Housing benefit advice for a friend.

dekaspace · 20 March 2017 at 7:57PM

Not same friend as before, but one with phyiscal and mental health problems, he moved in recently with a friend as was promised part time work with his employer whom he hasn't worked for a year due to mental health getting him sectioned and despite help from various places employer messing him around.

Biggest issue is originally the council wanted wage slips, but as right now he is on sick pay of just over £100 a month he doesn't get them, council originally said a letter from his employer to confirm this is ok now gone back on that and wants wage slips that don't exist.

Bank statements are a problem in the sense they will cost money to reissue and right now most of his money goes on debt and food (he needs special foods as diabetic)

He can't get a social worker yet as he needs to get referred from his doctor and they don't have his file yet.

But another friend went as a witness with this friend to start the claim and they kept telling him he SHOULD apply for ESA even though the witness said friend is waiting for employer to put pension money in and if he applys for ESA now he will lose it (long story)

Council has sent friend a letter wanting wage slips proof of application for ESA, bank statemnts.

Before anyone says, he has no issue showing his bank statements he just never got them, (or they were stolen) in the first place

But he hasn't applied for ESA as it will screw up things with his employer.

Not sure what to do as on top of that friend has at short notice gone to his brothers funeral and his mental health has shot down again, but even if he was here he couldn't speak to council himself as would get confused.

Is there anyway someone can speak for him?

Ames · 20 March 2017 at 8:30PM

Why would applying for ESA cause problems with the employer?

w06 · 20 March 2017 at 8:51PM

sick pay of 100 a month doesn't make sense, and when on sick pay you do still receive wage slips, it's taxable income as far as I'm aware.

He needs to apply for ESA or JSA

Lanzarote1938 · 20 March 2017 at 10:25PM

dekaspace wrote: »

Bank statements are a problem in the sense they will cost money to reissue and right now most of his money goes on debt and food (he needs special foods as diabetic)

No 'special' food needed for those with diabetes. Just a healthy diet.

dekaspace · 20 March 2017 at 11:59PM

Lanzarote1938 wrote: »

No 'special' food needed for those with diabetes. Just a healthy diet.

However he has had stroke and had health issues since and gets gluten free things prescribed from his doctor.

And healthy diet cannot be that great when you live off £100 a month and most of that goes on debt, when he does get cash.

He is getting messed about by employer, for first few months he got normal sick pay but that ran out, they then promised go transfer him to a branch near his dad for mental health reasons then kept on pulling out on promises.

Don't judge before you know the full picture.

Though I expect people will assume thats all incorrect since its not a normal situation.

Can someone actually give advice on whats said rather than judge.

dekaspace · 21 March 2017 at 12:14AM

w06 wrote: »

sick pay of 100 a month doesn't make sense, and when on sick pay you do still receive wage slips, it's taxable income as far as I'm aware.

He needs to apply for ESA or JSA

He will, its a complex situation but he isn't getting wage slips the employer itself has confirmed this, hes in a limbo situation right now.

He has just been promised backdated pension for his 9 years of work so if he leaves now he will lose it, plus another friend of his who does all the work contacting higher ups has gotten a promise of the holiday pay from last year to be paid as normal pay, if it will turn up we don't know.

If he leaves now he won't get either.

And he can't get sick notes as his doctor won't issue any until his file is up.

And we have been told if he claims JSA he will be seen as walking out of work so not get it/sanctioned

His mental health was so bad he was sectioned, its so bad he can barely function in life and turned to drink and legal highs before he was sectioned and even harmed himself.

Hes clean now but still struggles to do everyday tasks, so imagine someone like that trying to get everything sorted himself, he believes everything anyone tells him and takes it literally so imagine a DWP staff member having a bad day or giving him the wrong information, he would get sanctioned through no fault of his own.

He shows all the signs of severe autism but has been on waiting lists at previous places for years due to things like they send him a letter which he never gets saying he has to respond in 7 days, then tell him as he never responded hes been taken off waiting list, and he just accepts it as struggles to argue and takes them at face value.

