Self employment and sick pay

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Pennywise wrote: »

When you say "self employed", is he a sole trader, a partnership or trading via a limited company?

xylophone wrote: »

The OP says



so I am wondering whether they are both employees of his company?

No he's a sole trader, not a company but I take a salary for doing the business paperwork.

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warby68 wrote: »

Does your husband not have some 'friendly competitors' ie other electricians that he passes work to/gets it from if either are too busy? Would they be able to take some of his jobs and be fair about the payments? Your customers might be more inclined to pay you as planned if you've helped sort something out for them rather than just saying he can't come indefinitely.

We have a trade business, that deals with other trades too, and there are quite a few 'arrangements' out there. My husband has a few people he can pick the phone up to in an emergency. Maybe yours has the same.

Appreciate you're stressed and also probably quite shocked but also want to keep busy so this might be productive. Also discuss it with your husband (to the extent he is medically able) and work a plan together rather than worry separately. I know you won't want to burden him but he'll be worried sick anyway.

If you have any urgent bills let the creditors know what's happened - financial institutions have specialist teams now to help when customers have some vulnerability. Is your son's student finance sorted - will your lack of income prompt any changes?

Hope that isn't a bombardment - I know its only Day 1 but I'm sure its hard to think straight. Sorry I don't know about benefits but do claim what you can as soon as you can and don't feel guilty. You work and pay your way so this is what they are for.

Hope your husband makes a full recovery

Thanks.
Actually his friends in the trade have been great and are organising an electrician for any jobs that can't wait until his return.
I've been amazed at how all the builders, plumbers, joiners, etc he works with on big jobs have all got together and are sorting it all out for us.
A lot of his non-urgent customers have said they are happy to wait until he is fit and well.

Even a man at the wholesalers rang and said he's told accounts that if the bill isn't paid to not chase and it will be settled eventually.

We have savings so we will manage. I think I just panicked because my son starts uni in 4 weeks so we've new expenses as well.
Spoke to student finance yesterday and he's now been approved for a maintenance loan for his accommodation and we only have to top it up by just over £800 so that's good. Obviously we have to send him across money for food etc but it's doable.

Thankfully we paid off the mortgage a year ago so at least that takes a lot of pressure off.
We have no debts so are better off than most and always pay the credit card off each month.

Did ring HMRC yesterday about "sick pay" and they said he will be entitled to something but they'd need him to authorise them to speak to me and that it'd take me 40 minutes to do over the 'phone. I told them I just didn't have the energy to do it then but they said there was no rush because it will go from the sick certificate date not the application date. I'll do it later in the week once I've managed to get a decent nights sleep.

Thanks for everyone's help. Things seem much more positive now than they did in the middle of the night when I tend to overthink things.

I know we have been very lucky and this post may well have been on the bereavement board if it weren't for the quick actions of the paramedics, air ambulance and the care of the NHS.

We are much more fortunate that some.

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xylophone wrote: »

He may do very well indeed.

Some family friends are just celebrating their Golden Wedding - the husband had a heart attack over thirty years ago...as it happens, one of their children was diagnosed with leukaemia, survived, and twenty years on will be celebrating with them....the wonders of medicine!

The NHS have been fantastic.
Firstly the nurses and doctor who called the ambulance, then the paramedics who attended and sent over his ECG electronically to a cardiac unit who then requested an air ambulance.
They landed at the hospital just 17 minutes later and got a stent inserted immediately.

I cannot fault the care he was given.