How can I help my Dad?

IainHL

As McKneff says, I can assure you that if he takes VR he will certainly get his 26 weeks contribution based JSA (currently £71.70 per week). Am there, currently wearing the T-shirt!

lizzydarcy

Thank you for the all the helpful ideas. There are too many for me to answer individually.

I have no idea about my parents' financial situation, what offers have been made etc in detail but I know that he is very worried about money right now.

Also, he will not go of his own accord. If they are going to make him redundant, they are going to have to do it. I cannot even bring up the subject with him. I think he has it fixed in his mind that if he loses this job, absolutely nobody would consider him for another job because of his health.

He already gets DSA at the higher rate but instead of the money, he has a car which he relies on for getting back and forth to work etc.

I would hate to think of my Dad on JSA. When I was on it earlier this year, my advisor would have made me apply for any job under the sun if they thought it would get me off benefits. That sort of attitude will just crush any hope he has left.

I just have my fingers crossed very very hard.

dandelionclock30

Even if your Dad does get made redundant hes in a better situation than a lot of people.He will have his redundancy as well as JSA(even if its for 6 months) and your Mum works.
He can always give his car back and get the benefit money instead while hes out of work.
He also has a good work history and recent references. So its not at all bleak. Try to get him to look at the positives insteadof the negatives and at the very least it will help him not feeling as down.
Also if he does get made redundant definatley get him to ask about releasing his pension early.

Mojisola

dandelionclock30 wrote: »

Try to get him to look at the positives insteadof the negatives and at the very least it will help him not feeling as down.

I agree - it sounds trite but if he can look at it as an opportunity and take some control, he may find it works out well.

Your Mum is planning to retire - what if they both looked to getting some part-time work and then enjoying the rest of the week doing things they haven't had time to do before. Have either of them got hobbies that they could make some money from?

It's worth looking at the Debt Free Board - lots of good advice for ways to reduce spending. If you can pay less for utilities, phones, etc, you can save money without it changing your life at all.

Dunroamin

McKneff wrote: »

Makes no difference Dunromin,


No sanctions at all for VR

Thanks for the correction.:)

Mojisola

When one of your parents reaches the current women's retirement age, they will be able to claim Pension Credit.

Does your Dad get DLA for care or just for mobility?

fuzzything

Mojisola wrote: »

And in 5 years' time he'll be leaving the company without it costing them anything so they may just let him hang on.

It is only no cost to the company in the future if he chose to retire.

There is no maximum age for entitlement to a redundancy payment, since the law changed and removed compulsory retirement at 65.

Mojisola

lizzydarcy wrote: »

He's around 5 years away from retiring, has several mobility and health issues following a crash a few years back and co-workers in his office have already been dropping hints that he should be happy to finish work because it means he can look after himself better

fuzzything wrote: »

It is only no cost to the company in the future if he chose to retire.

There is no maximum age for entitlement to a redundancy payment, since the law changed and removed compulsory retirement at 65.

True, but it sounds from the first post that Dad is planning to retire at 65.

lizzydarcy

Thank you all for your advice since my last post.

There has been a slight twist in the story. My dad had a little scare at with his health. Nothing major and he's alright. However, it got him thinking that if he didn't take this opportunity now and later had to quit because of his health, he wouldn't get a penny.

As far as I know, he and my mum are now combing their bills to reduce their outgoings as best their can. It looks like he is "retiring early." I believe he has a private pension and is discussing with them about taking it early so there is some forward motion there.

He's not happy about stopping work. He enjoys his work and prefers to earn his money rather than sit back and claim benefits but I just think he needs time to adjust.

I think he felt forced to volunteer - not by the company - but by circumstances. In a way the decision wasn't his. But its been made, the company accepted it and the paperwork has been started.

swampduck

Sometimes even you feel your hand has been forced - then things can often work out better than you think they will.
Years ago I was made redundant because my employer was relocating - it turned out to be the good kick I needed!! It made me realise that there is life after whatever the current situation is!!
Even if your dad feels that he has been forced into taking redundancy - his health may well begin to improve when he stops work as there will be less stress and so on. Who says he can't work again? He may find a little part time job which will suit him better and sometimes less income is better as you pay less tax etc.
My other half has had to go part time working and once we got our heads around the fact that there would be less money coming in - we dealt with everything and in true MSE style renegotiated everything from the mortgage to the gas and electric. We saved over £200 a month - to say we were shocked was an understatement!! Admittedly some price rises have eaten into the savings made but little savings here and there still add up. Try thinking long term too - we have eight years to go on the mortgage and debts if paid off at the current pace will be cleared in seven years. Given our ages now time is flying by and two years have gone already.
That's if I'm not made redundant which is a possibility given that my employers are now on their fourth round of redundancies or they may just cut everyone's working year by 10% but still better than the dole.
It's devastating for your Dad to be in this situation but every cloud and all that - something good will come out of this - the problem will be persuading your dad to change his view and adjusting his life and expenses each time there is an adjustment to be made. Look at it being a little tweak every now and again.
Every decision made right here and now .... is the right one given the information and circumstances now!! Even if five years further down the line it maybe turns out that it wasn't quite right - at the time given the circumstances it was the right one to make - it just needs a little adjustment. No biggie - just a little tweak!!

Swampy