essentialstaff
nounUK /ɪˈsɛnʃəl stɑːf/
US /ɪˈsɛnʃəl stæf/
The most important workers a place needs to keep running.
The hospital always keeps essential staff on duty during holidays.
OTHER MEANINGS
2. The minimum number of people needed to operate a service safely.
Only essential staff stayed overnight at the shelter.
3. Employees whose roles cannot be paused or done from home.
Essential staff like nurses and firefighters report to work in person.
4. A company's most valuable and hard-to-replace workers.
The manager thanked the essential staff who trained all the new hires.