Statutory sick pay

Frogletina

My son has been off work for a few weeks and needs an operation. All he is getting is SSP. I have only just found out how low this is, and he has no other income. He only has enough money to pay his mortgage in January (around £400) and then it would be impossible. He is single and loves alone.

Can anyone advice what he can claim while he is unable to work?

NotSuchASmugMarriedNow

I'm not sure if he can claim anything else. How long is he likely to be off sick for? Could he look for another job which pays you whilst you are off sick and have the operation then? Obviously this won't work if the operation is urgent.

Frogletina

He is waiting for a heart op and additionally is on crutches due to either sciatica or a disc problem in his neck. It is still being investigated.

I'm hoping he can get working tax credits or another benefit as he can't live on SSP alone.

LilElvis

Could be have a lodger to help defray some of his outgoings?

Sarastro

Can he take a mortgage holiday? I think most have a clause where you can skip a month. It would be good if he did talk to the mortgage company now, the more proactive you are with them the more then can do to help you, rather than waiting until it becomes a problem.

Does he have insurance at all?

Beyond that, I think it comes down to whether he is going to be off sick long-term or short-term.

TELLIT01

If he's not going to be able to pay the mortgage beyond January, and still expects to be unable to work, he needs to speak to his mortgage provider before he misses a payment.

poppy12345

You can't claim ESA and SSP and the same time. SSP is payable for 28 weeks.

Frogletina

TELLIT01 wrote: »

If he's not going to be able to pay the mortgage beyond January, and still expects to be unable to work, he needs to speak to his mortgage provider before he misses a payment.

He will be doing this

poppy12345 wrote: »

You can't claim ESA and SSP and the same time. SSP is payable for 28 weeks.

He hopes it won't come to that - he wants to get back to work, or find a different job asap

LilElvis wrote: »

Could be have a lodger to help defray some of his outgoings?

I have suggested that to him

When_the_going_gets_tough

I think he can make a claim for income based esa whilst receiving ssp. He needs to ask for his housing costs to be included. This would bring the amoun5 payable above ssp and he should get a contribution towards the interest on the loan. I would suggest he goes to Cab after Christmas and asks about this specific point.

marliepanda

When_the_going_gets_tough wrote: »

I think he can make a claim for income based esa whilst receiving ssp. He needs to ask for his housing costs to be included. This would bring the amoun5 payable above ssp and he should get a contribution towards the interest on the loan. I would suggest he goes to Cab after Christmas and asks about this specific point.

SMI isn’t paid until 39 weeks after the claim. OPs post makes no information he’s anywhere near that...

pmlindyloo

You cannot claim ESA whilst receiving SSP

https://www.gov.uk/employment-support-allowance/eligibility

If there was an eligibility for an income based benefit then the correct benefit would be Income Support as claiming SSP is one of the criteria to claim Income Support.

However, you have raised an interesting point 'when the going gets tough', as to whether the OP's son should make a claim now for Income support. He would not be eligible because SSP is more money than the single person's allowance for IS and housing costs are not added for 39 weeks BUT am unsure whether the 39 weeks only begin after a claim for IS has been made or whether the SSP period counts towards the 39 weeks.

Can't access Decision Makers Guide at the moment but have a feeling that SSP counts towards the 39 weeks. May be worth making a call to Job Centre (Income Support ) and ask the question. Hopefully the OP's son is not off work long term.

The other possibility may be Council Tax Support/Reduction.