benefit for a widow

missbiggles1

nannytone wrote: »

no idea as that isn't what the husband in this post died from.
but her only earn 6k in the past year, so his earnings in previous years would be relevant

The OP wrote that his earnings were substantially higher before he became ill last year, so he will have paid NICs.

nannytone_2

missbiggles1 wrote: »

I think most people would consider blindness to be a disability which bereavement isn't.

Why keep encouraging the poor woman to claim an inappropriate benefit with all the stress of being assessed for it when there is an appropriate benefit (WPA) that she can claim with no hassle and carry on claiming for another 6 or 7 years (although I would hope she doesn't need to) with no hassle?

Sorry, that just doesn't make any sense.

because eligibility to WPA is dependant on NI contributions b.

YOU are the only one who considers ESA to be an inappropriate benefit in this situation.

many people claim for stress, anxiety and other low mood conditions.

im not saying that everyone who is bereaved should claim ESA, but in this case, it would seem fairly obvious that the wife would be suffering from severe emotional strain on many levels. she has lost her husband
she has lost her income
she is now the mother to 4 recently bereaved dependant children.

id say her life is probably pretty stress filled and fraught

missbiggles1

nannytone wrote: »

no idea as that isn't what the husband in this post died from.
but her only earn 6k in the past year, so his earnings in previous years would be relevant

You do realise that London Tiger's brother is the husband whose death we're discussing, don't you?

That wasn't a very pleasant thing to say to someone who's just lost his brother and is trying to help.

seven-day-weekend

nannytone wrote: »

because eligibility to WPA is dependant on NI contributions b.

YOU are the only one who considers ESA to be an inappropriate benefit in this situation.

many people claim for stress, anxiety and other low mood conditions.

im not saying that everyone who is bereaved should claim ESA, but in this case, it would seem fairly obvious that the wife would be suffering from severe emotional strain on many levels. she has lost her husband
she has lost her income
she is now the mother to 4 recently bereaved dependant children.

id say her life is probably pretty stress filled and fraught

She is not the only one who finds it inappropriate, unless the lady is suffering from an illness like depression, or anxiety brought on by the bereavement.

Grief alone is not an illness, although I suppose it could be considered a temporary disability.

missbiggles1

nannytone wrote: »

because eligibility to WPA is dependant on NI contributions b.

YOU are the only one who considers ESA to be an inappropriate benefit in this situation.

many people claim for stress, anxiety and other low mood conditions.

im not saying that everyone who is bereaved should claim ESA, but in this case, it would seem fairly obvious that the wife would be suffering from severe emotional strain on many levels. she has lost her husband
she has lost her income
she is now the mother to 4 recently bereaved dependant children.

id say her life is probably pretty stress filled and fraught

Actually, several people are saying it isn't an appropriate benefit, particularly when there's one intended specifically for her situation.

You seem to have a bee in your bonnet about her claiming ESA which is surprising given how many people post about how stressful the application and assessment process is for it. I can't see how that stress would be helpful at this moment which is why, I presume, we have a different benefit for someone in this situation that is simple and stressless to apply for.

missbiggles1

londonTiger wrote: »

I would be happy for her to just claim WPA and CTC I think that would hit the benefit cap anyway. But from what I heard straight from a housing benefits officer ius that WPA does not give entitlement to housing benefit which is really what she needs as it would be a significant amount of money.

Unless the officer I spoke to really doesnt know much about WPA as they haven't see this circumstance before to know about it fully.

I can't comment on what you've been told but, if you put WPA into
http://www.entitledto.co.uk/ it certainly gives you all the relevant figures for HB/LHA.

nannytone_2

missbiggles1 wrote: »

You do realise that London Tiger's brother is the husband whose death we're discussing, don't you?

That wasn't a very pleasant thing to say to someone who's just lost his brother and is trying to help.

i didn't realise because my speaking software 'says' the text and not the whole page, but i don't feel my response was nasty. i was asked if the same rules applied to death through workplace accident or health issue, and i said it wasn't relevant because the husband in this case didn't die in this way.

how is that nasty?

nannytone_2

i have no bee in my bonnet, and was just suggesting ESA as an alternative to JSA if WPA isn't available.

you seem to be in somewhat if tizzy at the thought of ESA being claimed.

i know you unfortunately lost your husband, but your situation is far different from the wife, and i would expect her stress levels and anxiety levels to be off the scale with what has happened.
yet you seemed to think that JSA was an appropriate benefit for her to claim

mumps

After a long career in HR I have seen many, many people who have been signed off after a bereavement. In the cases where a spouse has died I can't think of any recently bereaved spouses who didn't have a period of sick leave. This was generally short term to give people a chance to sort things out, alot of employers only offer a couple of days leave and if people didn't feel ready or able to return to work we would suggest they see their doctor. In lots of cases people might be off work while their partner was ill and then there is all the admin stuff to do not to mention the actual funeral. I don't think many people are returning to work before the funeral.

My mother was widowed with three dependant children and she didn't work for several weeks, we were her priority and I don't think work was a high priority. We had a family business so fortunately that just ran on.

GirlFromMars_2

londonTiger wrote: »

I would be happy for her to just claim WPA and CTC I think that would hit the benefit cap anyway. But from what I heard straight from a housing benefits officer ius that WPA does not give entitlement to housing benefit which is really what she needs as it would be a significant amount of money.

Unless the officer I spoke to really doesnt know much about WPA as they haven't see this circumstance before to know about it fully.

Very sorry for your loss, glad the family is pulling around to help out.

You appear to have misunderstood a couple of points.

Housing Benefit Entitlement is based on Income and Capital, if your sister in law is on a low enough income/capital she will be entitled to Housing Benefit wherever that income comes from. She could well be entitled to both WPA and Housing Benefit.

Automatic Entitlement to Housing Benefit is only given to people who have already had their income assessed as part of the application for a qualifying benefit. Income Related JSA or Income Related ESA for example. If the individual is in receipt of either of these benefits it means they have already had their income assessed by the DWP, and the council doesn't need to replicate the process. As your sister in law is not in receipt of a automatically qualifying benefit she would have her income assessed as part of the application process for Housing Benefit by her local council.

The Benefit's Cap. Unless your sister in law or her family is in receipt of specific benefits that would exempt her from the cap, all of her benefits would fall into the cap. Including Housing Benefit and WPA - (I'm not sure if Child Benefit is included? Child Tax Credits certainly are!) If she hits the Benefits Cap through just WPA & CTC then she wouldn't receive any more even if she is entitled to Housing Benefit, although it's probably worth applying anyway.

WPA is reliant on NI credits, was your brother employed or self employed, and is he likely to have paid enough NI contributions for WPA? (I never can work out just how NI works, but sadly a lot of people working part time don't realise that the NI safety net may not be there for them when they need it.)

I am very sorry that your family are having to face the realities of Austerity, in which everyone of low income is caught no matter how their circumstances arose.

Good luck helping them figure it all out.