Housing benefit advice for a friend.

Ames wrote: »

You do know that the £900 pension isn't cash he gets? It's put into a pension pot and won't provide much income when he comes to draw on it?

For ESA it doesn't matter if he voluntarily leaves or is laid off.

Are you really suggesting that the union rep is giving your friend £100 out of his own pocket because he's not entitled to SSP? Because that's ridiculous.

Im not sure if its £900 pension, or thats what hes paid into the pot but as its 9 years he worked there it seems reasonable to assume its £900 unless you have more knowledge on this sort of things

Its not a union rep that is helping him, his friend/relative works in unions for other companies as well as has contacts throughout the UK so knows how the systems work as friends in highish places, and he is the sort of person who helps whom he can, he visited my friend a few weeks ago and took him and me on day out, buying us 2 meals, and to cinema and gave friend £50

tboo wrote: »

HB can be claimed on nil income so that's not correct

Likewise if he doesn't send in his financial/capital details then the claim will be stopped

Supermarkets will issue wage slips even with nil pay on them so he should heve received ones showing his SSP, if it's set up they can issue them via email if that's available to your 'friend'

Also supermarkets pay every 4 weeks - the ones I've seen do amyway

If his employers are sending wage slips to the wrong address then he has to tell payroll the correct one - showing a different address will ring alarm bells to the HB team

Do you have permission to speak to all these depts. (HB etc) dealing with your 'friends' problems?

You're getting not enough info from him or guessing and then givng it to these people - wouldn't it be best to contact them when he's sat with you

The way you word "friends" seems to imply you think its me but I have been on ESA for 4 years now and haven't worked in over 7 so its not me.

When I spoke to council I made a general enquiry, another time it was in office and I was with him.

Problem with him is even though hes the claimant hes not the one deailing with the work of the claim and his employer as his mental health is that bad..

But as I say hes not getting wage slips, the copy of emails forwarded to me show the employer says shes not doing shifts for them therefore none need to be issued,

I did say to council about his issues and it was difficult to explain, when i said he was employed but not being given shifts they said "well hes not sick then so should claim JSA" when I said he had mental health and physical health problems they said "well he should make a claim for ESA today" I did say he has gone away for a few days to his brothers funeral I then got "well hes not living in property then so not entitled to housing benefit"

And as said no he hasn't had wageslips since his sick pay ran out, im not sure the system but he got a few hundred a month for first 6 months then something now and again, the wageslips sent to wrong address has been brought up by his friend dealing with employer who apologise about it but don't seem to do much.

So its unsure if he gets SSP or not.

So yes as I thought he can get HB on nil income so I don't know why council is saying he needs to be on ESA and they wouldn't accept that his income is £100 a month, I can understand suspicion as years ago when I was living in another area I had no income for 6 months as DWP messed up claim, it was only because I lived off final £600 wage from employer and landlord was willing to wait that I survived, I remember the council there saying there was no way I could of lived for 6 months with no money.

Torry_Quine wrote: »

SSP only lasts for 28 weeks after which a claim can be made for ESA whether or not someone is employed. They should have got an SSP 1 form from employer

Interesting, my friend did say he got a reasonable amount of money for 6 months then it stopped and now gets £100 a month but its never on same day each month (which goes to the family member giving it to him credibility)

It seems though from second hand information the employer isn't that bothered, when he did work for them and after his stroke they phoned him and told him he wasn't allowed time off or he would he fired whilst he was in a hospital bed and even though they got as much as 2 months in advance warning about hospital stays or appointments they would give him shift patterns that occured at those very times he needed to be in hospital.

Even been implied many times that employer wants to get rid of him, they tell him, and the friend/relative that there is no vacancies but then one of us finds some and the employer claims they don't exist, even found an advert in a local paper saying they were desperate for staff which they denied even existed.

But we go back to the fact friend has mental health problems (and signs of severe autism) so cannot take care of himself so even if he was meant to request something from employer he would forget or be too nervous or if refused he wouldn't argue and go on his way.