Furlough at the end of the month. I may pop by while out for my daily exercise to check that we haven't been ransacked, ride by not going inside.
I am expected at work to calibrate a transmission for a sports car which isn't essential by any stretch of the imagination, but the company has taken the line with me and quite a few others that we're "essential to the business". Could probably refuse to go in without getting in too much trouble but I would lose out on an essential learning opportunity as the other guy on the project is still happy to continue (We are working one day on one day off currently to stay separated). Feeling pretty conflicted and pissed off about the whole thing - the business should take proactive action to protect its employees in my view.
I'm WFH as I'm in development but some in my business still have to go in - your really don't want ATMs and POS machines to stop working, someone has to feed the hamsters that power them.