Benefits Help Please

sjacb36

Our grandson has just been born 8 weeks premature and has already ungone his first op. He is in hospital a 3 hour drive away from my sons place of work. My son's employers have agreed to give him as much time off work as he needs whilst baby is in hospital unpaid. My questions is does anyone please know if my son will be able to claim any benefits whilst on unpaid leave? Obviously my husband and I are already worried that he will get behind on rent etc whilst not being paid.

Many thanks for your help.

kingfisherblue

I'm sorry to hear that your grandson isn't well - I hope he makes a full recovery soon. I know what it is like, as my own son had his first surgery at just nine hours old. He is now 13 years old

I don't know much about the benefits side of things, but I didn't want to just read and run.

Good luck to your little fella x

NotSuchASmugMarriedNow

Sorry to hear about your grandson and |I hope he makes a full and speedy recovery.

I don't think your son would be able to claim any benefits, as he would be classed as being on compassionate leave. However, there are a number of compromises that could be made here.

Could you son use his holiday leave and then week-ends to visit his son. If you and your husband each spend a day at the hospital too, and the mothers parents or siblings spend a day there too this would provide really good support. The thing to remember here is that it is the parents (particularly the mother) who need support - everything that can possibly be done for baby is being done.

Is there any chance that if he also takes a week or two unpaid leave t hat you could finance this? As a type of "families pull together" type of thing? Maybe you were going to leave your son an inheritance that you could put to better use now?

sjacb36

Thank you very much for your kind words of support!!!

kingfisherblue

Does the hospital have a Ronald McDonald House or something similar? If it does, maybe the baby's parents could get accommodation there whilst their son is in hospital. That way, although there will still be bills to pay at home and no income from your son, at least it would mean that petrol costs are kept to a minimum. The Houses are free to stay in, and have a private room for each family. contributions are obviously gratefully received, but are not a requirement, especially if the family is suffering financially (you can always send a donation at a later date if you want to and can afford it).

In the Houses, you have a kitchen area with your own cupboards, so cooking food is easier. It is also a lot cheaper than relying on canteen food.

I have twice had a room in RM House at Alder Hey Hospital in Liverpool, once when my son was born, and again when he had further surgery at nine months old. It was a fabulous place - although I stayed with my son most of the time, I had somewhere to go and rest when my husband was with him. If I take my kids to maccies any time, we always put a donation into the box as we know what a great help RM Houses are to so many families.

If your son is in rented accommodation, is it worth asking the council if he can get Housing Benefit or LHA for a short period of time? I don't know if it is possible, but if you don't ask, you don't get.

nannytone_2

my daughter and her husband decided that he would stay at home with the boys, while she returned to work as her earning potential was higher.
she had only been in the job for a week when the younger boy ( 18 months at the time) became seriously ill. he spent a total of 12 weeks in hospital.
her new employer kept her job open for her, but she obviously didn't get paid.
it was a slog, but they were awarded income support while she was unable to work, so try them and good luck!