Pip

wallace1

My son had a seizure  they found brain anuris they operated but he has been left with uncontrolled  epilepsy  he has been told he can't work he's 38 until it is controlled .he has applied for pip 3 times and been refused  he is only getting jsa is there any other benefits he's entitled to he's worked all adult life

BenefitsTrainingCo

Hi wallace1,

It sounds as if your son could maybe claim employment and support allowance (ESA) instead of JSA. You can find out more about that here. It's possible to score points because of epilepsy, depending on how often he has the seizures. He needs 15 points to be considered someone with 'limited capability for work', and you get 15 points if you have a seizure at least once a week. Alternatively, it could be that work is a risk to him (because it makes seizures more likely) - that is another route to ESA.

If he's worked all his adult life until recently he may be entitled to the contribution-based form of the benefit to begin with. This lasts for 52 weeks, but can last for longer if he is considered to be someone who shouldn't do 'work-related activity' (such as training, getting ready to return to work) either. There's also an income-related form of the benefit, which some people get instead of the contribution-based (for example, if the contribution-based form runs out and they are on a low income). In some areas, the income-related form of the benefit is being replaced by universal credit - you can check if that applies to your son's circumstances by putting his postcode in this website. 

He can start a claim for ESA by submitting sick notes, but would eventually be likely to have to have a medical assessment. 

PIP doesn't take into account seizures by themselves, so I can see why he might not have got it, but to double check you might want to go through this self-test with him. 

Another option is to make sure that the JSA personal adviser knows about his epilepsy and allows him only to apply for jobs/look for jobs that would be safe to do, if there are any.

As for other benefits, if your son pays rent he might be entitled to housing benefit, and if he is liable for council tax, council tax reduction. Both of these are paid by the local authority (council). In some areas though, housing benefit is replaced by universal credit if you make a new claim, so do check that first using the postcode as suggested.

If he does end up deciding to claim ESA instead of JSA, I recommend trying to get some help with the claim form (the ESA 50 questionnaire) because it is complicated and a good adviser can really help to make an application strong. You could approach your local Citizens Advice, although they don't all help with forms. 

Good luck - I hope your son ends up on benefits which are more appropriate to his circumstances.

Will