Benefit-I'm I entitled to anything

chocolatey

I was diagnosed when I was 25 and working and continued working for 5 years until I had my son in 2008. But after being off the drugs for 2 years to conceive and be pregnant the disease has progressed. I've been thinking of returning to work, but not sure I could do my old job ( a office job sitting on a pc all day) anymore and know I definitely couldn't do anything involving heavy lifting. My RA makes me so tired all the time never mind adding a very lively 2 year old, so the thought of having a job on top of that.

Up until now I never though or considered I'd be entitled to any sort of benefits bit when I was talking to some friends they all assumed I would be. So my question is an I entitled to anything?
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robertls

The only way you will know is to apply.......

ESA, DLA......they are the only 2 I know of, but I'm sure there are more.......

Rob x

dorcas

Hi chocolatey.

You can apply for DLA whether you're working or not. It is not 'means tested' and will continue if you return to work on a part time or full time basis without being affected .

ESA if you're not working..... your employer should have suggested this when you came to the end of the statutory sick pay period. :?

If you return to work you may be entitled to 'Working Tax Credits' depending on hours worked and income.; and/ or 'Child Tax Credit' depending on the age of your children.

There's also Council Tax Benefit and Housing Benefit to consider... depending on your housing circumstances and other incomes coming into the house.

Best to make an appointment with CAB or Welfare Rights Officer (if you have one in your area). They know the system inside out and will help with all the form filling.

If you are considering a return to work and you have a disabling condition it would be worth phoning the Disability Employment Advisor at the local jobcentre. They will discuss whether they can assist you and your employer to see what aids , supports would help you return to the workplace.
Contacting the Occupational Health Department (if your employer has one) is another option.

best of luck!

Iris xxx

pols090607

hiya,

don't forget about contribution based job seekers allowance - basically if you have worked and paid enough NI contributions you will be entitled to 6 months of this and it's not means tested - i got it after having my first daughter.

good luck xxx

dreamdaisy

Ring your local council/social serivces and enquire. Google the government website (whose name excapes me just now), or just google benefits and see what comes up. DD

frogmorton

Hi choccy

I think it's a case of apply and see what you get.

If you look on here you will see that getting any benefit theses days has got harder, but you should still apply if it hepls you.

DLA is the one you should consider first if you need help doing things like personal care or have mobility issues. DD's suggetsion about directgov is a good one.and as Iris said it is a non-contributionary benefit - and if you go back to work you would still be entitled to it.

The ESA (the old incapacity benefit) is proving hard to get for a lot of people in genuine need - you can see the posts on here, but if you are unable to work you really should be entiltled to it.

I think a trip to CAB after a good browse on the directgov site may well be the way forward.


Good luck

Love

Toni xx

speedalong

Hi Chocolately and welcome,

I would take Iris' advice

Best to make an appointment with CAB or Welfare Rights Officer (if you have one in your area). They know the system inside out and will help with all the form filling.

Speedy

PS Iris - You know you were talking of voluntary work - you could volunteer at the CAB ... (Not being faceous ... put some of that knowledge to even more good use!!)

Speedy

cthornley

chocolatey wrote:

I was diagnosed when I was 25 and working and continued working for 5 years until I had my son in 2008. But after being off the drugs for 2 years to conceive and be pregnant the disease has progressed. I've been thinking of returning to work, but not sure I could do my old job ( a office job sitting on a pc all day) anymore and know I definitely couldn't do anything involving heavy lifting. My RA makes me so tired all the time never mind adding a very lively 2 year old, so the thought of having a job on top of that.
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Ha you could almost be me, 31 had son in 2008, diagnosed at 19, disease progressed with pregnancy, but I am back at work and have been for a while now.
Don't automatically write off the thought of working, I find being at work a welcome break from my 2yr old. He is so physically demanding it is difficult especially as you don't even really get a break with them, even going to the loo seems to incite a knock on the door and “mummy, what doing?”.
I work in an office and also out on site , I found I needed to adapt how I worked more that what I was actually doing. Taking more breaks,getting up and doing little walks around the office, getting a few bits of specialist equipment (work did this for me ) and pacing myself are key. My practice has found that they get a dedicated and enthusiastic worker keen to prove them self (that’s me ha) as long as they can be a bit flexible when its needed. I found the mental break from being a mummy and the chance to interact with people everyday also helps take my mind off the RA.
I’m not gonna say its always easy and there are days when its damn hard but on balance I’m glad I do it. You might want to consider the benefits as well as seeing the obstacles....you may also still be eligible for help and you should see if there is anybody like OT’s etc can help with the transition if you decide to give it a go, consider if you could go back part time or with flexible working, I don’t know what you do and if this will work but it might be worth considering as an alternative.
That is just my opinion of course and its just what worked for me but I would also urge you to think about the alternatives, as its not a black and white decision.
Sorry sound like I’m lecturing so will shut up now
Chrissie

tkachev

Your husband/ partners income and some savings are usually included in most benefit assessments but not DLA.

I think tiredness and pain is the major obstacle for those wanting to return to work.

Good luck,

Elizabeth

chocolatey

Thank you for all the advice and help. Chrissie I don't think your lecturing, as I said I had never thought of claiming or that I could be entitled until talking to other people. I have worked in insurance, which can be stressful with targets etc, and that just happens to be my trigger with my RA. I was thinking originally of going back into retail which I done as a student but doubt my ankle could take standing all day, or heavy lifting. I thought of temping but would companies give me the support I need as a temp????

My husband is in the RAF and goes away every 10 months for 3 months to afghan and then has other tours he does in the 10 months he's home so that can also problems. I would imagine this might also cause problems with any benefits I could be entitled too.

c4thyg

chocolatey wrote:

I was diagnosed when I was 25 and working and continued working for 5 years until I had my son in 2008. But after being off the drugs for 2 years to conceive and be pregnant the disease has progressed. I've been thinking of returning to work, but not sure I could do my old job ( a office job sitting on a pc all day) anymore and know I definitely couldn't do anything involving heavy lifting. My RA makes me so tired all the time never mind adding a very lively 2 year old, so the thought of having a job on top of that.

Up until now I never though or considered I'd be entitled to any sort of benefits bit when I was talking to some friends they all assumed I would be. So my question is an I entitled to anything?
[/list]

I'm in the same position as you with a 3 year old so I know how hard it is. I'm trying to go back to work as well as I'm a single mum who needs a reliable income somehow. That said, I do pretty well with benefits. I can highly recommend phoning the Shaw Trust as they will go through everything with you. They are fantastic and understand disability better than any others I've seen because that's why they exist. I get income support (+disability component), child tax credits (+lone parent bit), help with the mortgage interest, child benefit, and disability living allowance. It's a pain to sort it all out which is why I say to phone the Shaw Trust.

The other useful thing they can do if you are in a position to go back to work (which I'm trying to do) is apply for grants to get your expenses etc paid for 6 weeks, interview grants, and what I think is most important, they can freeze your benefit status for 100 weeks (I think) so that if the job is too much for you, you don't have to go through all the crap with starting benefits again, they simply resume them as before.

Can I say this any louder?

SHAW TRUST 0800 0851001