When the government announced earlier this week that schools would close to all except the children of critical workers, there were concerns that those supporting disadvantaged people could be thrown into difficulty.
But The Big Issue staff working on the frontline to support our vendors at a time of huge uncertainty have been confirmed as essential according to government instructions – meaning their kids can go to school and they can continue their life-saving jobs.
Our sales and operations staff and vendor services workers, part of charitable arm Big Issue Foundation, are doing critical work to make sure homeless and vulnerable people are given the help they need to stay afloat as the UK navigates the COVID-19 outbreak.
Abigail Feazey, Big Issue Group HR Advisor, said: “Having cover for their children during this difficult time means one less thing for our frontline staff to be worried about” while they carry out their hugely important work.
The Big Issue is one of the only businesses in the UK that operates exclusively on the streets, meaning the company and its vendors will be acutely affected by the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) crisis.
We’ve helped well over 100,000 people over the past 29 years and on average we put £5m into the pockets of our vendors every single year.
