Hi, my name is Nick1771! I've now gone down to 24hrs a week

Nick1771

Over the years I've developed arthritis in my neck, shoulder and am using continuous pain treatment to manage this. Because of it I've now gone down to 24hrs a week and am perminatley on light duties. But even that is hard to do. Can I claim anything, because I am losing out on 2 days wages, because this condition is affecting my lifestyle and what I can earn. Really hope someone has some advice. Thanks again🙂

poppy123456

For means tested benefits there’s only Universal Credit. Whether there’s any entitlement will depend on your circumstances. If you live with a partner you need to claim as a couple and your joint circumstances will be taken into consideration. If you have savings/capital of more than £16,000 you’re excluded from claiming. Use a benefits calculator to check entitlement. https://www.entitledto.co.uk/benefits-calculator/Intro/Home?cid=1c8f63f6-2c06-41da-869a-1718d9dc98d6

Unless you’re living in Scotland there’s also PIP. It’s a disability benefit which isn’t means tested. It’s not awarded based on any diagnosis. Whether there’s any entitlement will depend on exactly how your conditions affect you. Please see links. https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/sick-or-disabled-people-and-carers/pip/

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/Global/Migrated_Documents/adviceguide/pip-9-table-of-activities-descriptors-and-points.pdf

chiarieds

Hi @Nick1771 - & welcome to the community. Have you asked your GP for a referral to physiotherapy to see if that might help? I'm unsure what you mean by continuous pain treatment, but perhaps that includes medication. Have you been referred to a musculoskeletal pain clinic?

In the meanwhile, you might find something you're interested in trying on this thread about chronic pain: https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/102784/resources-and-tips-for-those-living-with-chronic-pain  often it's a combination of things that seem to work the best. Hoping some of this proves helpful as well.

Albus_Scope

Hey there @Nick1771 and a big welcome to the community from me too!

I can see you're getting some excellent help already, but I just wanted to say hi. If you ever want to just hang out and chat to people, take a look in our Coffee Lounge category, we're a friendly bunch.

Nick1771

chiarieds said:

Hi @Nick1771 - & welcome to the community. Have you asked your GP for a referral to physiotherapy to see if that might help? I'm unsure what you mean by continuous pain treatment, but perhaps that includes medication. Have you been referred to a musculoskeletal pain clinic?

In the meanwhile, you might find something you're interested in trying on this thread about chronic pain: https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/102784/resources-and-tips-for-those-living-with-chronic-pain  often it's a combination of things that seem to work the best. Hoping some of this proves helpful as well.

MW123

Hello @Nick1771

Welcome to Scope, and I'm truly sorry to hear about the pain you're enduring. I can truly relate to what you're going through with your situation as I too, had to make the difficult decision to reduce my working hours due to deteriorating health. It was a constant source of financial worry, keeping me up at night, wondering how I would manage. 

I don't qualify for means-tested benefits, since my salary still exceeds the required threshold for a single person. However, it's important to note that individual circumstances can vary, and you might very well meet the requirements for these benefits. 

The good news is that I do qualify for PIP, which is not a means-tested benefit. PIP has had a significantly positive impact on my financial situation. 

Nick1771

How do I find out? Do I need to explain to my GP what my work situation is? And will they do anything to help me get it?

Albus_Scope

Hey there @Nick1771 to apply for PIP, you need to do it yourself.  There's a handy page on the Scope website that talks you through it all.  But we're all here if you need additional help.

Nick1771

Hi Albus I've looked at a few things explaining applying for pip, and it's all so confusing. I'm stuck on how to go through the process.

poppy123456

Details here on how to apply for PIP. https://www.gov.uk/pip/how-to-claim before applying i'd really advise you to have a look at the criteria to at least try to understand what the descriptors mean. This really does help with a claim going forward. This may help. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/personal-independence-payment-assessment-guide-for-assessment-providers/pip-assessment-guide-part-2-the-assessment-criteria

It's very unlikely that any GP could help with that process, i'm afraid.

For benefits such as Universal Credit you should use a benefits calculator that i put a link to in my first comment to see if there's any entitlement. As i advised, it will depend on your circumstances and if you live with a partner you'll need to claim as a couple.

If you're still unsure then you can speak to an advice agency local to you. This will help with that. https://advicelocal.uk/welfare-benefits