Serious advice needed about benefits, no judgements please.

Heamol

That sounds great SL, Abergele is so close to the sea and there are loads of lovely places to visit when you need a couple of hours of chill-out! Prestatyn to Abergele is dead easy and cheap on the train too so less travelling costs!

sweetlilac

Hi everyone,

just wanted to say thanks for the advice and support you have given me but i just got off the phone with the job centre and they told me i would be entitled to nothing as i would of given up my job and as a result wud have no payments for 6 months, they would also stop housing benefit and council tax benefit and i would have to claim something called hardship payments ??? it makes me sick, i have been employed now for 22 years continuously and they wont even help me !?!?!?

asparagusnextleft

sweetlilac wrote: »

Hi everyone,

just wanted to say thanks for the advice and support you have given me but i just got off the phone with the job centre and they told me i would be entitled to nothing as i would of given up my job and as a result wud have no payments for 6 months, they would also stop housing benefit and council tax benefit and i would have to claim something called hardship payments ??? it makes me sick, i have been employed now for 22 years continuously and they wont even help me !?!?!?

Sorry to hear that this is the reply you got from them. We relocated last year to be nearer to my family so I had to quit my job in London as it wouldn't be possible to commute there from here. I put in a claim for JSA and got it, I was not sanctioned.

sweetlilac

asparagusnextleft wrote: »

Sorry to hear that this is the reply you got from them. We relocated last year to be nearer to my family so I had to quit my job in London as it wouldn't be possible to commute there from here. I put in a claim for JSA and got it, I was not sanctioned.

Hiya,

how did you explain to them the reasons as they seem to be telling me that i wont get anything at all. I explained that i was moving home to be closer to family for support as i suffer with depression but they told me it doesnt make any difference. Its so confusing, i dont know what to do at all.

pmlindyloo

Don't give up!

I am pretty certain that some of the information you have been given is incorrect.

Your claim for JSA may be subject to an enquiry because you will have resigned from your job. They will expect you to have good reason for resigning - some authorities will accept relocation because of your health as a good enough reason. It would seem sensible to get some evidence (letter from doctor?) to support this. If your JSA is sanctioned (refused for a certain amount of time) then you would be able to claim hardship payments - you might also be eligible for a crisis loan to tide you over.

I disagree that you would not be eligible for Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit. These benefits are available for people on low incomes, not just for people who receive income based benefits. I cannot see any reason why you would not be eligible for HB and CTB.

Can you save as much as possible between now and when you move? Or borrow from family just until you get on your feet?

I think it is dreadful that you are being forced out of your job but fully understand that you do not feel strong enough to fight it.

Someone suggested a visit to CAB. I think this is a good idea.

sweetlilac

thanks pmlindyloo

yeah i cant fight it anymore, i go in there everyday and dont speak to anyone, im so isolated by people that its an awful environment to be in.
If you were to question it tho, all the men will stick together and say dont know what your talking about and as all bosses also happen to be men, you dont really get any sympathy and your just told to basically shut up and if you dont like it leave.

I was under the same impression as you about housing benefit but if your clam for jsa is stopped then so is your claim for hb and ctb according to this woman at the jobcentre.

I am saving hard so far and have got about £500 but that will be swallowed in moving costs for van hires and stuff as its 160 miles away.

Oldernotwiser

ceridwen wrote: »

I guess one needs to know how well the Homeswapper facility works to be able to do things that way round.

Maybe its possible to get a job first and Homeswapper will provide a replacement home to live in at exactly the time required? Maybe it takes months to arrange a swap - so the move would have to be arranged first and the job would have to coincide with that (ie be found AFTER moving)?

I read that she'd already been offered a swap but that may not be what she meant.

ETA. Have now finished the thread and see that was actually what she meant.

OP, I really think that you should concentrate on getting a job in the area you want to move to. North Wales, although lovely, is an area of high unemployment and you could be facing spending a long time on benefits if you make a wrong move now, which would be very bad for your mental health.

Why not take some annual leave and go and stay with your relatives and spend the time sorting out another job? If this proves to be difficult, that will in itself give you something to think about seriously before making a move.

pmlindyloo

I can understand that if you are already claiming HB and CTB and your JSA is stopped then they may look at your claim for HB and CTB.

However, you will be making a new claim for HB and CTB and as far as I am aware there are no sanctions applied here if you leave your job.


I am hoping that the person who you spoke to was confused as to what you were asking (I am being kind here - some of them are, I'm afraid, not very 'on the ball' ).

If I were you, I would get yourself to CAB for some advice.

There may well be some other options here and I woud hope that CAB could talk you through them.

vyvyan_2

Hugs to you. I have been in your situation. Two weeks ago I resigned my job. There was no way I could continue. I didn't go down the route of seeing my doctor. Since leaving I have felt better. I can sleep, my skin, and hair have improved, my breathing is better and I'm not getting panic attacks. I am job-hunting with a vengeance but I know the chances look bleak. I might have to move out of my rented place if I don't find something. I had a choice of possibly an awful future or the job. It was so bad for me that I chose to ditch the job. My future looks very uncertain and no-one in their right mind would recommend it. The only reason I stayed was because it was sensible. However, I'm glad I left. The relief has been immeasurable.

jobbingmusician

It does seem to me as if two things are being confused here.

1. OP is being bullied, and in an employment situation where this is being actively ignored.
2. OP wants to move (anyway).

I know you say you don't have the energy to do any more about your present job, but I do think you should raise a formal grievance about the way you are being treated. Was your injury at work recorded properly? When did this happen? Could you sue them for this? From what you have written, you are in a situation where they should be paying you to go quietly!!!!!!!!