Can I claim any benefits due to having to leave my employment due to anxiety caused by bullying?

ksteph5566

I would be grateful for any help/advice/opinions.  Perhaps I could request voluntary redundancy, or a compromise agreement to enable me to obtain some funds just to pay my household bills?  Or maybe disability allowance for my medicated for anxiety mental health?

itsthelittlethings

You may be able to claim new style JSA or UC with a fit note if your GP will give you one.

Google a benefits calculator to see what you might be able to claim.

itsthelittlethings

I don’t know what you might be able to get from your employer, that would be between you and them.

elsien

There is a difference between benefits you might be able to claim, and any money you are hoping for from your employer.
It will not be redundancy unless your employer is getting rid of the post and would not be replacing you if you left. 

Are there any official processes going on with your employer - Grievance or disciplinary and if so, how far have they got?

This may not be what you want to hear, but you saying you are being bullied does not automatically make it so and if it is so it cannot necessarily be proved. 

If you did leave your job, a decision maker would need to accept you had good reason to do so. Evidence from your GP about fitness to work should help with that.

tacpot12

To acheive a compromise agreement, you would need to have a strong case to take to an employment tribunal. Voluntary redundancy might be easier to agree. You might have a case for constructive dismissal, although these can be quite hard to prove. 

If you own your own home you might have legal expenses cover as part of your home insurance. You might also have this cover if you are a member of a trades union. If you ave legal expenses cover via any route, talk to the legal helpline asap. There is a deadline to take cases to an empoyment tribunal. It is best to let slip to your employer that you have legal expenses cover and are thinking about going to an employment tribunal, even if you are happy to settle. 

If you have paid enough National Insurance(NI) contributions in the last three years, if you are too ill to work, you can claim new style Employment and Support Allowance (ns-ESA), which might pay you for one year, or longer if the DWP accept that you are too ill to ever work again (unlikely) OR if you are well enough to work and want to look for work (and have paid enough NI) you can claim new style Jobseekers allowance (ns-JSA). ns-ESA and ns-JSA aren't means tested so ignore any savings you have. If you haven't paid enough NI to qualify for ns-ESA/ns-JSA, you can claim Universal Credit, but only if your savings are below £16,000. Any settlement from your employer might mean that your Universal Credit claim ends if the payment takes your savings above £16,000.

If you aren't able to look after yourself or get outside because of your anxiety, you may be able to claim Personal Independence Payments (PIP) if you have a good reason to think that you may remain ill for more than 12 months.