advice for claiming benefits

amihere

Can anybody help me with the process to claim benefits?

I am working but it is making me suicidal. I know it sounds like an escuse for being lazy but i have adhd (waiting for official diagnosis) and i can't take it any more.

I used to work as many as 60 hours in a week and i have slowly reduced my hours down to 20 in a week but i am still struggling to cope and i am worried about my family if i do get too overwhelmed to carry on.

I don't want to be lazy but i think it is my only choice.

Is it possible to transition smoothly from work to benefits? Will i lose everything and be dead or on the streets before they help?

I am going to take some time off sick if my GP lets me claim statutory sick pay, but i have done that before and i was suicidal again days before going back to work because of the anxiety of it.

My family rely on me for money so i do not have the option to live on the streets until i can get help. I will take out life insurance if i can afford it but i hope it doesn't come to that.

Any advice? I don't know what to do!

Thank you

poppy123456

If entitled to SSP from your employed you should claim this, which is paid for 28 weeks. https://www.gov.uk/statutory-sick-pay/eligibility

As well as the SSP you can use a benefits calculator to check entitlement to Universal Credit. As it's a means tested benefit, if you live with a partner you'll need to claim as a couple. If you have savings/capital of more than £16,000 then you're excluded from claiming. There's a deduction for capital between £6,000 and £16,000.https://www.entitledto.co.uk/benefits-calculator

If it shows entitlement and you're claiming SSP then you can report your health condition when you claim and provide a fit note from your GP. This will start the work capability assessment process of. You must continue to send fit notes without any gaps until a decision is made on the work capability assessment. See link for more info. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/universal-credit-if-you-have-a-disability-or-health-condition-quick-guide/universal-credit-if-you-have-a-disability-or-health-condition#:~:text=When%20you%20make%20a%20claim,Work%20Capability%20Assessment%20(%20WCA%20).

3 months before the SSP ends you can claim New style ESA. This isn't means tested so other income, capital will not affect the amount you're entitled to. It is based on your NI contributions in the 2 previous tax years. Payments won't start until the SSP ends because both can't be paid at the same time. 

If you claim both of the above the ESA will be deducted in full from any UC entitlement. 

Unless you live in Scotland you can look at claiming PIP. It's a disability benefit which isn't means tested. Whether there's any entitlement will depend on how your health conditions affect you. It's not awarded based on any diagnosis.https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/sick-or-disabled-people-and-carers/pip
pip-9-table-of-activities-descriptors-and-points.pdf

Albus_Scope

Heya @amihere and welcome to the community.  
I'm sorry to hear this is affecting your mental health so much.  Has your GP recommended any therapies or medication to help you?  Also don't forget you can always call Samaritans if you need to talk to someone with no judgement. 

Rosie_Scope

Hello @amihere

Sorry to hear things are hard at the moment. I just wanted to say that you wouldn't be lazy if you had to give up work. If you're struggling and feeling overwhelmed it takes a lot of courage to admit that you might need some time out, so please don't feel judged by other people's opinions. It's not laziness to take the time to recover and get yourself feeling more settled, whatever that means for you. It can be a very personal decision, especially when you've got a family, but I hope the benefits system can help support you while you work out what your next steps will be.

I can see Poppy's left some good links to take a look at already, so that's probably a good place to start

My colleague Albus sent you an email, did you manage to have a quick look at all?

I hope things start getting better for you soon

amihere

Hi sorry for the slow reply. I am okay. thank you everyone for your concern. I have started the process to get the help i need and i have good support. Thank you for the support and kind words.

And thank you poppy for the information.

I have called out sick and will be going to my gp to try to get signed off so i can claim ssp and take some time to figure out what is going on.

I should have mentioned i am already on universal credit, and i will inform them what is going on on my journal.

I have also started the pip process a few months ago. I had my assessment and the assessor just lied so they refused me, now i am going through the appeals process.

It is all very confusing!

Thank you all for the help and for the support.

Rosie_Scope

No need to apologise, just glad to hear you're doing okay @amihere  

If you need any support with your PIP claim, you're always welcome to ask questions. We have some very clued-up members and I'm sure they'd be happy to help you if you need anything. 

Hope it all goes well with your GP and that you can take some time to rest and figure things out. We're here if you need to chat things through

amihere

Thank you.

I actually just got my mandatory reconcideration back. Denied of course! I don't know what other evidence i can put together and my assessor just outright lied about everything! I was not smart enough to record the conversation so now i am screwed.

I will probably start a thread in the pip section eventually when i can get my head to stay still!

Albus_Scope

Hey @amihere I'm sorry to hear they rejected your MR, but this is actually fairly normal. MRs have a very low success rate, all the action happens in the tribunal stage. And they are worlds apart from the original assessments. They're there to listen to you and tribunals currently have a 70% success rate, so its well worth fighting on.  I totally understand how draining it can be though. 

amihere

Thank you albus, that gives me a little more confidence!

Roughly how does it work? Do you go and speak to somebody like you do during an assessment? Is it like a small court??

The picture in my head is daunting!