Claiming job seekers allowance with depression and anxiety

Shelly12

I've only just started to sign on for jsa, but they are really demanding and expect me to spend hours everyday looking for jobs, when there aren't that many jobs in the first place.

It's really stressing me out, I couldn't deal with working full time, it would be too much, I have severe depression and anxiety, I can barely get out of my bed, I have no energy. I've just finished college and even then I was struggling to do my work, I could barely make it on time to college. When I get stressed it makes my anxiety/depression worse, and I literally can't cope. I don't have enough money to live off right now and I think I'm going to end up losing my jsa. It's not that I don't want to work I just feel I physically can't do it, part time wouldn't be so bad its just full time

I am on medication for this but as soon as I get stressed it just doesn't help much and my doctor is cautious about raising the dosage because of the side effects, I just don't know what to do

HappyMJ

To get JSA you need to be looking for full time work and it is a full time job looking for work. You cannot expect to casually look for work a few hours week and actually get a job.

I'd go back to your doctor and discuss the possibility of the doctor writing a letter to the DWP regarding your fitness for work so you could go onto employment and support allowance instead....but that won't last forever. It's just a temporary measure whilst you find out what can be done to facilitate your return to work.

Shelly12

HappyMJ wrote: »

To get JSA you need to be looking for full time work and it is a full time job looking for work. You cannot expect to casually look for work a few hours week and actually get a job.

I'd go back to your doctor and discuss the possibility of the doctor writing a letter to the DWP regarding your fitness for work so you could go onto employment and support allowance instead....but that won't last forever. It's just a temporary measure whilst you find out what can be done to facilitate your return to work.

I'm only doing this temporarily, I don't want to be on it for long. It's just I have no money at the moment, my dad can't afford the bills and I have no money to help with this. This is also adding to my problems, making it all worse. Is the employment support allowance similar to job seekers, would I still have to be looking for work all the time?

HappyMJ

Shelly12 wrote: »

I'm only doing this temporarily, I don't want to be on it for long. It's just I have no money at the moment, my dad can't afford the bills and I have no money to help with this. This is also adding to my problems, making it all worse. Is the employment support allowance similar to job seekers, would I still have to be looking for work all the time?

There is no need to look for work but you do need to attend anything they ask you to attend. Meetings with back to work advisor's, meeting with doctors, meetings with the DWP...etc... You get the same money as you would get on JSA.

Re: the stress regarding the bills...all payments on bills can be spread out. If you are seriously struggling then unsecured debts do not have to be paid. The only really important bill to be paid is making sure the rent is paid on time so you have a roof over your head...everything else can wait. The electric should be paid next so you have the lights on and can keep food cold and cook then buy enough basic food so you can survive and then make an arrangement to pay the council tax in smaller instalments to avoid further action. Pretty much everything else can be cancelled or wait. If you have a mobile contract cancel it and switch to pay as you go (and only use it to receive calls), cancel sky, cancel the tv licence (and don't watch live TV), cancel the landline phone and broadband and if you feel it's a need then switch to a basic service, if you have a car sell it and use public transport. The water bill can wait as they cannot cut you off, it will continue to accrue, after a year of struggling they can write some off if you can come to an arrangement with them to pay smaller amounts. If your dad has an unaffordable mortgage then get him to consider selling and renting.

JSA although it isn't much can cover the essential bills and leave you with enough left over to spend on anything so you really need to sit down and do a budget and see where all the money is going. There isn't any need to stress about it as that isn't helping you find a job which would easily resolve the money issue.

Shelly12

HappyMJ wrote: »

There is no need to look for work but you do need to attend anything they ask you to attend. Meetings with back to work advisor's, meeting with doctors, meetings with the DWP...etc... You get the same money as you would get on JSA.

Re: the stress regarding the bills...all payments on bills can be spread out. If you are seriously struggling then unsecured debts do not have to be paid. The only really important bill to be paid is making sure the rent is paid on time so you have a roof over your head...everything else can wait. The electric should be paid next so you have the lights on and can keep food cold and cook then buy enough basic food so you can survive and then make an arrangement to pay the council tax in smaller instalments to avoid further action. Pretty much everything else can be cancelled or wait. If you have a mobile contract cancel it and switch to pay as you go (and only use it to receive calls), cancel sky, cancel the tv licence (and don't watch live TV), cancel the landline phone and broadband and if you feel it's a need then switch to a basic service, if you have a car sell it and use public transport. The water bill can wait as they cannot cut you off, it will continue to accrue, after a year of struggling they can write some off if you can come to an arrangement with them to pay smaller amounts. If your dad has an unaffordable mortgage then get him to consider selling and renting.

JSA although it isn't much can cover the essential bills and leave you with enough left over to spend on anything so you really need to sit down and do a budget and see where all the money is going. There isn't any need to stress about it as that isn't helping you find a job which would easily resolve the money issue.

So to get that I would need to go to the doctors to get a note from them in order to get the employment support allowance.

I live with my dad but as he's not in work he can barely pay the bills, we have a mortgage which is like over a 1000 a month, and our tv is in a contract and can't be cancelled until October.

With house we would have to fix it up as it's not in a sale able condition, but that would cost money that we don't have. There's never any food in our house it's basically bread and eggs which isn't exactly enough to live off for 3 people.

This is kinda where all the stress comes in, my dads been looking for work but hasn't found anything so it's all stressful and hard to cope with

HappyMJ

Shelly12 wrote: »

So to get that I would need to go to the doctors to get a note from them in order to get the employment support allowance.

I live with my dad but as he's not in work he can barely pay the bills, we have a mortgage which is like over a 1000 a month, and our tv is in a contract and can't be cancelled until October.

