Being self employed and the coronavirus

[NDG Elecs]

Not having a dig but the advise from the government is basically to stay at home with whoever lives with you to stop the virus spreading between households. As for the food and bills etc. that will be sorted by government money.

Fair enough.

But it is that advice I am following. As I have been doing all along. I have two toilet rolls and half a loaf of bread in at the minute. I have been avoiding the shops for the very reason of allowing distance between myself and others. I figured it was better to allow things to calm with the manic buying before I stock up. I cannot express how diligent I have been in as many aspects of my behaviour as possible.

Tomorrow morning I shall leave my house. Fifteen mins later I will arrive at work. I will work alone all day then drive home. It is actually safer for me to be at work than it is for me to go for 'essential' supplies as many covidiots will be doing...


Oh, and to add; the government has handled many aspects quite well I think bar the treatment of self employed and lack of testing. This is not a dig at the Tories or otherwise as I do not believe in the party system.

 

[davesparks]

..he left he’s words open to interpretation, it’s a shame we are not all fortunate enough to interpret them equally

He couldn't stand there and go in to every tiny little detail, the speeches need to be short and to the point.
They can't make anything more than a general statement.

Also until the legislation is passed they may not be able to enforce a 100% isolation, but the isolation is needed sooner than the legislation can be put in place.
So they must rely on the public having the common sense to get the message and not go looking for loopholes and coming up with whatever excuse they can for why everyone in the country except them should be isolated.

 

[NDG Elecs]

We've all seen this coming for weeks and put a sensible amount of food away to get through this haven't we?
Likewise we've all seen it coming and cut as much of our spending as possible to save money for the event.

I haven't stockpiled personally no Dave. My spending is very little also. Divorced two kids do the maths!!

 

[Sintra]

Fair enough.

But it is that advice I am following. As I have been doing all along. I have two toilet rolls and half a loaf of bread in at the minute. I have been avoiding the shops for the very reason of allowing distance between myself and others. I figured it was better to allow things to calm with the manic buying before I stock up. I cannot express how diligent I have been in as many aspects of my behaviour as possible.

Tomorrow morning I shall leave my house. Fifteen mins later I will arrive at work. I will work alone all day then drive home. It is actually safer for me to be at work than it is for me to go for 'essential' supplies as many covidiots will be doing...

Delivery services are still available from the supermarkets which means the driver can dump it on your doorstep. Reduces a lot of risk for all parties.

 

[James360]

I think we're all going to have to consider which jobs we HAVE to go out to and which we don't, but I would have thought virtually all jobs should be cancelled. All bar 1 of my jobs are now cancelled. The one job I have left is to fit a cooker for an 83 year old as she has nothing to cook on. It's difficult to work out if that really is necessary though for the next 3 weeks (minimum)? I think it is, but it's a judgement call and I'm uncomfortable with it.

i totally agree i am not sure how to reconcile it

 

[NDG Elecs]

Delivery services are still available from the supermarkets which means the driver can dump it on your doorstep. Reduces a lot of risk for all parties.

I bet many supermarkets are chock a block tomorrow still though... Everyone a few feet apart...

 

[Sintra]

I bet many supermarkets are chock a block tomorrow still though... Everyone a few feet apart...

I won’t disagree on that ?

 

[telectrix]

Not having a dig but the advise from the government is basically to stay at home with whoever lives with you to stop the virus spreading between households. As for the food and bills etc. that will be sorted by government money.

have to disagree there. govt. money, if and when, could take weeks. how is that going to buy food for tomorrow or the next day? and for us self-employed, it's going to be a minefield. more form filling than a week of EICRs just to get a few quid a week.

and @ davesparks.... a broken cooker is an emergency in my mind. no cooker, no eat. no eat, die.

suppose i could knaw at a frozen leg of lamb out of the freezer though.
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I think we're all going to have to consider which jobs we HAVE to go out to and which we don't, but I would have thought virtually all jobs should be cancelled. All bar 1 of my jobs are now cancelled. The one job I have left is to fit a cooker for an 83 year old as she has nothing to cook on. It's difficult to work out if that really is necessary though for the next 3 weeks (minimum)? I think it is, but it's a judgement call and I'm uncomfortable with it.

i would class that as essential. as in anything that helps vunerable people.

 

[Baddegg]

Apparently sports direct workers are key workers ?......these bosses have no shame do they!.....I bet they are “working from home” though!
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Anyone seen the pictures of the tubes this morning?....shocking!....but what is driving these people to risk it?

 

[telectrix]

apparently you can get corona virus from Amazon tomorrow but only if you order before 10.00 p.m. today.

 

[davesparks]

Anyone seen the pictures of the tubes this morning?....shocking!....but what is driving these people to risk it?

Horrible bosses,
zero hour contracts (they can get help and 80% of their average AFAIK but the bosses won't tell them that)
The great British 'it won't affect me, I never catch these things' attitude
'I think I've had it so I'm immune now'
'I self isolated last week so I've done my turn at it'
.............

 

[Zerax]

Is a broken cooker actually an emergency? Not really, it's an inconvenience.

Yes a flooding washing machine is an emergency but a homeowner should be able to isolate the water to it, if not on their own then with a little phone advice.

I would say that being able to cook food was kinda important.... and being able to wash your clothes is too.

What about launderettes ? If you choose not to have your own machine... and don't have facilities to dry things. I'd say they are pretty essential too !

 

[davesparks]

I would say that being able to cook food was kinda important.... and being able to wash your clothes is too.

