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Local authority staff must check coronavirus key worker status with council, says MHCLG
The government has told local authority workers to check with their council to find out whether they are classed as a key worker during the coronavirus crisis, but is yet to confirm its position on housing association staff.
In response to a question from Inside Housing, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said key workers in local government are those who work in occupations essential to the delivery of the coronavirus response or delivering essential public services such as the payment of benefits.
They said local government workers should check with their council if they are unsure whether their role would be classed as a ‘key worker’. This also applies to those working in government agencies or arm-length bodies.
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On Thursday, the Department for Education published a list of professions which have been awarded key worker status, meaning workers in these roles are still able to send their children to school despite the general shutdown of the education system.
Housing staff were not specifically included in the list, however it was thought that they may still be covered in a clause catching those “delivering key frontline services”.
The National Housing Federation said it was “vital” that frontline housing staff be included in the classification and said it was “seeking urgent clarification” on the matter.
The government is yet to confirm whether any housing association workers can be classified as key workers during the coronavirus crisis.
It comes as prime minister Boris Johnson announced stricter measures to control the spread of coronavirus, including only allowing individuals to leave home to buy food and medicine, exercise or travel to work if it is “absolutely necessary”.
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