Okay. Long Gold post to follow so draw up a sleeping bag.
Today I though "I would test the water" and I chose a nice village in South Gloucestershire to test the response. I dropped this off to 17 houses with an average of about £30 per house.
Page 1 is my letter - on headed notepaper; page 2 is the relevant government guidelines.
April 2020
Dear ________________________
I am writing to you re: Window Cleaning under current Coronavirus guidance and ask you to contact me by text/email on the above mobile number/email address.
When the Prime Minister announced the current “lockdown” I made the decision to stop working immediately and to evaluate whether my work should continue.
Later in the week several residential customers had contacted me and asked what I was doing as they would like their windows cleaned if possible.
Over the last 10 days Government guidelines seem clear (attached copy of the relevant section) and I have seen clips on TV of Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon saying “gardeners and window cleaners should go to work” and on Monday evening at 8pm ITV did an interview of Coronavirus Q&A with one of its presenters asking the specific question “I am a self-employed window cleaner, should I get out to work?” and the answer came back that provided he maintained distance then he should do so and that people stuck at home might like clean windows to look out of.
However – despite the above I also see the overarching spirit of the guidelines and fully respect customers’ wishes in this regard and would not want them to feel pressure to have me on their property at this sensitive time.
I shall be working your area on Thursday the 2nd and Friday 3rd of April to clean the windows of customers who have asked me to call. I have planned to clean yours on one of these days but if you’d rather I did not then please text, phone or email me ASAP.
My plan of work is to wash hands, wear gloves, arrive, ring/knock and stand well back and start work. When finished I would put a slip in a fresh envelope in your letterbox. (For those few who do not use internet banking please feel free to send a cheque in the post or if you feel comfortable put it or cash of the right amount in an envelope on the doorstep after I arrive.)
At time of writing I have had no cold/flu like symptoms for at least four weeks.
Best wishes to you and your families and keep safe,
Malc Gold
This had attached to it page 2 (government guidelines and both were in a window envelope stamped "from M Gold Window Cleaning" so the customers' handwritten name could be seen.
4. Going to work
As set out in the section on staying at home, you can travel for work purposes, but only where you cannot work from home.
With the exception of the organisations covered above in the section on closing certain businesses and venues, the government has not required any other businesses to close – indeed it is important for business to carry on.
Employers and employees should discuss their working arrangements, and employers should take every possible step to facilitate their employees working from home, including providing suitable IT and equipment to enable remote working.
Sometimes this will not be possible, as not everyone can work from home. Certain jobs require people to travel to, from and for their work – for instance if they operate machinery, work in construction or manufacturing, or are delivering front line services.
If you cannot work from home then you can still travel for work purposes, provided you are not showing coronavirus symptoms and neither you nor any of your household are self-isolating. This is consistent with advice from the Chief Medical Officer.
Employers who have people in their offices or onsite should ensure that employees are able to follow Public Health England guidelines including, where possible, maintaining a 2 metre distance from others, and washing their hands with soap and water often for at least 20 seconds (or using hand sanitiser gel if soap and water is not available).
Work carried out in people’s homes, for example by tradespeople carrying out repairs and maintenance, can continue, provided that the tradesperson is well and has no symptoms. Again, it will be important to ensure that Public Health England guidelines, including maintaining a 2 metre distance from any household occupants, are followed to ensure everyone’s safety.
No work should be carried out in any household which is isolating or where an individual is being shielded, unless it is to remedy a direct risk to the safety of the household, such as emergency plumbing or repairs, and where the tradesperson is willing to do so. In such cases, Public Health England can provide advice to tradespeople and households.
No work should be carried out by a tradesperson who has coronavirus symptoms, however mild.
As set out in the section on closing certain businesses and venues, the Government has published guidance on which organisations are covered by this requirement. Advice for employees of these organisations on employment and financial support is available at gov.uk/coronavirus.
At all times, workers should follow the guidance on self-isolation if they or anyone in their household shows symptoms.
(Paragraph 2 in red highlighted)
In the next post I shall let you know the responses thus far.