Kind of important yes, but not essential. Plus how many houses have just a cooker and no other means of cooking?
We have a cooker, a slow cooker and barbeque.

 

[Zerax]

...i would class that as essential. as in anything that helps vunerable people.

I'd suggest that an 83 yo without a cooker is far more able to look after themselves than a 23 yo in the same situation. I'd further suggest that 'snowflake millennials' are the more vulnerable group right now !
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Kind of important yes, but not essential. Plus how many houses have just a cooker and no other means of cooking?
We have a cooker, a slow cooker and barbeque.

I only have an oven and a hob.

 

[telectrix]

I'd suggest that an 83 yo without a cooker is far more able to look after themselves than a 23 yo in the same situation. I'd further suggest that 'snowflake millennials' are the more vulnerable group right now ! esp. students. most ain't got the brains to turn on a microwave.
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I only have an oven and a hob. so the oven breaks, you can fry your steak and chips?

comments in red.

 

[davesparks]

I only have an oven and a hob.

Exactly my point, an oven and a hob, 2 appliances.

Or do you mean you have a cooker which has an oven and hob but you described it as if it was two seperate appliances to provoke a reaction?

 

[richy3333]

House of Commons Public Bill Committee Amendments: Coronavirus Bill pages 14-18 - https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/cbill/58-01/0122/amend/coronavirus_daily_cwh_0320rev.14-18.html

Just been sent this. Not sure if it has been posted on here yet?

 

[EalingBadger]

Is a broken cooker actually an emergency? Not really, it's an inconvenience.

Yes a flooding washing machine is an emergency but a homeowner should be able to isolate the water to it, if not on their own then with a little phone advice.

Not being able to cook is going to dramatically increase the difficulties and the cost (and I don't mean takeaways!) of feeding the family.
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We've all seen this coming for weeks and put a sensible amount of food away to get through this haven't we?
Likewise we've all seen it coming and cut as much of our spending as possible to save money for the event.

Following the advice we continued to behave normally, and now we can't get food that we need due to all of the selfish panic buying. (Good job that entirely by coincidence we laid in two 16 roll packs of bog paper (our normal amount on or big shop as and when we run out) just before all this lot kicked off! )

My son works for the NHS and he turned back and came home empty handed the other day as the queues outside the supermarket before it opened specially for people like him were absolutely ridiculous. Surely, they were not all NHS workers? He has two small children, his wife does not earn a wage, and they do not have a large freezer full of food.
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He couldn't stand there and go in to every tiny little detail, the speeches need to be short and to the point.
They can't make anything more than a general statement.

Also until the legislation is passed they may not be able to enforce a 100% isolation, but the isolation is needed sooner than the legislation can be put in place.
So they must rely on the public having the common sense to get the message and not go looking for loopholes and coming up with whatever excuse they can for why everyone in the country except them should be isolated.

"...must rely on the public having the common sense..."

Ah, that will be the big mistake...
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Delivery services are still available from the supermarkets which means the driver can dump it on your doorstep. Reduces a lot of risk for all parties.

Delivery services are available provided you can survive without food for two weeks for them to arrive.

I believe I'm right in saying that, for Tesco at least, new slots are released at midnight.

It takes minutes after that for them to all be taken...
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I would say that being able to cook food was kinda important.... and being able to wash your clothes is too.

What about launderettes ? If you choose not to have your own machine... and don't have facilities to dry things. I'd say they are pretty essential too !

Yep.

My niece works as a nurse in the NHS and she has advised my son (who also works in the NHS) that her post-shift protocol upon returning home is to remove and launder all clothing every day (having been careful not to touch the outside of the washing machine or anything else, so presumably wearing gloves) and then take an immediate shower.

 

[NDG Elecs]

Not being able to cook is going to dramatically increase the difficulties and the cost (and I don't mean takeaways!) of feeding the family.
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Following the advice we continued to behave normally, and now we can't get food that we need due to all of the selfish panic buying. (Good job that entirely by coincidence we laid in two 16 roll packs of bog paper (our normal amount on or big shop as and when we run out) just before all this lot kicked off! )

My son works for the NHS and he turned back and came home empty handed the other day as the queues outside the supermarket before it opened specially for people like him were absolutely ridiculous. Surely, they were not all NHS workers? He has two small children, his wife does not earn a wage, and they do not have a large freezer full of food.
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"...must rely on the public having the common sense..."

Ah, that will be the big mistake...
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Delivery services are available provided you can survive without food for two weeks for them to arrive.

I believe I'm right in saying that, for Tesco at least, new slots are released at midnight.

It takes minutes after that for them to all be taken...
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Yep.

My niece works as a nurse in the NHS and she has advised my son (who also works in the NHS) that her post-shift protocol upon returning home is to remove and launder all clothing every day (having been careful not to touch the outside of the washing machine or anything else, so presumably wearing gloves) and then take an immediate shower.

I just registered for Tesco to place an order rather than go physically to the shop. Can't get a delivery nor click and collect at all for at least three weeks by which point their calendar 'runs out'.
Guess I will be making a 4am visit to the local Asda in the hope they are slightly restocked and quiet...

Failing that there are a couple of tasty looking horses in the field opposite mine...

 

[pirate]

My daughter said years ago that if we ever had some kind of epidemic it would be people like me and her mum who would survive "because you lot know how to do things"...

There is a family run fruit and veg business which have a 24 hour turnaround to deliver to your door, working from the fruit market in the city. The boss lives 100 yards from me so says dropping off my order isn't a problem, which is great. They do a £20 box and a £30 box, the smaller is still too much for my needs, but i can split it with my neighbour, so it's all good!