Best way forward (working and poss. disability)

Rueben_2

Hello guys, a few ideas on how to go forward with this would be appreciated.

My wife is a slender figure, 4'10" and weighs a third of me. She isn't skin and bones, just small really, but a healthy figure. Part of this is due to the fact that she was born with two holes in her heart, and had open heart surgery when she was just a toddler. She suffers from a rare disorder known as Scimitar Syndrome, congenital heart disease, has hypertension in her lungs, and dozens of lots of other ailments (apparently her medical file is a sight to behold!).

What's the result of this? Ultimately, not too much. She does get ill more often than most people, and it can take her around three times longer to recover completely from these ailments. Some days she can be completely drained of energy, and ultimately her levels are generally much lower than other peoples. She also has to be careful about pushing herself too hard beyond her normal working levels, as this can make her ill as well.

The closest comparison that I could give you is Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, something I have a little experience with in my job, although drawing direct comparisons with it is difficult. But basically, she can be fine one day, and completely dead the next, sometimes without warning.

However, she does work, completely self-employed (two years of job searching drew blanks, and her medical history may have played a role in this). She teaches brass instruments privately and works one day a week at my company running basic skills tests. This totals somewhere in the region of 12-13 hours a week.

What I'm looking for is some advice on any extra help we could perhaps find? DLA has drawn a blank here before, as has ESA (and despite having a ridiculously long file, she is not classed as disabled). But full-time hours are simply beyond her (12-13 hours is a real stretch!). But her illness has caused her to miss a number of days at my company, putting her position in jeopardy (although it looks safe for now).

Basically put, it's the old chestnut: Too healthy to be disabled and receive state support, too ill to work full time.

We're not in the sticks, but some advice would be appreciated, especially if there's something we've overlooked!

Thanks

MrsManda

You'll get a better response if you post on the benefits board.

If she's capable of working she's unlikely to receive ESA as this is an out of work benefit.

Disability Living Allowance is for people with care and/or mobility needs and can be claimed whether a person is able to work or not.

Has she received any benefits due to her ill health in the past?
It's possible to get extra Working Tax credits when someone cannot work full-time due to disability but I think it depends on whether they've claimed disability benefits recently.

I don't think there's anything else which she'd be able to claim specifically due to her health problem though posting on the benefits board may get you more answers. Have you put your household details into a benefits calculator to check you are receiving everything you're entitled to? It won't necessarily tell you that your wife can claim benefits because she's unwell but may tell you about benefits you can claim due to a low income
https://www.dwpe-services.direct.gov.uk/portal/page/portal/ba/lp?_piref278_36249_278_36248_36248.__ora_navig=