Parents Without Childcare Should Not Be Expected To Return To Work, Says Boris Johnson
11 May 2020, 16:51 | Updated: 11 May 2020, 16:56
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said people ‘plainly’ can’t go to work if they do not have childcare.
Boris Johnson has said people without childcare should not be expected to go to work, amid changes to the Coronavirus lockdown.
The Prime Minister made the comments during his statement to the House of Commons on Monday afternoon.
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He said: "We will count on employers to be reasonable.
“If they can't get the childcare, then plainly they can't go to work."
Many members of the public were left ‘confused’ by the Prime Minister’s ‘vague’ lockdown update during his address to the nation on Sunday evening.
I'm so confused 😭 I'm a primary school teacher due to go back to work soon! I also have a 6yr old and a 1yr old, what am I supposed to do for childcare? Are my children allowed to go to their grandparents house for childcare 🤷♀️ we need clarification!
— LollyS (@LollySnee) May 11, 2020
So how do you go back to work with no childcare.. That's what most people are confused about!
— Minky Beaumont (@minkybeaumont) May 11, 2020
One concerned parent wrote on Twitter: “So, @BorisJohnson if both parents have been ordered back to work, but schools aren’t open and seeing relatives/other people is still forbidden, how is childcare going to work?”
Another added: “How can you tell people to go back to work from tomorrow but offer them absolutely no guidance on childcare whatsoever?”
The government has now published a 50-page document, detailing their forthcoming plan.
Step one begins on Wednesday, with a view to progress to step two on June 1st and step three of July 4th, although they've made it clear all of these dates are preliminary.
Boris Johnson added: "If we stay on the downward slope and the R remains below one, then and only then, would it become safe to go further and move to the second step."
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