Benefits after acquired bran injury?

ditty1234

Hi All. 
I feel I migh thave posted on here before. But my son (21) has been in hospital and rehab since August 25th. And he has had no income. 
I don't know if he would have qualified for statutory sick pay, but that might be too late now. 
He will be in neurological rehab until mid december, but what benefits can he apply for in the meantime to running expenses like phone and streaming services, as well as other personal needs?
He will be applying for pip I guess, but as he only just graduated from uni, I am not sure what other benefits he might be eligible for. 
I have tried a few times to find out, but all of the people I have contacted send me links and wellness support suggestions, I need that as well, but in this case it was not what I asked for! While I am his parent, he is an adult, and he needs his own income and ability to make decisions independently, even if he is currently still in a haze due to his ilness and due to his medication. 
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

ohdrar

Oh dear ditty

This sounds awful - what a difficult time you must be having.

I would take a breath as all of this can be very complicated and work through the benefits system slowly if you've not had to before.

Income

He'll need his income to be replaced now he can't work and if he cant get SSP.

The income replacement benefit would be New Style ESA, Universal Credit or both as a dual claim.

He'll start getting money once he's applied but he'll need a fit note which says he's not fit for work to start the claim - and the fit note can be backdated by 3 months so he'll get extra money going back as well.

New Style ESA should always be claimed if he can because it's not means tested and paid fortnightly. But he'll need to have enough NI paid in the last 2 tax years which are years ending 19 and ending 20.

Extra help

He'll need extra help to cover the costs of his disability 

This will be PIP - it needs to be expected to be a problem for 9 months.

I think its absolutely fine to be overwhelmed by a bunch of links being sent to you. They don't explain things in a way that is easy to understand and the amount of information can be too much to take in.

 And I would definitely say get in touch with an advice service. I'd go on the advice now website has a list you can use. Or if nothing else citizens advice is a safe bet.

ditty1234

ohdrar said:

Oh dear ditty

This sounds awful - what a difficult time you must be having.

I would take a breath as all of this can be very complicated and work through the benefits system slowly if you've not had to before.

Income

He'll need his income to be replaced now he can't work and if he cant get SSP.

The income replacement benefit would be New Style ESA, Universal Credit or both as a dual claim.

He'll start getting money once he's applied but he'll need a fit note which says he's not fit for work to start the claim - and the fit note can be backdated by 3 months so he'll get extra money going back as well.

New Style ESA should always be claimed if he can because it's not means tested and paid fortnightly. But he'll need to have enough NI paid in the last 2 tax years which are years ending 19 and ending 20.

Extra help

He'll need extra help to cover the costs of his disability 

This will be PIP - it needs to be expected to be a problem for 9 months. Best to apply anyway as it takes 10 months to decide due to delays. 

I think its absolutely fine to be overwhelmed by a bunch of links being sent to you. They don't explain things in a way that is easy to understand and the amount of information can be too much to take in.

 And I would definitely say get in touch with an advice service. I'd go on the advice now website has a list you can use. Or if nothing else citizens advice is a safe bet.

It's good to hear claims can be back dated, I have just written citizen advice, and I will call dwp, and I will get/request a fit not from the rehab gp. I am just realising that my son needs his own money, I have been paying everything, but my income has been limited as well as I have not been fit to do my extra work. 
Thanks,

Grete 

poppy12345

Your previous thread is here. https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6292187/what-benefit-graduate-and-now-4-weeks-in-hopsital-with-no-view-to-be-able-work-for-6-12-months#latest

As advised in that thread, he won't be able to claim New style ESA unless he's worked and paid NI contributions in the previous 2 tax years. As he was a student then he may not have paid the correct amount, so can't claim ESA. If he's eligible then this can be backdated for 3 months. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/new-style-employment-and-support-allowance

SSP can only be claimed from an employer so if he hasn't work he can't claim it. https://www.gov.uk/statutory-sick-pay/eligibility

Universal Credit is a means tested benefit so claiming this will depend on circumstances. If he has savings/capital of more than £16,000 he'll be excluded from claiming. It can't be backdated so the sooner a claim starts the better. Thi8s can be claimed online. If he's not capable of looking after his own claim then i'd advise you to start the claim on his behalf as if you are him. Once the claim is submitted then put a note onto the journal to explain that you want to become his appointee explaining that he's not capabile of looking after his own claim.

