JSA HELP (Really Need Help)

pmlindyloo

As someone else has said your contract does not override your statutory (lawful rights) to sick pay.

However, there are a few scenarios where sick pay is not paid.

Are you self employed or do you have a contract of services? (the latter should say this at the top of your contract)

If you are self employed then you can claim ESA. This can be claimed for short periods as long as you send in a fit note. You can leave ESA at any time and then claim JSA when you are better.

ESA is for those who are sick and cannot get sick pay as well as for those who are not employed but are unfit for work.

If you are entitled to sick pay and your employer is pulling a fast one then they will have to complete a form to say why they are not paying you sick pay.

So, are you self employed?

Are you on a contract for services?

scooby088

You can stop claiming esa whenever you want, but as i read it you havent even had an appointment with a specialist yet anyway. When claiming esa they will ask for medical evidence and permission to access your medical records. And yes when your situation improves you can sign back onto jsa.

Also esa may not think your condition serious enough as there are still jobs you could do 2hich 2ouldnt require you to use your voice.

HelpingHugger

I am not self employed, i work for a agency on a temp contract. Its the agency that pays me. Can i still claim ESA for temp illness and go back on jsa? Its a contract for a certain length of time.

pmlindyloo

HelpingHugger wrote: »

I am not self employed, i work for a agency on a temp contract. Its the agency that pays me. Can i still claim ESA for temp illness and go back on jsa? Its a contract for a certain length of time.

You are employed by an agency and therefore are entitled to statutory sick pay unless you have a service contract.

http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/england/work_e/work_time_off_work_e/off_work_because_of_sickness.htm

You need to speak to the agency and find out why they don't pay sick pay.

You also need to make a decision as to whether you want to end your contract with them.

What are the agency saying about your situation? Are you going into work now? Are the agency paying you or do they only pay you when you are on 'assignment'. If they only pay you when you are in work then this is a service contract and SSP doesn't have to be paid. You need to find this out asap.

The agency could be shirking their responsibilities and you could be entitled to sick pay. Deal with this first.

If you want to resign then you can and the previous advice I wrote in my other post stands.

Sign on for JSA and get a doctors letter saying that you cannot work in this job. Expect an investigation.

Or sign on for ESA with a fit note. This is allowed if you cannot work at the moment because you have no voice. ESA is not just for people who are long term sick (I keep repeating this) it is for people who cannot work in their present job and are not entitled to sick pay (this is why it is important to find out whether you are legally entitled to sick pay)

If you apply for ESA and then get better you can go onto JSA with no sanction.

You will be eventually assessed for ESA with a medical but this will not happen for a few months at the very least. Even if they find you fit for work after this time you can then transfer to JSA.

All you need to be eligible for ESA is a fit note from your doctor.

So, speak to your employer. If necessary, take your contract to CAB and ask them to tell you whether you are entitled to SSP.

You can claim ESA while you are still employed but they will query whether you are entitled to sick pay so you need to get this sorted.

Or you can resign and claim ESA with no sanctions and no queries.

scooby088

HelpingHugger wrote: »

I am not self employed, i work for a agency on a temp contract. Its the agency that pays me. Can i still claim ESA for temp illness and go back on jsa? Its a contract for a certain length of time.

Yes you can claim esa. You can even do it online or over the phone.

Pricivius

What I don't understand is why your Agency are not looking for other work for you? If you can no longer perform the assignment they have given you, the assignment should end and the agency should find a new assignment for you. Have you discussed this with them? Are they looking? If you found another assignment, then the issue of JSA and benefits would be irrelevant.

Your employment status is also confused so it may help you to clarify this with the Agency. Are they your employer? Or are you a worker as opposed to an employee? It sounds as though you are a worker, but then agency workers are generally entitled to SSP unless they have not earned enough. Your status needs clarifying for your own understanding and peace of mind.

HelpingHugger

It seems like a service contract, as they only paying me when I go in. So that means i am not entitled to SSP. The reason why my agency wont look for another type of job is because of 3 reasons:

1) I was with the work programme through job centre

2) My work programme sent me to an agency which gave me the temp job

3) The agency dont have other jobs within the call centre which i can do.

