Illness -> Self-Employment ... can I/should I claim IS?

denkisandwich

Hi guys, turned here because looking thru the official stuff on the DWP/direct.gov websites is really not helping, and try as I might I can't reach the JobCentre on the phone. :mad:

23, male, living in the south (Brighton). Up until February, I was working in an insolvency practice (I know, right?).

At the beginning of February this year I came down with an illness that led to me being signed off for a couple of (non-consecutive) months, appears to be anxiety/stress-related/caused, and eventually led to me quitting my job at the beginning of June, following conversations with my doctor and after realising that the condition was essentially making it impossible for me to do my job properly, owing to discomfort. I'm currently awaiting treatment on the NHS, which will unfortunately not start until January 2011, and can't afford to go private.

Having taken some time off, and suffered to a greater or lesser extent up until now with fluctuating symptoms, I'm wary of seeking traditional (i.e. 9 to 5) full time employment, because my condition means that on (unpredictable, semi-regular) occasions I'm in enough discomfort and distress that it would be unfeasible for me to be at work, which would lead to an unacceptable level of sickness absence and me not having a job or a good reference at the end of it all.

Being a graduate who's suffered in totally unsuitable jobs for the sake of convenience for years, I'm therefore trying to move forward by setting up my own business (web/brand design, with a USP in brand/website localisation from Japanese to English, Japanese being my degree subject).

I'm pretty good at what I do, learn fast, have always been interested in it, and have a network of friends working with success in similar fields. Earning potential in the field is high (my hourly rate would be ~£30, and most jobs would earn me ~£2500 for 2 weeks work). Crucially, working on my own (and in my own time) gives me the flexibility I need to work a full working week around my condition (if not more).

I'm lucky enough that I can rely on my parents to house and feed me, so I'm not in need of housing benefit or suchlike at the moment. I've been supporting myself on savings from my previous job up until now (~75% of which have been invested in hardware, software, books, furniture and other such things for the business).

The nature of the business I'm in is such that in order to attract clients, you need a portfolio of work, which I'm currently building. As you can imagine, this involves doing a substantial amount of work for free at the outset, as without the portfolio people have no incentive to hire you; in this respect it's similar to the TV industry ... I'm essentially my own "runner".

The problem -- as you might have guessed -- is that my savings have now dried up (completely), and my portfolio is not yet finished. It will likely take several months to be finished, and although I have been canvassing for paying clients during the period as well, I am now at the point where I literally can't afford bus fare, and have less than £5 in the bank.

I'm trying to see if I could possibly claim benefits (probably income support), but I find myself in a bit of a confusing situation:

• While I'm not "too ill to work", the nature of my condition means that I can't work a normal job at the moment. It's likely to improve with treatment, but I can't get that treatment/the necessary referrals on the NHS until January 2011 at the earliest.
• The guidelines for Income Support say people working "fewer than 16 hours a week" are eligible. I'm technically working every hour I can, and I'm sure over a week it amounts to more than 16 (I'm a one-man-band, so it involves meetings, designing, coding, admin ... everything), I'm just not getting any money for it.
• While it was the end result of a long-term illness, technically I "voluntarily" left my job. I'm not sure how this would impact anything, given my individual circumstances.
• Due to an oversight, I never specifically mentioned to anybody that my employment status had changed for NI purposes. Again, I'm not sure if/how this might impact things.

I'm not looking for a part-time job, and as far as I'm aware I can't claim JSA anyway because I "voluntarily" left my job at my previous firm. As far as I can tell I *technically* fit the eligibility profile for Income Support, but what with working longer than 16 hours a week I'm not really sure; the DWP guidelines on "voluntary work" don't fit my situation, being as it's not work for a non-profit.

I would vastly prefer to be on IS, if only for the convenience of not having to do the inane diary-based crap that comes with it. Were I to go on IS instead of JSA, I'd likely be off benefits sooner.

I'm planning on heading down to the JobCentre tomorrow to talk to an advisor in person (will probably print this out and take it with), but I can see them turning me round and telling me to apply over the phone, which has been impossible so far.

As an aside, if it's relevant, I have a good relationship with my GP, and I've made sure to see him and him alone since my condition reared its ugly head in the first place.

I'd greatly appreciate any advice anybody could give me re: what benefits I might be better off pursuing, and how.

Thanks for your time!

alwaysonthego_2

You can't claim IS as you are not eligible for it.

I did not read the whole op, but are you fit for work?

NASA_2

You will not qualify for IS.

JSA or ESA are your options. ESA is 'sickness' benefit and you already seem to know roughly what JSA is about.

Google ESA and Permitted Work and it might be of some use to you.

denkisandwich

I did not read the whole op

Please do, as the entire reason I'm having difficulty is that my case is complicated and longwinded.

I'd be grateful if people could elaborate on exactly why I don't qualify for income support, as as far as I'm aware the only reason would be because of the 16 hours thing.

Realistically speaking, until I get treatment for my condition, I'm not going to be of any use in a 9 to 5 job, or a job with set days and hours. I wish it weren't the case, but at regular, unpredictable intervals I become uncomfortable enough that I can't realistically concentrate on a job, and as the condition appears to be stress-triggered, trying to force myself to "soldier on" would almost certainly make it worse. This is the reason I ended up leaving my previous position: I had been signed off for periods of upwards of one month a couple of times, and by that point it became obvious that to continue in my current situation was unfeasible.

I'm not disabled, and aside from the problems I have working set hours, I can work (and am working hard), so from what I understand ESA would not be for me.

NASA_2

On what basis do you think you will qualify for Income Support?

