No sick pay - paid hardly anything for this month's salary!

[Deleted User]

highlandspring21 wrote: »

surely this happens to other people???

That's what I thought but no! it's more once you have passed being pro-active and are being chased more aggressively

You only pay bills that shout the loudest first in this situation, some of the utilities co's were so difficult after their d/d was cancelled I'm still waiting to pay weeks later... I actually would think you'd get a holiday break with ease

Years ago when I needed time off I'd had a boss put it through as holiday time and so wasn't hit as much, didn't need the state, didn't realise the greatness of it

I'm sure you can overcome this, there is something to be said in believing x

pmlindyloo

Yours is quite a difficult situation because you may have periods of sickness which may have been linked together as regards your Statutory Sick Pay. Statutory sick pay is paid as part of the contractual sick pay and then up to when 28 weeks have been reached. So basically you are entitled to 28 weeks of statutory sick in total.

Confusing isn't it?

You need to speak to your payroll officer and ask them to explain if you have reached the end of your statutory sick pay. If you have, then they need to give you a SSP1 form to give to the Job Centre so that you can claim Employment Support Allowance. The form tells the Job Centre why the employer is not paying/no longer paying Statutory Sick Pay. It can be downloaded on line.

Once you have the form you can claim ESA. There are 7 'waiting days' that you will not be paid for. Google on how to claim. The claim can be backdated for 3 months so ask for this.

Since it is all very complicated to put it more simply:

Speak to payroll and ask why you are not being paid Statutory Sick Pay.
If no longer entitled to SSP then download a form SSP1 and get employer to complete

Claim ESA (google for contact details) Ask for it to be backdated to when you stopped receiving SSP.

In the meantime

Call your creditors and tell them you have been off sick and ask for time to pay/make an arrangement for any arrears. Do not ignore. They will most likely be happy to help but will soon send nasty letters if you don't contact them.

Ask employer for an advance of wages to cover food/any other necessity.

Contact landlord/council if any problem with not paying rent/council tax.

This is a blip for a short time so don't panic.
Just get your sick pay/ESA sorted and let everyone know what is happening.

Mupette

Deleted%20User wrote: »

I'm sure you can overcome this, there is something to be said in believing x

Not to burst your bubble as you have been really nice, but believing doesn't cure what hasn't a cure, unless like IDS you know something we dont know

tizerbelle

sheeps68 wrote: »

company sick pay can be anything from 14 days up to 6 months.

Sorry but that's wrong. Company sick pay can be anything from 0 days to 99 years. There is no legal requirement to pay anything more than SSP so it is up to employers to decide if they will operate a company sick pay scheme or not and for what period.

sheeps68

tizerbelle wrote: »

Sorry but that's wrong. Company sick pay can be anything from 0 days to 99 years. There is no legal requirement to pay anything more than SSP so it is up to employers to decide if they will operate a company sick pay scheme or not and for what period.

OK I'm wrong on the 14 as thats the lowest I've heard of. But it can without doubt be more than 99 days too. I have had 6 months full pay and 6 months half pay. I'm not picking at detail the example was based on my personal knowledge and an illustration it varies widely.

tizerbelle

sheeps68 wrote: »

But it can without doubt be more than 99 days too.

I wrote 99 years, not days and it wasn't a typo.

HighlandSpring, there is nothing I can add to pmlindyloo's comprehensive advice about what to do now. But as someone also living with depression and suffering the financial difficulties this can bring when you can't work (we only get 5 days company sick pay in a 12 month period) - the best advice I can give you is that once you are through the next month and hopefully back to a more even financial keel, would be to start building an emergency fund specifically to cover lost wages should the black dog raise his head again. Even if it's only a few pounds a week, it might not meet all your bills should you need it in the short term but it will make things much easier in the long term

MrsGregs

I'm sorry to hear about your circumstances. I know how tough depression can get and it doesn't help when you have money worries on top of that. I don't have an answer about benefits but I'd like to reiterate what pmlindyloo said about contacting creditors. I've made the mistake of sticking my head in the sand many times and when I finally pull it out and contact them they're usually pretty good about coming to an agreement with regards to repaying arrears or taking a payment break. Try not to stress about it, pay what absolutely must be paid as a priority, such as food and heating bills then prioritise the rest.
I hope things improve soon.

highlandspring21

pmlindyloo wrote: »

Yours is quite a difficult situation because you may have periods of sickness which may have been linked together as regards your Statutory Sick Pay. Statutory sick pay is paid as part of the contractual sick pay and then up to when 28 weeks have been reached. So basically you are entitled to 28 weeks of statutory sick in total.

Confusing isn't it?

You need to speak to your payroll officer and ask them to explain if you have reached the end of your statutory sick pay. If you have, then they need to give you a SSP1 form to give to the Job Centre so that you can claim Employment Support Allowance. The form tells the Job Centre why the employer is not paying/no longer paying Statutory Sick Pay. It can be downloaded on line.

Once you have the form you can claim ESA. There are 7 'waiting days' that you will not be paid for. Google on how to claim. The claim can be backdated for 3 months so ask for this.

Since it is all very complicated to put it more simply:

Speak to payroll and ask why you are not being paid Statutory Sick Pay.
If no longer entitled to SSP then download a form SSP1 and get employer to complete

Claim ESA (google for contact details) Ask for it to be backdated to when you stopped receiving SSP.

In the meantime

Call your creditors and tell them you have been off sick and ask for time to pay/make an arrangement for any arrears. Do not ignore. They will most likely be happy to help but will soon send nasty letters if you don't contact them.

Ask employer for an advance of wages to cover food/any other necessity.

Contact landlord/council if any problem with not paying rent/council tax.

This is a blip for a short time so don't panic.
Just get your sick pay/ESA sorted and let everyone know what is happening.

Thank you so much for the comprehensive advice. I've not yet been back in as I've been ill this week again but am going to request the SSP1 form tomorrow.

As there have been periods where I've been not in then back again will this affect me claiming ESA with the SSP1? I mean, can you still claim for the days you were off sick without sick pay even if you've gone back to work in the meantime? if that makes sense...

highlandspring21

Also, can I claim for days where I self-certified my sick note as well as days that I have a sick note from the doctor for?