advice on Psoriatic Arthritis

sunshine76_2

Hi i am looking for ANY advice or help anyone can give me, it will all be greatly appreciated:)
at the start of November 2012 my partner found out he had Psoriatic Arthritis(a pretty severe case) and he had to have 8 weeks off from his full time job-he was only entitled to 8 weeks as he only started his job in October 2011, and he's gone back to work this morning a wreck as he knows he's not well enough to go back!
He would stay off work longer but what would we do for money?
What would we be best doing as we have no idea what he would be entitled to benefits wise?

i am so scared and i don't know what to do incase we are penalised
MANY thanks:(

rogerblack

Several options.
Firstly - if he has a reasonable prospect of working over 16 hours a week - JSA.
Secondly - if he is unlikely to be able to do this - employment and support allowance.
See http://www.tameside.gov.uk/esa/wca#LCW

Thirdly - if his condition has existed for 3 months, and is likely to persist for 6 months, and it causes him pain when walking, or care needs, then disability living allowance may be appropriate. (this can be claimed either in or out of work)

And lastly - his disability likely meets the definition in the equalities act - meaning his employer may be required to make 'reasonable adjustments' to his workplace.

This could - for example - mean supplying a suitable chair, or something a bit more involved.
If he can't do his job, even with reasonable adjustments, the employer can legally fire him.

bigbloomers30

Hi,
It may be useful if he explains his condition to his employers. Perhaps he could do some reduced hours until his treatment begins to work. My OH was diagnosed several years ago but with the correct medication he is now able to do a physical full time job without many problems - it just took a while to get the correct treatment. He was actually dismissed by his previous employer but claimed and won against them as arthritis is treated as a disability. I don't know how understanding his employers are but they may be able to make some changes to his work or hours while his treatment is sorted.

Bigmoney2

sunshine76 wrote: »

Hi i am looking for ANY advice or help anyone can give me, it will all be greatly appreciated:)
at the start of November 2012 my partner found out he had Psoriatic Arthritis(a pretty severe case) and he had to have 8 weeks off from his full time job-he was only entitled to 8 weeks as he only started his job in October 2011, and he's gone back to work this morning a wreck as he knows he's not well enough to go back!
He would stay off work longer but what would we do for money?
What would we be best doing as we have no idea what he would be entitled to benefits wise?

i am so scared and i don't know what to do incase we are penalised
MANY thanks:(

Has his doctor actually signed him back as fit for work?

have the company OH dept seen him since he returned.

Depending on the type of work he does he could have been signed back onto light duties.

If he had been signed off after the 8 weeks (presumably the 8wks was on full pay) he would be entitled to SSP (statutary sick pay) depending on the total family income, there may be other things you could claim such as housing benefit, council tax benefit, working tax credits.

He probably should go back to GP for advise.

purplepardalis

My partner has this too - he was diagnosed about 8 years ago. Whilst I can't offer help about benefits I can give you hope that he will be able to work again once on a good treatment regime.

My partner takes methotrexate and a weekly injection of enbrel and is currently 'in remission'

Good luck

LL30

Definitely get him back to the doctors/rheumy and see what they say. I too have PA (diagnosed Feb '12) and I had to leave work due to it unfortunately (no reasonable adjustments could have been made to make the job 'work' for me, and I already had my place to start my MA in the Sept anyway). I received HB & CTB and managed to sustain some self employed work during this time (the joys of being your own boss, sometimes a reasonable adjustment was working in bed!)

I am due to start my first work placement in February, and they have already had several meetings with regards to reasonable adjustments. I'll be on reduced hours and such like, but to be honest, I have no idea how I will cope. Under the Equality Act, they have to do this, so it really helps if you can provide them with ALL the medical evidence, plus an explanation in lay man's terms about what it actually is. I have to be honest, I didn't understand arthritis AT ALL, until I got it, I had no idea what it did to your immune system, nor the effects on your cognitive abilities - it's really important that the employer knows all of this.

I receive low rate care DLA, it's about £80 a month, which pays for cleaners to come in which is a big help to me, although I'm sure I will lose this when the changes commence. It may well be worth applying and see what happens - do get some support in filling out the forms though, they're not as straight forward as they seem and are very much about jumping through hoops. It's also difficult when you have a 'variable' illness, as symptoms are different depending on whether the arthritis is 'active' or in 'remission' so this can make it more complex.

ESA may be an option, but I think your husband needs to go back and get a medical opinion, look at reasonable adjustments, and think about what he wants for the future.

It's heart warming to read the comments about people being able to work and being in remission! I have some very dark times when I wonder if it's even worth me doing this MA, as I honestly do not know if I will be able to work in the future, at the moment it doesn't seem possible. I'm holding onto hope though, and I'll keep injecting myself, swallowing my concoction of drugs and attending my physio in the hope that I too will get better again. I hope that your husband manages to do the same.

sunshine76_2

Bigmoney2 wrote: »

Has his doctor actually signed him back as fit for work?

have the company OH dept seen him since he returned.

Depending on the type of work he does he could have been signed back onto light duties.

If he had been signed off after the 8 weeks (presumably the 8wks was on full pay) he would be entitled to SSP (statutary sick pay) depending on the total family income, there may be other things you could claim such as housing benefit, council tax benefit, working tax credits.

He probably should go back to GP for advise.

actually now you mention it the doctor HASN'T signed him as fit for work, hes just gone back today as he was worrying sick where the money was going to come from, i don't think hes given it any thought as we've never been on the sick or had to deal with sick notes etc

Bigmoney2

sunshine76 wrote: »

actually now you mention it the doctor HASN'T signed him as fit for work, hes just gone back today as he was worrying sick where the money was going to come from, i don't think hes given it any thought as we've never been on the sick or had to deal with sick notes etc

Depending on the company and the nature of his job, I would expect some sort of back to work 'interview'/ assessment.

There may well be discretion in paying company sickness benefit/ full pay.

It is also possible that they may consider him too sick to be on site and therefore not covered by the companies insurance.

SSP is payable for 26 weeks, so he should at least get this.

I'm not sure how/if working tax credits would be appropriate as he will be be conrtacted to work, but won't be working the required hours.
Some-one else may be able to advise.

I guess you will know more when he gets home.