Illness and benefits ( what a joke ) !!!

dc1_2

Hi everyone i am posting this thread as i got a very annoying letter today explaining that i am not entitled to any benefits.....
I am off work on the sick have been for 3 months suffering with coeliac disease and other problems i have never been off work this long since i was 16. My illness means i have to buy special foods and also have to pay £21 a month on prescriptions i am only receiving £78 pounds a week ssp and as you can imagine have bills to pay out of that.
Yes i live with my mum who only works part time due to her health problems also but to cut a long story short i want to work but at the moment cant and apparently the government will only help me if i had a child is what the lady said on the phone i am disgusted they are quick enough to take your tax and national insurance.... I am also sick of hearing how unemployed people who have been on income support receive £250 just to go back to work and also free clothing up to £100 in dorothy perkins for their interview plus everything else what a joke this government is so bad !!!!!!!:mad:

[Deleted User]

Did you have a query you would like help with?

dc1_2

yes i just want to know what i can do how do they expect me to live like this when i am not able to work is there anything i can claim due to my health problem ??

terryw

You can save a few quid on prescriptions with a season ticket.:
http://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/1127.aspx

dmg24

dc1 wrote: »

yes i just want to know what i can do how do they expect me to live like this when i am not able to work is there anything i can claim due to my health problem ??

If you were eligible for benefits, you would receive less than you are now.

It is possible to live on a low income, you'll just have to budget more. If you have a look around the forum you'll find lots of hints and tips!

seaniboy

In this day & age I recommend ANY worker to buy Sickness Insurance because if you need to rely on SSP/DWP well its not feasible to survive on either if you have regular payments going out to various places, let alone survive on basic daily needs, its a pittance.

Jowo_2

You can double check both you and your mum's entitlement to benefits on the calculator on the Entitled to (turn2us) website.

You may find this organisation helpful to you

http://www.coeliac.org.uk/

http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coeliac-disease/Pages/Introduction.aspx

To raise a discussion point (rather than a benefit query) post your observations on the Discussion Time forum.

idvi

it could be worse.. jobseekerses is only £65 a week :eek:

now, im not (whatso ever) accusin you of anything here, just trying to be helpful in what ways does have colelicac disease prevent you from working?

everyone i've ever known with it has been 95% functional and able to do everythin pretty much normally apart from the odd issue - most of it controlled by not eating wheat etc

(when your ssp comes to an end) (therefore) if thats the case here then you wouldnt be eligible for any sickness benefits like esa - unless if its much worse then you might score some points in an esa medical, but if its possible to work with it then you wont score anything id imagine. if you think their decision is wrong you can appeal

[Deleted User]

seaniboy wrote: »

In this day & age I recommend ANY worker to buy Sickness Insurance because if you need to rely on SSP/DWP well its not feasible to survive on either if you have regular payments going out to various places, let alone survive on basic daily needs, its a pittance.

I do agree with this but not everyone can get this or if they can it has so many exclusions, pre exisiting medical conditions would be excluded and it costs so much more as you're deemed to be a high risk.

cabbage

I feel for you. Just because your income has dropped to just SSP doesn't mean your bills drop too. But.... part of the problem is also your employer. Years ago it was common to get contractural sick pay for a number of months if not a year which would equate to full pay for six months and half pay for six months or something similar as it varies from place to place. Some employers still offer this so check if yours does. When this happened SSP was topped up to full pay by the employer so getting SSP wasn't a problem like it is now. More and more employers are not offering contractural sick pay. They are reimbursed some if not all SSP by the government (I believe) so it wouldn't harm them to offer you some contractural sick pay.

terryw

cabbage wrote: »

More and more employers are not offering contractural sick pay. They are reimbursed some if not all SSP by the government (I believe) so it wouldn't harm them to offer you some contractural sick pay.

Not quite. Most SSP paid by employers is not recoverable. Here's a link


http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/paye/employees/statutory-pay/ssp-calc.htm