can somone shed some light on COVID vunerable letter

happyfella

Hi, my wife has been off work since last march. She works at a supermarket and was put on furlough. When it was time to return back to work her doctor said she was not allowed due to her health condition. So she stayed off work and received company sick pay until it finished in October. Now, she is receiving £95 per week. She has got the letter from the government to shield and it mentions she maybe entitled to ESA. She does not understand that. Also, received information that even though she is on SSP because the government have asked her to shield she can now ask her employer which is Tesco to put her back on furlough, but she does not know if that is correct or not.

We are just trying to find out what the right thing to do

woodbine

I think only Tesco will be able to answer that one, has she been told to shield since the new lockdown started?

Cress

I had the sheilding letter...it does say you may be eligible for furlough...and extremely vulnerable should not go to work.
Also 4 months supply of free vitamin D...lol

woodbine

We've been taking vitamins.D for weeks now.

janer1967

I'm not an expert but I think she would be able to go back on furlough as it is the gov saying not to work 

When she didnt go back after shielding ended it was her gp who prevented this hence her being off sick 

As for esa I'm sure one of our benefits experts will answer that one 

poppy123456

HI,

It's entirely the decision of her employer whether they choose to furlough her but they don't have to do this. Realistically, she's only entitled to SSP. All she can do is speak to her employer.

Regarding the ESA question, she won't be able to receive both the SSP and the ESA at the same time. 3 months before her SSP ends she will be able to start a claim for New style ESA providing she's paid the correct amount of NI contributions in tax years April 2018 to March 2020. Once her SSP ends then she will start to recieve the ESA but it's pnly pays £74.35 per week (over 25's) To claim the ESA she will need the SSP1 form from her employer and a fit note from her GP.

However, i also note from another thread that i've advised you in, you're currently claiming UC. Your wife claiming New style ESA will not make you financially better off because the ESA will be deducted in full from any UC entitlement. Although it is worth claiming it if the time comes because NsESA isn't means tested and UC is so could come in useful in the future.

happyfella

poppy123456 said:

HI,

It's entirely the decision of her employer whether they choose to furlough her but they don't have to do this. Realistically, she's only entitled to SSP. All she can do is speak to her employer.

Regarding the ESA question, she won't be able to receive both the SSP and the ESA at the same time. 3 months before her SSP ends she will be able to start a claim for New style ESA providing she's paid the correct amount of NI contributions in tax years April 2018 to March 2020. Once her SSP ends then she will start to recieve the ESA but it's pnly pays £74.35 per week (over 25's) To claim the ESA she will need the SSP1 form from her employer and a fit note from her GP.

However, i also note from another thread that i've advised you in, you're currently claiming UC. Your wife claiming New style ESA will not make you financially better off because the ESA will be deducted in full from any UC entitlement. Although it is worth claiming it if the time comes because NsESA isn't means tested and UC is so could come in useful in the future.

The annoying thing is, she is missing work like mad. She never has time off, and this COVID19 has turned her world upseide down. She misses the banter at work, but many of her friends gone off sick as they are woried. A lot of her workmates who are healthy sent her messages and said don't come back until their is a vaccine as its not safe. I think a lot of people don't realise the risk that supermarkets and other workers go through on a daily basis.

I never really get political but i do feel the government have made a complate mess of COVID financially. I read a report that said the way the govt have dealt with things, people are going to be struggling for a few years financially due to debt. I know a lot of people who are on SSP because they have to shield and they are scared about losing their house and being in debt.

woodbine

There are two points to answer here; surely if wearing a mask is supposed to protect us then wearing one whilst working with the public and colleagues who are all wearing one should protect?
As for the govt. making a mess of covid financially, I beg to differ, they have provided around a quarter of a trillion £'s so far to protect jobs and businesses, I fail to see how that can be regarded as a "complete mess". Our kids and grandkids are going to be repaying this debt for the rest of their lives.

happyfella

I have friends in Spain, and over there lockdown means lockdown. Lets be honest here, there are loads of people who have never taken COVID seriously, and many people feel it is a hoax. Not sure where their brain cells are. I was in a supermarket the other day, and two people were not wearing masks. I heard the woman saying loudly that everyone with a mask on were being stupid as there is no such thing as covid. It made my blood boil.

Lockdown should have been done quicker and longer. I could go on but i won't otherwise this will become very political like the stress the nhs team are going through.

woodbine

It's a fact that a small number of idiots haven't taken covid seriously enough, but from where I'm sitting it does seem to be a very small number, you commented rightly that people are going to be struggling in the years to come because of debt just imagine how bad that would have been if we had gone into lockdown sooner and for longer,? unthinkable, it has been a balancing act for governments worldwide. But it has to be said that its been easier in Spain because they have huge levels of unemployment anyway, something like 45% of 16-25 year olds have no work.
I'm afraid its almost impossible to discuss Covid and not bring politics into the conversation.\
ETA Just had a look at some figures which go upto mid Dec UK debt is now £2.1 trillion or 99.5% of GDP almost as bad a during WW2 in % terms, and we finished paying the WW2 debt off in 1999.
The worry is now that lockdown3 will add to this mountain of debt, god help our grandchildren is all I can say.

Seanchai

I believe that Nicola Sturgeon ( our first minister)  has done exceedingly well over the course of the pandemic , she is on TV every weekday at the same time giving us statistics and what level we are on ( we are on the top level until February 1st , when things will be revised ) . I,m afraid having a break from the lockdown on Christmas day is now taking its toll . That was up to individuals and families to discuss ...we discussed it with our family and we all agreed that we have been isolating since February and it would be madness to drop our guard for one day .
We sorely miss the family dropping in although they get us anything we need and drop it at the door . We cannot thank them enough for all they have done .
I would not say we took our family for granted as they  dropped in to see us regularly and we had a meal together pretty regularly ..but... we took life for granted in general I would say. If God spares us from the ravages of this pandemic then I will never again take life for granted . We do not know what's around the corner and we must live life to the fullest . 
The sooner the vaccine I'd distributed amongst everyone , the better things will get ....hopefully . 
Please take care and May your God be with you . 🙏