You'll need to report his health condition when you claim and then you'll have 7 days to provide a fit note from his GP. https://www.gov.uk/universal-credit/how-to-claim

https://www.gov.uk/health-conditions-disability-universal-credit

For PIP you need to have had the conditions for at least 3 months to be eligible. If he's also been in hospital for longer than 28 days then he won't be eligible until he leaves hospital. https://www.gov.uk/pip/eligibility

Edit to add, i wouldn't advise ringing DWP for any benefits advice because it's not their job to give such advice.

Alice_Holt

Excellent advice from poppy.  As she has identified -

  Universal Credit,
  PIP

  You may be able to get help from:
   https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/universal-credit/claiming/helptoclaim/
 with UC.

ditty1234

poppy12345 said:

Your previous thread is here. https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6292187/what-benefit-graduate-and-now-4-weeks-in-hopsital-with-no-view-to-be-able-work-for-6-12-months#latest

As advised in that thread, he won't be able to claim New style ESA unless he's worked and paid NI contributions in the previous 2 tax years. As he was a student then he may not have paid the correct amount, so can't claim ESA. If he's eligible then this can be backdated for 3 months. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/new-style-employment-and-support-allowance

SSP can only be claimed from an employer so if he hasn't work he can't claim it. https://www.gov.uk/statutory-sick-pay/eligibility

Universal Credit is a means tested benefit so claiming this will depend on circumstances. If he has savings/capital of more than £16,000 he'll be excluded from claiming. It can't be backdated so the sooner a claim starts the better. Thi8s can be claimed online. If he's not capable of looking after his own claim then i'd advise you to start the claim on his behalf as if you are him. Once the claim is submitted then put a note onto the journal to explain that you want to become his appointee explaining that he's not capabile of looking after his own claim.

You'll need to report his health condition when you claim and then you'll have 7 days to provide a fit note from his GP. https://www.gov.uk/universal-credit/how-to-claim

https://www.gov.uk/health-conditions-disability-universal-credit

For PIP you need to have had the conditions for at least 3 months to be eligible. If he's also been in hospital for longer than 28 days then he won't be eligible until he leaves hospital. https://www.gov.uk/pip/eligibility

Edit to add, i wouldn't advise ringing DWP for any benefits advice because it's not their job to give such advice.

Hi thanks and thanks for retrieving my previous thread, I find it difficult to refind posts, as there is no view of just ones own posts. I shall be setting up his universal credit claim this week. Based on a quick benefits check, he might about £270 a month which would be plenty for the moment. 

poppy12345

A single person under the age of 25 with no rent liability will be entitled to £257.33 per month. If he's then found to have LCWRA he will be entitled to an extra £343 per month from the 4th month of his claim. So it's important you report his health condition as soon as you apply and get the fit note within 7 days of this. He will then be referred for the work capability assessment usually on day 29 of his claim (but it can sometimes be longer)

Torry_Quine

https://www.headway.org.uk/
I wonder if this organisation can help.

ditty1234

poppy12345 said:

A single person under the age of 25 with no rent liability will be entitled to £257.33 per month. If he's then found to have LCWRA he will be entitled to an extra £343 per month from the 4th month of his claim. So it's important you report his health condition as soon as you apply and get the fit note within 7 days of this. He will then be referred for the work capability assessment usually on day 29 of his claim (but it can sometimes be longer)

Do they have to do work capability for somebody who is in a rehab? That would break my heart! Surely they just check with the therapists?

Torry_Quine

ditty1234 said:

poppy12345 said:

A single person under the age of 25 with no rent liability will be entitled to £257.33 per month. If he's then found to have LCWRA he will be entitled to an extra £343 per month from the 4th month of his claim. So it's important you report his health condition as soon as you apply and get the fit note within 7 days of this. He will then be referred for the work capability assessment usually on day 29 of his claim (but it can sometimes be longer)

Do they have to do work capability for somebody who is in a rehab? That would break my heart! Surely they just check with the therapists?

He will need to be assessed like everyone else but if the form is completed fully may be sufficient
 

ditty1234

Torry_Quine said:

https://www.headway.org.uk/
I wonder if this organisation can help.

I will be getting in touch with them, also for when he comes out/home in December.