In order to get Income Support you need to be either a carer, a lone parent or have claimed and been entitled to IB and IS and also qualify under the linking conditions. I didnt see anything in your OP that suggests any of those are true.

ESA is for those who are ill - you dont need to be 'disabled' as such. Most people who claim ESA are expected to be looking for or moving towards work. That does sound like what you are looking for. Then only thing I would say is that you will be disallowed after being called for the medical (My opinion).

tcr_3

The only way you'd qualify for Income Support is if you've had an Incapacity Benefit claim which has ended at some point in the last 104 wks. If that isn't the case you simply don't qualify for Income Support because you don't have a condition of entitlement (i.e. you're not a single parent, not a carer, not someone previously on the IB/IS regime in the last 2 yrs).

That leaves JSA or ESA. You say you can work, subject to some restrictions as to the type of work you can do. So you'll have to claim Jobseeker's Allowance & ensure that your Jobseeker's Agreement meets your own needs.

Your next problem is that you need to be available to take a job. That means you'll be required to look for work and to give up some of the time you're spending on your portfolio in order to get a job. If you can't commit to looking for work then Jobseekers won't take you on either, meaning you'll end up with no benefit whatever.

denkisandwich

Referring to the Direct.gov "Income support site":

It's for people who all the following apply to:

• are between age 16 and the age they can get Pension Credit
• have a low income
• work less than 16 hours a week
• aren't in full-time study (but there are some exceptions)
• don't get Jobseeker's Allowance or Employment and Support Allowance
• don't have savings above £16,000
• live in Great Britain

You may get Income Support if you are one of the following:

• a lone parent
• on parental or paternity leave
• a carer
• a refugee learning English who arrived less than a year ago

^ As far as I can see I fit all of the upper set of bullet points, but had assumed that the "may" above the lower set referred to members of those groups being able to receive income support even if they *didn't* meet the criteria above ... if that's not the case, then apologies, but the wording of the site above is pretty misleading and ambiguous. Yu'd assume it'd be worded as follows:

It's for people who all the following apply to:

• are between age 16 and the age they can get Pension Credit
• have a low income
• work less than 16 hours a week
• aren't in full-time study (but there are some exceptions)
• don't get Jobseeker's Allowance or Employment and Support Allowance
• don't have savings above £16,000
• live in Great Britain

And who are:

• a lone parent, OR
• on parental or paternity leave, OR
• a carer, OR
• a refugee learning English who arrived less than a year ago

?

NASA_2

Well, I'll lift the qualifying conditions straight from the DMG, you can make your decision based on the actual guidance:

People entitled to Income Support

20081 People can receive IS for the whole of the benefit week provided they satisfy the
conditions of entitlement and are in one of the following categories1 for one or more
days in that benefit week

1. lone parents

2. lone foster parents

3. single claimant or lone parent looking after a child prior to adoption

4. people temporarily looking after another person

5. regular carers

6. people incapable of work (revoked from 30.12.09 but see Appendix 5 for
savings provisions)

7. disabled workers (revoked from and including 25.1.10 but see Appendix 6 for
savings provisions)

8. people in work living in a care home, Abbeyfield Home or an independent
hospital (revoked from and including 25.1.10 but see Appendix 6 for savings
provisions)

9. people entitled to MIRO

10. disabled students (revoked from 30.12.09 but see Appendix 5 for savings
provisions)

11. deaf students (revoked from 30.12.09 but see Appendix 5 for savings
provisions)

12. blind people (revoked from 30.12.09 but see Appendix 5 for savings
provisions)

13. pregnant women

14. parental leave

15. paternity leave

16. certain people in relevant education

17. young people in second chance learning

18. refugees learning English

19. people who claim asylum on or after 3.4.00 and who is granted refugee status
on or before 14.6.07

20. people required to attend court or a tribunal

21. people affected by a TD

22. certain PFAs
People entitled to Income Support 20082 20083
Vol 4 Amendment 31 June 2010

23. people in custody

24. members of a couple looking after children whilst their partner is temporarily
abroad

25. people appealing against a decision which embodies a determination of
capability for work

26. people attending WBLfYP or ‘Skillseekers’ courses

1 IS (Gen) Regs, reg 4ZA & Sch 1B

Duncombe

OP - I agree that the webiste is misleading. There are often threads on here where people want to claim IS, quote the first half of the criteria listed, then get very upset when we inform them that they must also fit the criteria listed in second section too. If you look, however, the majority of the population would be able to claim IS based on those bits of criteria alone!

But just to clarify - you most certainly do not qualify for IS.

You can not claim JSA if you are not actively seeking work and it doesn't sound as though you will be. You are right in that you may also be sanctioned for up to 26 weeks given that you voluntarily left your previous job.

As NASA said - you could apply for ESA but it would probably be a no-go given that a medical is required.

Short of taking on some part-time work (yes, I know you said you didn't want to go down this route) I can't see what other options you have. Unless a loan from mum or dad is an option.

Best of luck.

denkisandwich

I see I see.

Bearing in mind the logistics of trying to find a part time job in the current climate/with my stipulations/at the start of a new uni year, and bearing in mind that a single playing job would immediately net me about £1500 before I'd even started on a project, I guess the only logical thing for me to do is continue in my current vein and be a bit of a recluse for a while, until a contract comes along.

Thanks for your help. I might chuck an e-mail at the DWP re: their criteria for IS on the website, as the ambiguity has wasted a lot of headspace I could have used more productively.

Indie_Kid

The criteria isn't confusing. It says above the second list "and who are" .