There is no such 'status' as such; it was a temporary made-up thing during Covid.
Indeed. It's a new concept, and has little to no legal standing as there isn't a definition in statute of which roles are and aren't essential workers. Trying to do so would cost a frankly absurd amount of time and money for no benefit so it's unlikely to ever happen either!
The only thing close to resembling that, which I can think of, is the "Blue Light" scheme, which does not include TOC staff. The only 'rail workers' who would qualify are BTP:
Get access to exclusive discounts with the Blue Light Card. Available for NHS staff, emergency services, armed forces, teachers and more. Sign up today!
www.bluelightcard.co.uk
This is actually increasingly-contentious.
If you didn't read the website, the average person would probably say well all blue lights workers are essential workers, but they might not say all essential workers are blue lights workers.
Take for example, a teacher. They are an essential worker, but they don't drive blue lights. They do however benefit from the Blue Light Card benefits.
However the Blue Light Card scheme, which is a private limited company, have expanded their eligibility so much that many of their partners have had to cut back the benefits. To give some context, in the last financial reporting year, membership of Blue Light Card Ltd increased by over
30%. That's massive. And t his is down to their ever-expanding eligibility - they don't just accept fire, police, ambulance, mountain rescue, coastguard, but also anybody working in education, people working in social care, and even people who have
retired from prison work or teaching.
I'm not dissing those who have worked in such professions, but the name 'Blue Lights' is very misleading these days and I believe the opened eligibility to be the primary reason that benefits have been reduced or removed by partners.
That said, many employers do operate benefit schemes for their employees; perhaps some Southeastern staff* on this forum may be able to divulge more.
There is nothing to stop any business giving discounts for qualifying groups, without any official scheme, simply by accepting work ID; I do not know of any that include train drivers, but perhaps someone else does?
(* If anyone would like to do so, but doesn't want to disclose their employment, feel free to send me a conversation message and I can post it confidentially on your behalf).
Yes, indeed.
Also different professions will get differing quotes from mortgage providers, based on a risk assessment. Them being key/essential workers won't be the direct cause of a change in mortgage offer, but it will likely be a factor by proxy. A firefighter of 20 years is more likely to get a mortgage than a coffee barista on the same wage; not because they're an essential worker but because they have a great service history and their likelihood of redundancy or firing is much lower.
