[jo5hm4n]

My situation is as follows.

Small business myself and another full time worker 2 vans on the road.  My employee is 50 and is happy to crack on with work he really isnt phased at all, if anything hes almost ignorant to the whole thing!  The good thing is, if he carrys on working full time his work will cover his wages and most of my static expenses, however there will be 0 money left for my wages.

Now im fine with him carrying on his round aslong as A) governments allows us to and B) domestic customers keep wanting us to clean for them.

Problem i have is my own round that i clean seperate to his own work.  First of all, i've had cold/flu symptoms for the past 7 days and i feel like utter poope too be honest, so i've already had one week off and it looks like i need to take off next week at the very least.

Now my partner is vulnerable.  Autoimmune disorder and also has Asthma so has been advised to self isolate for the next 12 weeks.

So my problem is what if i go out to work get the virus then pass it onto my partner who is really vulnerable?  I am really not happy about this at all so i am left with a dilemna.

Option 1)

Stay at home and self isolate with my partner for atleast the next 4 weeks but more likely to be 8+ weeks, and in doing so unless the governments pulls their finger out to help us Self Employed have more than just SSP or Universal Credit at £400 a month then im going to be financially eating all my savings away which of course i am not happy about.

Option 2)

Just go out and clean windows, be super safe and precautious and atleast i have money coming in for my own wages, but on the flip side i risk getting the virus then passing onto my partner who it could be fatal, and im being serious.

-----------------

I just can't decide what to do.....

What would you do?

[Stoots]

Stay at home and keep him working as long as possible

Ride it out

we are all in a similar boat

Wouldnt want to be an employer right now

[alank]

Employee gets through as much work as he can you may have to use your savings to supplement your income. Stay at home with your wife.

[p1w1]

As you say you have savings then you can survive without a full income. So without sounding harsh you have to ask yourself the question what is more important to you..your money or your wife's health and i'm sure its the latter.
If you do go out then just make sure you dont have any contact with anyone and be extra extra careful, but there will always be that risk that only you can choose to take.
Technically you could try and find someone to do your round or see if your employee can do a bit extra  but with everything up in the air at the moment even thats not guaranteed to be a option.
If it was me then my main focus would be to keep my wife  protected as best as i possible could, my savings wouldn't concern me if they are all used up, you can always get money back at a later time when eventually you can start earning properly again, you wouldn't get your wife back.

[CleanClear]

Josh, stay at home. Being skint aint the end of the world, losing your partner would be. No brainer.

[Don Kee]

How much money do you value your partners life at?

That’s right, they’re priceless...do the right thing by them mate.

[jo5hm4n]

Stay at home and keep him working as long as possible

Ride it out

we are all in a similar boat

Wouldnt want to be an employer right now

Cheers mate really good advice appreciate it.  How are you getting on with things at your end?

[jo5hm4n]

Employee gets through as much work as he can you may have to use your savings to supplement your income. Stay at home with your wife.

Thanks for your honest advice really do appreciate it.

[jo5hm4n]

As you say you have savings then you can survive without a full income. So without sounding harsh you have to ask yourself the question what is more important to you..your money or your wife's health and i'm sure its the latter.
If you do go out then just make sure you dont have any contact with anyone and be extra extra careful, but there will always be that risk that only you can choose to take.
Technically you could try and find someone to do your round or see if your employee can do a bit extra  but with everything up in the air at the moment even thats not guaranteed to be a option.
If it was me then my main focus would be to keep my wife  protected as best as i possible could, my savings wouldn't concern me if they are all used up, you can always get money back at a later time when eventually you can start earning properly again, you wouldn't get your wife back.

What you say makes alot of sense.  When this is all over, will have to just crack on and try and rebuild customers and rebuild bank balance again.   As you say life is more important then money.  Thanks.

[jo5hm4n]

Josh, stay at home. Being skint aint the end of the world, losing your partner would be. No brainer.

Your right it is a no brainer.  Wonder why i couldnt make the right decision.  After speaking to you lot on here, has helped me to see for sure what i should do.  Thank you

[jo5hm4n]

How much money do you value your partners life at?

That’s right, they’re priceless...do the right thing by them mate.

Spot on.  Priceless.  Thanks for advice fella.

[windowswashed]

ifyou or your partner fall in the vulnerable group it is twelve weeks staying at home! You will have to sign on for ESP I believe it's called. Check the government websites. There is a helpline for benefit claiming

[Slacky]

What’s your mortgage situation.

Bin it with a three month holiday. That’s half your problem sorted immediately.

[windowswashed]

What’s your mortgage situation.

Bin it with a three month holiday. That’s half your problem sorted immediately.

DON'T bin your mortgage, talk to your bank, it's in their interest to help you. My mortgage is paid for. There were times I didn't think I would manage as I did it alone but I got there by struggling sometimes and changing jobs and making sacrifices, worth it now.

[Slacky]

All banks are offering a three month mortgage holiday. He’d be nuts to take your advice being he can’t work for twelve weeks.

I presume you werent forced to not work for twelve weeks when you had to pull your belt in?

[windowswashed]

All banks are offering a three month mortgage holiday. He’d be nuts to take your advice being he can’t work for twelve weeks.

I presume you werent forced to not work for twelve weeks when you had to pull your belt in?

Sorry. Slacky………... I agree, don't pay mortgage if they are giving you a three month holiday, use it! Three quarters of the way through my mortgage I was struck with an illness which forced me out of work for a year so I know hardship, thankfully I had income protection insurance.

Never give up on a mortgage, it's hard enough getting one in the first place and most homeowners struggle for the early years to pay a mortgage but it gets easier with time

[NWH]

Went to a farm shop yesterday and we were disgusted there was a woman in her  mid 20s bright red nose tongue out looked like she was gasping for breath obvious she was ill,absolutely thoughtless people still out there.

[deeege]

Take the mortgage holiday and stay home. Keep yourself and your partner protected, that’s gotta be your priority.

It sounds like your work is mostly domestic, they’ll understand. The ones worth keeping will be there when you’re ready to start back.

[jo5hm4n]

What’s your mortgage situation.

Bin it with a three month holiday. That’s half your problem sorted immediately.

I pay rent as i invested money into my business rather than into buying a house.  If my landlord can get a mortgage holiday then im basically just going to tell them im not paying rent for 3 months.  Legally they cant do anything about it, the government is going to have lots and lots of people who wont be able to afford rent, so something will be put in place to combat this for sure.

[deeege]

What’s your mortgage situation.

Bin it with a three month holiday. That’s half your problem sorted immediately.

I pay rent as i invested money into my business rather than into buying a house.  If my landlord can get a mortgage holiday then im basically just going to tell them im not paying rent for 3 months.  Legally they cant do anything about it, the government is going to have lots and lots of people who wont be able to afford rent, so something will be put in place to combat this for sure.

Your landlord getting a payment holiday wouldn’t really mean you not being able to pay rent.

What a mortgage holiday is is the bank taking no payments for 3 months but the bank still charges interest on the loan. This is added back onto the mortgage/loan amount.

If I were you, I would approach the landlord and explain the situation you are in. A very good landlord would accept no rent for the 3 months, but realistically an offer to pay the interest only on his mortgage should be acceptable.

On a mortgage of say £100k the interest would be around the £150 - £250 mark per month so much more manageable than your full rent payment.

Just an idea.