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Who are key workers and who can go to work? Full list of essential jobs explained

BORIS Johnson has announced that Brits should go back to working from home as restrictions are tightened ahead of Christmas.

The announcement on December 8, 2021, means millions of key workers in the UK, from shop assistants and nurses to cops and distributors, should continue to go into the workplace.

 Key workers working in Covid testing tents
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Key workers working in Covid testing tents

Who is a key worker?

Key workers are the people who are crucial to keeping the country running safely.

These include medics, firefighters, police officers, journalists, and those working in supermarkets and for the various transport networks across the country.

There are an estimated 10 million key workers who each play a crucial role in Britain's fight against coronavirus.

New advice to work from home "if you can" was announced in a briefing on Wednesday, December 8, 2021.

But key workers will be exempt from the new rules.

This is how the Government defines the groups of key workers:

Health and social care

This includes but is not limited to doctors, nurses, midwives, paramedics, social workers, care workers, and other frontline health and social care staff including volunteers.

It also includes the support and specialist staff required to maintain the UK’s health and social care sector; those working as part of the health and social care supply chain, including producers and distributors of medicines and medical and personal protective equipment.

Education and childcare

This includes childcare, nursery and teaching staff, social workers and those specialist education professionals who must remain active during the Covid-19 response to deliver this approach.

Key public services

This group includes those working in prisons, probation, courts and tribunals staff, judiciary, religious staff, charities and workers delivering critical frontline services, those responsible for the management of the deceased, journalists and broadcasters covering coronavirus or providing public service broadcasting.

Local and national government

This only includes those administrative occupations essential to the effective delivery of the Covid-19 response or delivering essential public services such as the payment of benefits, including in government agencies and arms length bodies.

🔵 Read our Omicron variant live blog for the latest news

Food and other necessary goods

This includes those involved in food production, processing, distribution, sale and delivery as well as those essential to the provision and movement of other key goods (for example hygienic and veterinary medicines).

Public safety and national security

This includes police and support staff, Ministry of Defence civilians, contractor and armed forces personnel (those critical to the delivery of key defence and national security outputs and essential to the response to the Covid-19 pandemic), fire and rescue service employees (including support staff), National Crime Agency staff, those maintaining border security, prison and probation staff and other national security roles, including those overseas.

Transport

This includes those who will keep the air, water, road and rail passenger and freight transport modes operating during the Covid-19 response, including those working on transport systems through which supply chains pass.

Utilities, communication and financial services

This includes staff needed for essential financial services provision (including but not limited to workers in banks, building societies and financial market infrastructure), the oil, gas, electricity and water sectors (including sewerage), information technology and data infrastructure sector and primary industry supplies to continue during the Covid-19 response.

It also refers to key staff working in the civil nuclear, chemicals, telecommunications (including but not limited to network operations, field engineering, call centre staff, IT and data infrastructure, 999 and 111 critical services), postal services and delivery, payments providers and waste disposal sectors.

What are rules on working away from home?

The PM said that from Monday, December 13, 2021, people should work from home.

He told employers to "discuss working arrangements with their employees".

In his Plan B announcement he said: "From Monday [December 13] you should work from home if you can.

"Go to work if you must but work from home if you can.

"And I know this will be hard for many people, but by reducing your contacts in the workplace you will help slow transmission."

The change in advice is in response to the rise in Omicron cases.

Since the pandemic began, many employees have continued to work from home permanently or part-time, but workers had gradually returned to the workplace as restrictions were eased in July.

Boris Johnson triggers Covid Plan B with work from home, vaccine passports and tougher face mask rules within DAYS

 

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