Problems claiming IIDB

aliton
aliton Online Community Member Posts: 2 Listener
edited April 2022 in Benefits and income
Hi there,
I'm new to the forum so please go easy on me 👍. I recently had my medical for IIB. The outcome was that for all my sins, I was only awarded 20 percent disability reduced to 15 percent because of a previous medical condition.

I also have developed Fibromyalgia within the past 2 years which means that whilst I am still employed by my company I cannot actually work and have been on the sick since September 2021. My company are also looking to let me go on grounds of capability. 

When I received my letter from IIB explaining my award, they said that I'm not entitled to any benefit even though they said that my accident at work has caused my disability, but not my Fibromyalgia.

They also said that they cannot pay me any back pay for this as the claim time had run out. They new what I was claiming for when I first applied in November 2021. I told them then that the accident at work was in 2016, why then, did they not let me know about the dates then. Strange. Has this happened to anyone on this forum.

Sorry it's a long one and I hope your not bored by now 🤦‍♂️

Comments

  • Alex_Alumni
    Alex_Alumni Scope alumni Posts: 7,538 Championing
    Hi @aliton and welcome to the forum :) Please don't apologise, thanks for reaching out with your query. I can see it's been marked as unanswered which should hopefully encourage our members to advise you. 
    My company are also looking to let me go on grounds of capability.

    I'm sorry to hear this, have your work spoken to you about reasonable adjustments at all? Scope has some useful information around disability and work including attitudes to disability and disability discrimination, so please do take a look.

    Scope also has a Support to Work programme, if you're eligible you can get support in getting reasonable adjustments which work for you. 

    Hopefully our members can share their own experiences with you soon, but if you do have further questions in the meantime, please let us know.

    Alex
  • Sue_Alumni
    Sue_Alumni Scope alumni Posts: 484 Empowering


    Hi and welcome to the online community.  Could you please help me understand the following ?

    1.      You say your accident at work was in 20l6 but that you did not claim IIDB until 2021.  Is this correct or is the date of your review?

    2.     If you claim IIDB more than 90 days after you were injured or become ill, it will be backdated. IIDB can be backdated for up to 3 months, but it will still only start 90 days after you were first injured or became ill and I don’t understand why the DWP are saying that you are not entitled to any arrears from this date to the date of the decision.

    3.     I don’t understand why the DWP are saying you are not entitled to any benefit given that you have been assessed as having 15% disablement and are therefore above the 14% minimum threshold. 

    Given that this is quite confusing I suggest you ask for a Mandatory reconsideration of the DWP’s decision that you are not entitled to any benefit. You will at least then have a clear idea of the grounds the DWP are relying on, even if you dispute them.  MRs should be made within 30 days of the decision letter but can be made up to 13 months of that date if you are able to show a good reason for the delay.  It sounds as if your SSP will run out in September.  Your employer will give you an SP1 confirming when your sick pay ends. You can claim new-style Employment and Support Allowance up to 3 months before the expiry of SSP so that there is continuity.  Ns ESA is less than SSP so there is no point in claiming it early. New style ESA is a contribution-based benefit and your IIDB will be ignored.  Have you also considered claiming PIP or are you claiming this already?

    I attach the following links regarding IIDB and how to make a mandatory reconsideration.

    Getting benefits if you got ill or were injured at work - Citizens Advice

    https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/benefits-introduction/problems-with-benefits-and-tax-credits/challenging-benefit-decisions/challenging-a-decision-by-the-dwp-or-hmrc/challenging-a-benefit-decision-mandatory-reconsideration/


  • janer1967
    janer1967 Online Community Member Posts: 21,922 Championing
    @Sue_Scope

    Ssp runs out after 28 weeks so as op has been off since Sept 21 it will run out before Sept and has no doubt already ended 

    @aliton have you seen your employers policy regarding dismissal on grounds of capability as some companies pay a compensation this is not a legal requirement though 

    Can I ask how old you are and if you have paid into a 9rnsion 


  • calcotti
    calcotti Online Community Member Posts: 10,001 Championing
    Sue_Scope said:.l Ns ESA is less than SSP so there is no point in claiming it early. 
    Slightly misleading. Ns-ESA is initially less than SSP but if put into the Support Group it is then more than SSP. However you cannot claim it early in any case because you are not permitted to while entitled to SSP (unless you give up your employment thereby ending the SSP entitlement).
  • Sue_Alumni
    Sue_Alumni Scope alumni Posts: 484 Empowering
     

    Thank you @janer1967 and  @calcotti for your helpful comments. It would be useful to know the date from when you were paid SSP and whether this was topped up with contractual sick pay and for how long this will be paid.  What income are you receiving now?   As I understand it, you are in work but you’re off sick and your SSP has ended (assuming as @janer1967 points out it was paid from September 2021). Is this a correct summary of your situation? If you have paid and/or been credited with NI contributions in the last 2 to 3 years (employed or self-employed) you can claim ns ESA.

    New Style Employment and Support Allowance - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

    Assuming your entitlement to SSP has ended, depending on your circumstances you may be entitled to UC. If you have claimed UC any IIDB money you are entitled to is taken into account in calculating your income for UC purposes. Could this be what the DWP mean when they say they’re not paying you any IIDB ?

    There’s quite a lot going on here relating to how the DWP reached its decision and what benefits you may or may not be claiming to enable me to give a full reply. Further, @janer1967 has also raised questions about your employment rights and whether your employer has acted lawfully.

  • calcotti
    calcotti Online Community Member Posts: 10,001 Championing
    edited April 2022
    Sue_Scope said:.If you have paid and/or been credited with NI contributions in the last 2 to 3 years (employed or self-employed) you can claim ns ESA.
    Again slightly misleading. Specifically it is the two tax years 2019-20 and 2020-21 that are looked at.
  • janer1967
    janer1967 Online Community Member Posts: 21,922 Championing
    I did not say the company may have in anyway acted unlawfully @Sue_Scope
    I was only asking if they paid any compensation for dismissal and exploring the pension status of the op 
  • aliton
    aliton Online Community Member Posts: 2 Listener
    Hi there and thank you all for your comments and information regarding my condition. I will gather all the information I have and will post in the near future. Just for clarity  my accidents were in November 2016 and August 2018. I am still currently employed and receiving aick pay from work, not SSP. 
    Kind regards 
    Anthony 
  • calcotti
    calcotti Online Community Member Posts: 10,001 Championing
    edited April 2022
    aliton said:
    Hi there and thank you all for your comments and information regarding my condition. I will gather all the information I have and will post in the near future. Just for clarity  my accidents were in November 2016 and August 2018. I am still currently employed and receiving aick pay from work, not SSP. 
    Kind regards 
    Anthony 
    As your SSP entitlement has ended you can claim new style ESA your NI record for 2019-20 and 2020-21 is full. The occupational sick pay will not affect new style ESA.