Husband and I both being made redundant in the very near future.......

rock_queen

I will be finishing at the end of this month and my husband at the end of next month. I just dont' know what to do? I am terrified. I will be getting 2 weeks statutory and Pilon and my husband will only be getting holiday pay and pilon as he hasn't been there long enough to get statutory. We have a lot of debt aprox 30K and were successfully paying all bills and servicing debts until just after christmas when my husband was seriously ill and was off work and only receiving SSP for 3 months. All companies were contacted and we have been paying token payments since then. I've worked out we will have enough money to survive for a couple of months. We have both been looking for other employment but with no success as yet, we live in a very remote rural area and employment options are limited. I'm so worried about how we are going to survive, I'm worried that we will lose everything.

Will we be entitled to any help? Neither of us has ever claimed benefits so where would we start? who do we contact?

Any advise greatly appreciated, and thank you in advance for your replies

disputedoctor

Hi Rock Queen,

First of all - try not to worry too much or think of the worst case scenario. In order to be practical and think creatively as to how to go forwards in your situation, you need to be positive and not give yourself too much of a hard time. The welfare state is there for people who have fallen on hard times and there are a lot of them out there at the moment. The direct dot gov website is useful for information on benefits.

Both of you being made redundant must feel very disempowering, but you must look at it as a gateway to new opportunities. Don't feel ashamed about claiming benefits - it's not your fault that this has happened, and see it as a temporary stopgap. You should be able to claim the necessary benefits as an SOS for the time being to tide you over. If you have a mortgage, you may be eligible for them to pay the interest only element of your mortgage, which may mean that you go on to an interest only mortgage for a while until you get on your feet again. As for your creditors, it is just a matter of being in communication with them, explaining your situation and continuing to pay them token payments. If these are too high, you can renegotiate a lower payment as a temporary position.

Keep looking for jobs. You won't lose everything. That's your understandable anxiety talking. Think of new ways to make money - is there a market you could tap into in your area? Is there a service that you could offer? How could you use your existing skills in a different way? Think creatively and do a bit of research. Would you consider self-employment? Are there other ways you could make money?

Look after yourself. Get your sleep and eat well. Try and manage your anxiety, although it's understandable at the moment. You are lucky that you have each other too: two heads are often better than one. Is there any way you could use your property as a means of generating an income? If you live in a rural area, what about setting up a b and b?

Good luck

xxx

mynameistallulah

In terms of benefits you would need to claim Jobseekers Allowance. You may also be eligible for housing benefit and council tax benefit. If you have a mortgage, you should claim SMI after thirteen weeks.

amcluesent

If DH is still sick, you could look at DLA. Otherwise if you were compulsory redundant, you should get contribution-based JSA if you've been paying NI.

Be prepared for very little help at your Job Centre, they are really geared to dealing with lifestyle-choice benefit claimants and just pushing peeps into min-wage positions

so where would we start? who do we contact?

Get your JSA claims in 1st - http://www.direct.gov.uk/prod_consum_dg/groups/dg_digitalassets/@dg/@en/documents/digitalasset/dg_200090.html

rock_queen

Thanks for your helpful replies, I have spent the last few hours applying for more jobs and reading up on the links you have suggested. Its all just a bit of nightmare at the momment, sometimes I feel quite positive about it and see it as an opportunity and other times im so stressed out and worried. We have a mortgage so will speak to the bank and council about contributions and changing to interest only etc, I've written to the credit card and loan company but as i cant afford a stamp at the momment I had to email them lol Really not up to speaking on the phone to them.

Im sorting the house out for a car boot in the next couple of weeks. The B and B idea sounds promising. I will be down the job centre next week to find out how they can help.

Thanks again

amcluesent

Also, there's the online benefits calculator - http://www.turn2us.org.uk/benefits_search.aspx