claiming Income support when on SSP?

[Wayne0]

hi guys...

 

I have Glandular fever, and have had it before... last time i had it i was in college, and although i attended, for about 2-3 months my lecturers thought i was drunk whilst in class because of the state i was in (sleepy, no concentration, ETC ETC)

 

now, i had a weeks holiday last week from work, and as you could guarentee, fell ill whilst on holiday.

dr said i can expect to be feelin like crap for about a month (which i enlightened him to my previous two episodes of glandular fever)...

 

told by my employer that i should get about £70 / wk in SSP. (he doesnt deal with payrol so not certain of the amount) but obviously this isnt anywhere near as much as ESA/JSA ETC...

 

is there any form of help i could get elsewhere? such as income support? i tried calling the benefits line today, and got through to ESA line. they were telling me because im getting ssp (which is no where near JSA rates) i dont qualify? WTF?

 

i need to worry about paying my rent ETC too. i popped to the council with sicknote, told them etc (BTW, im apparantly contagious - but when i called them they said i needed to bring proof in) they then said the notice will effect from next monday...

 

but, what i need to know is:

do i need to notify WTC that i wont be working my usual hours? - therefore the £80/month stops too?

 

Also, I have a CSA case where i pay £46/wk. obviously this is a big wack out of the 70ish ssp... how is this going to be effected?... tried calling them, and they said im still liable for the full 46? WTF? 15% of net income... which has now dropped considerably...

 

i need to support my 2 kids and wife also and if im off work for a month, i dont see how i can manage...

 

any help please?

[Nystagmite]

SSP is more than ESA / JSA. Your SSP is around £80 a week. ESA / JSA / IS is £71 a week for a single person.

[estellyn]

You can carry on claiming WTC while you receive SSP. You can claim housing benefit to help with rent while on a low income. Sorry I don't know much about csa.

[Wayne0]

oh right sorry, i thought i was clear, COUPLE allowance is 112 /week on jsa/esa,

 

SSP is less than this. (85/wk) my WTC is 22/wk so 22+85 = 107/week this is still 5 a week less than esa/jsa.

 

i called up esa line, and told them i wished to claim income support for families on low incomes, was told by three people i needed to claim esa then back it IS. until i got to a lady on ESA line that said, since im considered working (SSP means im still working) i can claim IS until i work 16 hrs or more a week or SSP ends then it becomes ESA. (im hoping ill be back in work WELL BEFORE the end of SSP tho)

 

the only thing i worry about is the CSA payment, but the lady on the IS claim line said even if im not recieving benefit (£0 per week) i will still be classed as in reciept of income support until working over 16 hrs a week (same is true with JSA as when i claimed this i often recieved no money because i was over the value but still considered "in reciept" because i wanted "their help to find work"

 

i called up CSA today (even though I would advise nobody to take on such a task) to which i got 2 different employees talk to me like a POS. another lady in belfast (valerie) hang up on me, and then when i called to speak to a manager , the manager Andrea speak in a pretty crappy tone too...

I told them I had a claim for IS in from 26th november (benefits line will backdate to monday because its when i first got in touch with Dr, and he suggested at the time it was most likely a "viral infection" that would pass in a matter of days.)

 

anyway 3 people spoke to and NON of the three updated my file to record the Change. I KNOW TO ALWAYS WITE TO THE CSA. but i also sent off a recorded letter to them...

 

i hate to seem like im dodging when im not but its annoying that i will infact get full HB/CTB when on IS and be BETTER OFF financially then when im working yet my CM payment will be £5/week, and because cost of keeping in touch with son is over £10 / week then i will legally have to pay nil. - although i will still insist on supporting my son - dont get me wrong