I do have a appoinment with a ENT doctor.

So buy applying for ESA will i be in any trouble if i say am better before i go for there check up. Doctor told me this voice issue will be investigated for around 3 months until it can be resolved and the contract with the agency is 2 months.

So ESA can be applied for like a few weeks? Will not the new jsa claim after i recover ask me what happened before i put in a esa claim? Do i have to wait for the ESA health check or can i leave ESA before that if i recover and go to jsa, If so will this result in a investigation why i left my job after a few weeks and went back on jsa after a few weeks of being on ESA?

Also would it be best for me to tell my manager that i am leaving due to this illness and provide proof? Or should i give my proof and let them remove me based on illness?

Another_not_new_user

I'm sorry if you didn't like the FACTS in my last post. That doesn't make them any the less facts. They are still facts. I do not care what your contract says. IF you are an employee then you get SSP unless you do not qualify on earnings. Full stop. No debate. It's the law. If you do not get SSP then you are not an employee. Which means that you gave the wrong information, even if you didn't mean to. Lots of people don't understand this distinction. But don't shoot the messenger.


Ditto fit notes. The role of a GP is to advise when you are unfit or fit to work. IT is not and will never be to tell you to resign. They have NO authority to tell you that.


But this is not making any sense at all. You finished university. Yes? You got a job. Yes? So where does the work programme feature, because the work programme is for long term unemployed I think? So are we talking about having graduated over a year ago?


An agency is an agency - they have LOTS of jobs that are with other various employers. That is the point of being an agency.


I think it would be better to turn this around, because you, sorry, don't seem to understand your employment...


You say that you have a contract with the agency. What does that contract say? Not edited bits - what does it say? Because it sounds like you are a worker and not an employee. And that matters. Who pays you? The agency directly or not?


Bottom line here is that you are being defensive because you are assuming we are saying something we aren't. Nobody disbelieves you. But the "facts" do not add up. Which suggests you don't understand something. Until we get to the bottom of that, then it is all supposition.

Dizzy_Ditzy

You won't come out of your ENT appointment with an immediate fix. You seem to think that the camera is a big job amd will cure you just like that.

Sadly, it is not and will not. The camera is a very simple procedure which checks your vocal cords for abnormalities. If you have acid reflux, you'll be given medication which may take time to work.

Acid reflux sucks but I've never known of anyone leaving a job because of it.

Have you asked in the call centre if they have a back office role?

Failing that, just ask the agency to find you something else. You don't *need* to be claiming any type of benefit. I'd wait until you've had the endoscopy before you start making a benefit claim

PS- if your current agency won't help you, just go to another one

Another_not_new_user

queen_of_cheap wrote: »

You won't come out of your ENT appointment with an immediate fix. You seem to think that the camera is a big job amd will cure you just like that.

Sadly, it is not and will not. The camera is a very simple procedure which checks your vocal cords for abnormalities. If you have acid reflux, you'll be given medication which may take time to work.

Acid reflux sucks but I've never known of anyone leaving a job because of it.

Have you asked in the call centre if they have a back office role?

Failing that, just ask the agency to find you something else. You don't *need* to be claiming any type of benefit. I'd wait until you've had the endoscopy before you start making a benefit claim

I agree, but to be fair - which is why I asked before but didn't get an answer - there are other options than claiming JSA or ESA. If someone has no (employment) income there are means tested benefits. Without a diagnosis nobody knows what the OP can or cannot do in employment terms. Including the OP. Which is why I would be looking at every alternative and not just the one that says "I can't work because the doctor says so". Because, with the best will in the world, I can't say that the decision makers will go with that. There are people missing limbs, with brain injuries... you get the idea... that they say can work. And they are probably right in an ideal world where people are not judged on their disability. And maybe I am not crediting them with any humanity, but I don't believe that "lost my voice and feel sick" is going to cut much ice. This isn't about what we think, and the OP has been told that often enough.... we are not the decision makers, we can't say what they will or will not accept, but we simply wouldn't lay bets on it being what the OP wants them to say...