Retirement from work due to being off sck....help please

chops05

My OH is 40 years old and he has been off sick since 28th December 2012 due to multiple trapped nerves in his neck. He was getting company sick pay for 4 months, SSP for 2 months and he is now on income based ESA. He gets £11 per week as I work 15 hours a week, We get £100 per week CTC and we have two children under 10.

He has recently had to see the occupational nurse at his work as they want to basically retire him due to not being able to do the job he is employed to do. They seem to think my OH will be financially better off too by going into retirement.......he is 40, no private pension and too young to claim state pension. He is not entitlted to DLA as he can walk, he just cannot use his hands which you need to be able to use in the majority of jobs. He is due to have two operations after Christmas which will hopefully sort the problem out and get him back to work but the recovery time could be 3-6 months before he is able to get back to work.

Please can anyone advise me what is the best course of action. My understanding is that once he is no longer employed he will no longer be entitled to ESA so is there anything that he is entitled to claim?

Thank you in advance

jacques_chirac

He will be entitled to ESA whether he is employed or not (assuming he continues to meet the descriptors). Will he qualify for a works pension? This will affect his ESA entitlement.

pmlindyloo

jacques_chirac wrote: »

He will be entitled to ESA whether he is employed or not (assuming he continues to meet the descriptors). Will he qualify for a works pension? This will affect his ESA entitlement.

I would also check about his position at work. Employers have a duty to consult with their employees when they are off long term sick. If your OH will be able to return in the future this needs to be addressed. you may wish to consult with his union or an employment specialist to check that his employer is fulfilling their obligations. See here;

https://www.gov.uk/taking-sick-leave

I am presuming that your OH has not had a medical assessment yet as regards his ESA. When he does his ESA payment (I am presuming he is on contribtuon based ESA with an income based 'top up' for you) will increase.

As regards PIP (replaces DLA) you need to have had the 'condition' for 3 months and expect it to last for another 9 months. From what you say your OH does not appear to fit this criteria now. PIP is awarded for care/mobility needs so if he could not use his hands then perhaps he would have fitted the criteria when he first became ill. Unfortunately it cannot be backdated. If he is expected to have care needs for the next 9 months(google for PIP descriptors) then he could apply.

Have you informed tax credits of your change of circumstances? Depending on his and your income whilst he has been receiving sick pay you might be eligible for more tax credits (including working tax credits) Worth telephoning them to find out.

Also have you applied for council tax reduction and housing benefit?

If you have a mortgage you may also be entitled to housing costs?(Support for Mortgage Interest) Ask about this too. The time on SSP will have counted towards the 13 week waiting period needed before you can claim.

chops05

Thank you for your help! I thought that you could only claim ESA whilst you were technically employed. Is there a time limit for how long this can be claimed for?

We were getting WTC until the SSP stopped and then I telephoned them to say he is now claiming ESA and then the WTC stopped,

We rent and we are getting a portion of our rent paid and we get the council tax paid.

He does want to go back to work once he is fit enough. He has always told his employer this but because he cannot give them a definite date they now want to go down the "retirement" route. Its not as if they are still paying him as they haven't paid him since April.

That's a shame about the PIP......I didn't even know about it until you had mentioned it pmlindyloo.

Thanks again for your help :-)

xylophone

Retirement? Are they offering him a pension on medical grounds?

Icequeen99

pmlindyloo wrote: »

I think you need to give tax credits a call. Whilst your husband is still employed then he is still entitled to working tax credits even if he is claiming ESA.

I suspect that they may have thought that he had resigned and had moved onto ESA and therefore he wasn't entitled to working tax credits (you need to be doing 24 hours between you )

Get onto them in the morning.

That's not correct. It is only for up to 28 weeks see http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/tctmanual/tctm02421.htm

It is not relevant whether is employed or not. Same situation as a women on maternity leave for the last 13 weeks of leave.

IQ

pmlindyloo

Icequeen99 wrote: »

That's not correct. It is only for up to 28 weeks see http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/tctmanual/tctm02421.htm

It is not relevant whether is employed or not. Same situation as a women on maternity leave for the last 13 weeks of leave.

IQ

I expect you can see I deleted this when I realised that the 28 weeks had ben used up.

OP, is your OH entitled to contribution based ESA? (based on his national insurance contributions)

pmlindyloo

Have just read your previous thread and see your OH is not entitled to contribution based ESA.

IS there any way you can increase your hours to 24 a week? (or take on a second job?) You would lose your ESA but you might be entitled to working tax credits.

It might be a hassle with tax credits and I suppose it depends on availability of extra work and for how long your OH is out of work. May be worth considering especially as claims for ESA are taking a long time and he could be in the assessment phase for months.

McKneff

I think you need to get the word 'retirement' out of the equation.


He is planning on going back to some sort of work.


They are getting rid, sacking, firing him on the grounds of incapability.
Simple as that.


Hope he recovers soon.

Icequeen99

pmlindyloo wrote: »

I expect you can see I deleted this when I realised that the 28 weeks had ben used up.

OP, is your OH entitled to contribution based ESA? (based on his national insurance contributions)

I was typing my response when you deleted yours! Our posts must have crossed.

IQ

jazzyjustlaw

No advice but as I have just one nipped nerve in my neck that is painful, I just wanted to send your OH my best wishes. It is agony! Never knew how painful they could be until I got one!!