With house we would have to fix it up as it's not in a sale able condition, but that would cost money that we don't have. There's never any food in our house it's basically bread and eggs which isn't exactly enough to live off for 3 people.

This is kinda where all the stress comes in, my dads been looking for work but hasn't found anything so it's all stressful and hard to cope with

Yes you'll need the help of your doctor.

Forget about contracts...nutritious food is much more important than a silly TV contract so just cancel it and worry about it later. He'll have to come to an arrangement with the mortgage provider. £1,000 a month is just too hard to find from nowhere so he'll have to either pay what he can falling further into arrears or seriously consider selling even if the house is not in a saleable condition. Any house in any condition will sell at the right price. Once the house is sold then you can all rent together or separately and housing benefit will help pay the rent...I'm assuming the equity in this house isn't huge. Any equity can be used to pay your moving costs, deposits and rent upfront on a rental property.

If you can't cope being in this house then move out on your own. You will get housing benefit to rent somewhere small and you will no longer have other peoples financial problems being transferred to you. You do need to find a guarantor and/or a housing association willing to help you move though and that does take time.

What could your dad earn if he were to find work quickly? Would it be enough to support a £1,000 a month mortgage along with all the costs that go with owning a property? My guess is he should be aiming to take home at least £2,000 a month which means before tax he should be earning over £30,000 a year. That's quite a good pay rate and he really still wouldn't have enough to fix the property up or enough to have fun with...it's just enough to pay the bills.

Shelly12

HappyMJ wrote: »

Yes you'll need the help of your doctor.

Forget about contracts...nutritious food is much more important than a silly TV contract so just cancel it and worry about it later. He'll have to come to an arrangement with the mortgage provider. £1,000 a month is just too hard to find from nowhere so he'll have to either pay what he can falling further into arrears or seriously consider selling even if the house is not in a saleable condition. Any house in any condition will sell at the right price. Once the house is sold then you can all rent together or separately and housing benefit will help pay the rent...I'm assuming the equity in this house isn't huge. Any equity can be used to pay your moving costs, deposits and rent upfront on a rental property.

If you can't cope being in this house then move out on your own. You will get housing benefit to rent somewhere small and you will no longer have other peoples financial problems being transferred to you. You do need to find a guarantor and/or a housing association willing to help you move though and that does take time.

What could your dad earn if he were to find work quickly? Would it be enough to support a £1,000 a month mortgage along with all the costs that go with owning a property? My guess is he should be aiming to take home at least £2,000 a month which means before tax he should be earning over £30,000 a year. That's quite a good pay rate and he really still wouldn't have enough to fix the property up or enough to have fun with...it's just enough to pay the bills.

If the mortage payment is late they will reposes the house, which has nearly happened quite a few times. It seems like if I moved out there would be even more financial problems. He said he can't get out of the contract for the TV, we've had to keep it. I've never had nutritional meals at home, if theres food it's usually ready meals but we hardly have that.

My dad doesn't have gcses, hes had a few jobs in the past but doesn't have enough to actually get a job, especially not one that would pay enough for all the bills we have. The only kind of job he could get is minimum wage.

My house has really bad leaks, theres basically a holes in the ceiling that leak when it rains, and then there's a huge leak in the room below the shower, the ceilings basically falling apart, it's collapsing.

It's unlikely anyone would buy a house in this condition

tomtontom

Someone will buy the house if the price is right.

As for claiming ESA, is that going to help you move forward or just give you more time to feel low, and let your dad drag you down even further? I would continue claiming JSA and get yourself some counselling and support to become independent - something you'll never do without a job.

HappyMJ

Shelly12 wrote: »

If the mortage payment is late they will reposes the house, which has nearly happened quite a few times. It seems like if I moved out there would be even more financial problems. He said he can't get out of the contract for the TV, we've had to keep it. I've never had nutritional meals at home, if theres food it's usually ready meals but we hardly have that.

My dad doesn't have gcses, hes had a few jobs in the past but doesn't have enough to actually get a job, especially not one that would pay enough for all the bills we have. The only kind of job he could get is minimum wage.

My house has really bad leaks, theres basically a holes in the ceiling that leak when it rains, and then there's a huge leak in the room below the shower, the ceilings basically falling apart, it's collapsing.

It's unlikely anyone would buy a house in this condition

Right so there is no chance he can ever afford the mortgage on the property as minimum wages are only about £1,000 a month and he has living expenses as everyone does.

Sell it...as he probably doesn't want then you need to get out and away from all this stress. His financial problems are not yours.

Anyone will buy any house at the right price. It may be worth more fixed up and presentable but as he has such a huge mortgage payment relative to his income he will never be able to save up for it.

As he's been in arrears with the mortgage cancelling the TV contract will make zero difference to his credit file. So just stop paying and let it be taken back. They could take him to court but as he has nothing that won't achieve anything for the creditor so they won't do that.

pebbles88

What happened with your dad's previous job? Is there anything possibly going with that employer?

pmlindyloo

Get your dad to go to CAB for a benefit entitlement check up. If he is not working then he should be claiming benefits and getting the interest paid on the mortgage. This is not your problem. They can also advise on his mortgage.

Get yourself to the doctors and have them reassess your situation. If the doctor gives you a fit note then put in a claim for ESA. You will be on the same amount of money as your current JSA whilst you are being assessed. Considering the time it is taking for assessment procedures to happen you may find that with a break and job searching in your own time will give you some breathing time to hopefully get everything sorted.

It will also give you time to find out if your anxiety and depression is connected with the pressure you are receiving from the Job Centre or from your home situation, a combination of both or something else. Visit your local MIND centre and get some support for everything.