Ames · 21 March 2017 at 1:07AM

It might be worth posting on the employment board. I don't think they can withold holiday pay if he's owed it. How much is the backdated pension? Would it actually be worth enough for it to be worth the problems it's causing?

He shouldn't be paying debts though, not as a higher priority than food. He should only be paying £1 per month to each creditor.

Maybe he needs to visit CAB as they'll be able to look at the whole situation - employment, benefits and debts.

I'm afraid your posts are quite confusing, and I'm not sure that you giving second hand information to us is going to lead to useful advice. It's hard enough when people are posting asking for themselves, there's usually lots of questions and detailed information needed to give correct advice. If you're posting on behalf of someone else, especially given his problems, then I don't think information or advice in either direction will be accurate enough.

I'm not having a go saying that, I just don't think this is the right place to get help.

dekaspace · 21 March 2017 at 1:23AM

Ames wrote: »

It might be worth posting on the employment board. I don't think they can withold holiday pay if he's owed it. How much is the backdated pension? Would it actually be worth enough for it to be worth the problems it's causing?

He shouldn't be paying debts though, not as a higher priority than food. He should only be paying £1 per month to each creditor.

Maybe he needs to visit CAB as they'll be able to look at the whole situation - employment, benefits and debts.

I'm afraid your posts are quite confusing, and I'm not sure that you giving second hand information to us is going to lead to useful advice. It's hard enough when people are posting asking for themselves, there's usually lots of questions and detailed information needed to give correct advice. If you're posting on behalf of someone else, especially given his problems, then I don't think information or advice in either direction will be accurate enough.

I'm not having a go saying that, I just don't think this is the right place to get help.

Thanks, well not making excuses but current problems seem to be first debt wise he agreed to one of those debt management things that takes off £60 a month, then he has his phone contract he can't get out of which costs £15 a month, leaving him around £25 a month and until recently he was in spare bedroom at his fathers who refused to look after him and made friend do all the housework for his keep (not to go into it much but the dad gets full HB for the property and council tax exemption and acted like his own son was freeloading, even before friend was sectioned he wanted him to drive him everywhere so not best situation for friends mental health)

Pension thing I am unclear about but I think its at least a few hundred from what I have been told, and holiday pay from what I gather is a years allowance so if its 28 days of holiday pay a year he will get 28 days money.

So its likely he will get a lump sum in of around £500 for just holiday pay maybe as much as double not inc pension.
I am assuming as not sure how pensions work or how much is paid out so if friend says he has no income and that comes in it will look bad, and if it comes in before bank statemnts are issued it will look like attempted fraud.

The ESA I don't know as most people seem to say if he applies for that he won't get the pension and as mentioned will have problems with DWP.

[Deleted User] · 21 March 2017 at 4:56AM

As a type one diabetic for 50 years (and brittle one at that) I really do have to repeat that no special diet is needed. The only thing I have to be careful of is keeping some carbohydrate type foods around for when my blood sugars drop. Otherwise I eat the same food as anyone else, just different amounts - more veg, less carbs.

Get as irritated as you like, it won't change my experience or my post.

When I was a student, I had £15 a week for food. I managed. I could get away with a tenner on food nowadays.

I think your friend needs to go to the CAB for some debt advice, and also a benefit checkup. From your post, I can't be sure but the judgements as to whether your friend could apply for other benefits may need to be checked with a professional benefit advisor.

Thomas_The_Tank_Top · 21 March 2017 at 7:03AM

He can get to his Bank Statements via online Banking. My Bank gives me access to 6 years worth.

Ames · 21 March 2017 at 10:18AM

Who says if he applies for ESA he won't get the pension? Is it a private pension? How old is he?

When you said about his employer backpaying nine years of pension I assumed it meant into a pension pot, are you saying that he could have been drawing money from a pension?

See, this is what I mean by second hand information without all the facts being confusing and making it hard to give advice.

Housing benefit advice for a friend.

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