Rank: Super forum user 
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The Government is running a public health campaign in the press at the moment. It states the following: "The only reasons to leave home are:
- To shop for basic necessities or pick up medicine
- To travel to work when you absolutely cannot work from home - To exercise once a day, alone or with members of your household"
To me this makes absolutely clear that the criterion for going to your workplace is not whether your work is regarded as essential to society, but whether your work can be done from home or not.
I hope this will put an end to the criticism of "non-essential" manufacturing and other businesses which are staying open and expecting their hands-on workforce to come in to work.
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 3 users thanked Kate for this useful post.
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Rank: Forum user 
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Good points, well made once again Kate... but I don’t think this forum has the impact to put and end to criticism across such a wide range of news and media outlets.
From what I see the bulk of the criticism comes from the evidence, often bluntly presented, of the guidance on distancing not being followed rather than the merits etc of the destination tasks themselves. The case I saw being made strongest related to travel on the London Underground by workers allegedly going to build luxury apartments. The argument being that if all such workers stayed home then the “essential” workers could travel AND comply with distancing guidelines. I see little discussion, save for sensible questions on car sharing from outside London currently.
The rules and guidance fall into a pattern of maintaining public support broadly, and allowing criticism to fall on individuals when they are perceived to be in the wrong, rather than on the rule maker for not being categorical. A situation not wholly uncommon in workplace safety, apart from we generally don’t deal with scenarios where we consider 20,000 deaths as “doing well”... my thought would be when the volume to stop such travel massively outweighs the volume for freedom to be sensible, the rule will change...
Government by what’s trending on Facebook, Instagram etc...
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Rank: Super forum user
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Kate, yes but we also have the list of "essential" shops - including newsagents and off licences. Now I realise that a bottle of wine is medicine but I'm not sure that is what Chris Whitty intends to portray though quite possibly some of the messages are deliberately ambiguous.
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Rank: Super forum user
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Rather than start a new thread, 1 of my clients has furloughed some of their staff and others are working from home. Now 1 of the home workers is now telling us that her son is coming home from London because he's bored. His explanation was that the lockdown in London is now partialy lifted so he's allowed to travel
Is this the case? He's a young lad, he grew up in the SW and went to the bright lights of London to study. Now he has the London outlook on life and thinks normal rules don't apply to him.
I'm telling the member of staff that her son should stay put and not put his mums health at risk but she's in agreement and wants him home.
Is my advice good or am I being to draconian?
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Rank: Forum user 
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Mark-W
We can certainly advise our colleagues what to do, but whether they choose to take that advice is up to them. We also can't control their family members, or tell her she can't have her son back - unfortunately in this case it sounds like her maternal fear and instincts have kicked in and she'd rather put herself in danger than risk her son contracting COVID19.
It's a difficult one and I certainly don't envy you. Your advice is good, but ultimately it's her choice. I suppose you can mention to your organisation that she has gone against your advice maybe?!
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2 users thanked Natasha.Graham for this useful post.
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Rank: Forum user
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Originally Posted by: Mark-W  her son is coming home from London because he's bored.
Unless the lecturn message at todays press conference is being changed to say
"Stay Home >> Protect The NHS >> Unless You're Bored"
then it isn't just your advice thats being ignored...
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Rank: Super forum user 
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Bit of a mixed message again - "stay at home" but we will fly repatriation from global locations even where the local government has closed communication routes. Unfortunately this son is incorrect as the message on the tfl web site is presented in very plain english: https://tfl.gov.uk/ Stay home. Don't travel. Save lives. Similarly on the London Mayors web site https://www.london.gov.uk/about-us/mayor-london Stay at home, save lives
That does not sound like any restrictions have been lifted.
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2 users thanked Roundtuit for this useful post.
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Rank: Super forum user
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Bit of a mixed message again - "stay at home" but we will fly repatriation from global locations even where the local government has closed communication routes. Unfortunately this son is incorrect as the message on the tfl web site is presented in very plain english: https://tfl.gov.uk/ Stay home. Don't travel. Save lives. Similarly on the London Mayors web site https://www.london.gov.uk/about-us/mayor-london Stay at home, save lives
That does not sound like any restrictions have been lifted.
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2 users thanked Roundtuit for this useful post.
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Rank: Super forum user
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It's a bit funny (peculiar) but the list of essential people and jobs is growing as the emergency grows. So now we really need people in the rag trade to make PPE. People in companies that have started to make ventilators and respirators. All sorts of allied trades people to help construct makeshift hospitals like the Nightingale. More logistics people than ever. The list continues.
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Rank: Super forum user 
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Originally Posted by: Kim Hedges It's a bit funny (peculiar) but the list of essential people and jobs is growing as the emergency grows.
There does not seem any real difference between an essential worker and other workers, other than special provision for getting shopping. The Government has been very clear go to work unless you can work from home. So, it does not matter if you work for a company that make plastic gnomes, you should go into work to keep the economy going. It does not matter if by going to work you are at greater risk by having to work on a production line which means you are less than 2m from someone else and using face masks & visors so desperately needed by NHS and Care Workers. You have to remember their extra risk to themselves and family will be appreciated by the company and their colleagues and the nation as a whole for helping keep the economy going and allow people a means to afford to live. Chris
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Rank: Super forum user
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The practical difference for essential (or at least "key") workers is that their children can still go to school if they don't have someone at home to look after them.
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Rank: Super forum user 
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I cant get over why 20,000 Brits in Australia want to return to somewhere where the virus is worse than where they currently are.
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Rank: Super forum user
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Rank: Super forum user
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