Need benefits advice urgently please.

skintmacflint

Mazroy

Not sure on your health postion but with your background as a Community learning mentor, you could maybe look for a position as a contract sessional youth worker with the Community Learning Department of your local council.

They are often looking for sessional people to help in youth clubs/facilities for a couple of hours in the evenings , and recruit from varied backgrounds. Pay is about £10 per hour I think . Maybe worth a look at.

OldMotherTucker

fishybusiness wrote: »

Reading your first post I am not sure if you are able to work or not. ESA think so, but I'm sure you know the ESA medical is not a reliable judge of health.

You may be entitled to Disability Living Allowance if you are too ill to work.

Most areas of the country have advice centres that will help you understand the DLA system and the process of applying. If you do apply get some help completing the form one of the benefits advice centres.

Hope that helps.

DLA has absolutely nothing to do with whether you work or not - its a payment to help towards costs associated with a disability and is counted as a 'disregard' when it comes to calculating household income.

mazza111

McKneff wrote: »

If the op is well enough not to get ESA, I cant see him getting DLA to be honest.

OP, you should still sign on at the JC to get your NI credits for future benefits and state pension. Ask if there is any practical help while you are there.

Afraid you are wrong on this one McKneff. My DD has been found fit for work by ESA,(awaiting tribunal) but has finally received her DLA award, HRM and LRC. ESA looks at a person's ability to work, DLA looks at their mobility and care issues. Don't get me wrong, we still believe they were wrong in the ESA case, but will live to fight that another day.

pmlindyloo

OK to summarise.

Sign on for JSA so that you can get your NI credits. Ask if they can supply you with some help regarding looking for work.

Put your details into www.turn2us.org.uk to see if you are eligible for working tax credit, and Council tax benefit.

You can apply for DLA if you feel that you meet the requirements.

Losing income is always very difficult so you might want to post on the Debtfree Wannabe forum (not just for people in debt) for some help and support managing your income.

It is difficult to know from what you have said whether your health problems would prevent you from doing some kind of work.

Do not give up. If jobs are difficult to come by in your part of the country start doing some kind of voluntary work - sometimes this leads to paid employment. You have skills from when you were a community learning mentor so use them on a voluntary basis.

Is there anything that you can do from home on a self employed basis?

Good luck!

fishybusiness

If the op is well enough not to get ESA, I cant see him getting DLA to be honest.

The two are not comparable.

The ESA medical is notorious for not being fair and not getting to grips with medical issues that may restrict or prevent a person working.

A person may be able to claim either or both of these benefits.

If a person receives the higher rate of DLA I believe ESA becomes an automatic entitlement, although I am not sure of the small print.

mazroy

pmlindyloo wrote: »

OK to summarise.

Sign on for JSA so that you can get your NI credits. Ask if they can supply you with some help regarding looking for work.

Put your details into www.turn2us.org.uk to see if you are eligible for working tax credit, and Council tax benefit.

You can apply for DLA if you feel that you meet the requirements.

Losing income is always very difficult so you might want to post on the Debtfree Wannabe forum (not just for people in debt) for some help and support managing your income.

It is difficult to know from what you have said whether your health problems would prevent you from doing some kind of work.

Do not give up. If jobs are difficult to come by in your part of the country start doing some kind of voluntary work - sometimes this leads to paid employment. You have skills from when you were a community learning mentor so use them on a voluntary basis.

Is there anything that you can do from home on a self employed basis?

Good luck!

I really do want to take up some sort of employment bu my usual job of painter and decorator is out of the question due to arthritis in my neck back knees etc etc. Even sitting here typing this is causing me pain in several places and my pc is set up correctly as regards position and height of monitor etc.

I am going to phone Job centre this morning and make an appointment to talk over my options or lack of them.

Working from home is something ive always thought about but I can never find anything that doesnt ask for money up front and we all know where that can lead. I'll report back when I find out what jobcentre have to say. I also have a welfare rights officer phoning me today hopefully.

seven-day-weekend

mazza111 wrote: »

Afraid you are wrong on this one McKneff. My DD has been found fit for work by ESA,(awaiting tribunal) but has finally received her DLA award, HRM and LRC. ESA looks at a person's ability to work, DLA looks at their mobility and care issues. Don't get me wrong, we still believe they were wrong in the ESA case, but will live to fight that another day.

My son's girlfriend claims DLA for a disability, but she is not ill and works full-time.

So the OP could try for DLA if he has needs arising from disability. This does not affect his ability to work and is not counted as income for means-testing purposes.

OP, I would advise you to continue signing on to get your NI credited towards your Pension and also to see a Welfare Rights Advisor at the CAB who will be able to advise you based upon your family circumstances.

midnight_express

It's worth remembering that you only need 30 years of NI conts to qualify for a full retirement pension. It would be a good idea to get a pension forecast.

mazroy

midnight_express wrote: »

It's worth remembering that you only need 30 years of NI conts to qualify for a full retirement pension. It would be a good idea to get a pension forecast.

Ive just spoken to my local j/centre and they told me exactly the same thing. As im 56 Ive paid enough to cover my pension so no need to sign on. I wonder why they didnt tell me that yesterday.
Ive also had my details passed onto a Disability advisor who will contact me to make an appointment but there could be a wait as they are very busy with the closure of Remploy What chance has anyone gotif they close down a valuable resource like Remploy Ive looked at the DLA and dont think i'd be able to claim that but will be asking the welfare rights officer when I see him.

thanks for all the help and suggestions I'll keep you posted on any progress.

mazza111

7DW I appreciate that some people can work with disabilities, I was actually just pointing out to McKneff that just because you've been knocked back for ESA doesn't mean ur not bad enough for DLA.

Unfortunately, my dd is unable to work. Her condition has worsened considerably since her WCA, even going to tribunal, it will only look at her health on that day. I believe we really need something in place in cases like this, she's got so bad in the last 18 months it's unbelievable. And such a shock to the system. She had her medical for DLA just over 2 weeks ago and has worsened even since then. I think for changeable conditions like this, they could perhaps do a WCA more often, rather than seeing it go to appeal that will only look at her condition on that day.