Work as normal on Monday for anyone else?

And me.

Normally don't work Mondays. Hopefully Tuesday will be work as usual.

Good on you.

Forced to work from home by order of CEO but not really an issue as I write software. I sit in front of a computer in Scotland that spends its life talking to computers in Munich or California. Doesn't make much difference where I am physically located as long as I have some internet and don't even need that fast a connection.

In message <r586il$kli$ snipped-for-privacy@dont-email.me, at 17:17:07 on Sun, 22 Mar

Don't you also need a sufficiently big screen?

I've had reports from people forced to work at home on laptops (rather than two large monitors) and finding their productivity massively reduced as a result.

I would prefer it if you praised the NHS staff.

I will be working in hospitals but not doing the job they do.

and me... then again I work from home normally.

So if Friday was anything to go by it will be another busy one getting everyone else working from home!

Good man. But please don't forget your PPE.

I volunteered to help my old firm - albeit with remote working - but think I ruined my chances when I mentioned what I thought was a lacuna in one of their announcements last week ;)

Yes I have a pair of 24in monitors plus the laptop screen normally in the office. When we were told to work from home we were told to take whatever equipment we needed from our desks. I have just a single 24in (because of space problems), the docking station, a decent keyboard and a mouse. I can't cope with trackpads. It's not ideal as I do use 2 big monitors full time but it it's infinitely better than just the laptop.

I'm very aware that many people are not having a good time, self employed or business forced to shut down and I am unbelievably fortunate in comparison. Where possible, I have been buying from my local shops more than the big retailers and trying to put money into the local economy.

In message <r58bke$ovv$ snipped-for-privacy@dont-email.me, at 18:43:25 on Sun, 22 Mar

That's interesting. I've seen a memo from an IT department this week saying "don't you dare..."

Too many home-workers only have the kitchen table. OK temporarily, I suppose. Having been a home-worker mainly, the last 30yrs, my office is in the biggest room in the house, and has a door to isolate the domestic environment.

I fear that the economies of being self-employed are about to catch up with a lot of people (SSP, what SSP?) Let alone the gig-workers with several part-time jobs.

It's important that one's locality is sustainably self sufficient, and not reliant on a once a week big shop in a supermarket half an hour's drive away.

You seem to be remaining level headed. I'm hoping that might be contagious because there are plenty on here who could do with a good calming down.

I have a number of long term health issues that put me in a high risk group and have already dealt with practice nurses and pharmacy staff this week. I made sure they knew I was very grateful they were still able to work despite being under great stress by their workload and the increased risk to themselves and their families.

I've been working in various GP practices until last Friday when they let us all go. I'm not sure where I fall as a newly-unemployed self-employed contractor.

Someone high up decided to upgrade the remote working resources 6-8 weeks back so every employee can remote work.

There's a work website I need to visit this week and enter the serial numbers of what I have taken but nobody is being heavy about filling it in yet. Looking online, 24in monitor, dock, keyboard and mouse costs less than £400. For the 30 in our office it's under £12k. Chicken feed. Even if they had to write off that cost for all 15k employees worldwide that's only £6million. Which is still chicken feed in the grand scheme of hoping to keep your workforce alive and productive. They'll have spent more on upgrading the VPN ports and buying 40Gbps internet links for the core offices and data centres.

Queueing outside Tesco for (a) milk (b) a job.

Owain

If you are not in the vulnerable categories, they want you to catch the virus, but not all at the same time, as there are bound to be some outliers who will get it worse and scupper the nhs plans.

It will in deed be interesting after this, to see if the saving of lives is proven to be the best approach. IE will more die if the country just ignored it. I hope that they do have success as it is at least compassionate to do as we are doing. And please folk, when you go to wide open spaces keep apart! Richmond and Bushy Parks are now closed due to people congregating there, National trust allowed their land to be open and it happened there as well and now you have lost the resource. Brian

You can (a) join the very many self-employed complaining loudly on social media that they paid their taxes "just like employees" but have no package or (b) do something useful while you wait for the package expected to be announced in the coming week (while consoling yourself with the thought that that you didn't) - e.g. see if you qualify for Universal Credit.

Haven't worked since 7th March. Since then all but one booking have been cancelled. I don't expect the one remianing to happen and even if it did I wouldn't get paid until September.

And being freelance with a few savings I can't get Universal Credit or Employment Support Allowance. I should have enough NI contributions to get contribution based JSA, £90/week ish

Great isn't it, some one on PAYE and getting £30k/year gets paid the equivalent £24k/year to sit on their sofa. Freelancers earning £30k/year gets the equivalent of £4.8k/year. Mortgage holidays, deferring VAT and July's self assement tax payment helps imediate cash flow (assuming you are VAT registered or have a tax payment due in July or a mortage) but really only shoves the problem a little into the future.

Wiring up the chillers for temporary morgues?

Where you PAYE? or after issuing and invoice?

If PAYE they ought to take you back on and grant leave of abscence. HMG then pays up to 80% of your wages, caped at £2500/month.

Join the club, up s*it street without a paddle (at the moment, there are loud rumblings of something being announced this coming week.

Universal Credit/ESA are means tested. >16K in savings you can't get them. New Style JSA, about £90/week is a possibilty but you'll have to have paid 2 or 3 years of Class 1 (I think) NI or have suitable NI credits.

Although on the bright side they have postponed the daft private sector reforms to IR35...