How do the government expect people to cope on SSP!

[Bee4229]

Even if it just for a short time.

Dp usually earns £500-600 a week. I'm not working currently. Both my children have sen and I'm finding it hard to find work around dc and Dp's hours. Own our own house etc.

Anyway, Dp has tested positive for covid. His workplace has always paid full sick pay but apparently not for covid isolation reasons. So pretty much 2 weeks worth of pay gone and SSP of what £90 something a week? I mean £90 a week?! Dp has worked since he was 12 and barely had a day off.

The worst thing is there's been an outbreak at his work his due to their lack of caring about covid. People are encouraged to come in with symptoms whilst waiting for test results, they don't notify other staff members when someone they've been in contact with had tested positive. It's a shambles. Now the staff are paying the price.

We will be £800+ worse off this month, at Christmas.

I still have gifts to buy. What the f**k am I gonna do.

We do have some money coming in. £30 a week from my eldests dad. Also, my eldest gets DLA and child benefit but that isn't going to go far. We also get £25 PW child tax credits.

So aibu to tell family we really can't be buying them much if anything this year. Thankfully the kids have been sorted for a while.

Doesn't help our car has just gone wrong and cost £400 to fix so that's also put us at a disadvantage.

Thankfully mil has given us a butchers voucher (gave it to us weeks ago) to get our Christmas meat. I am more so grateful than I was before she's done that (as our Christmas gift).

We have a small amount of savings that won't last long and that's our back up plan if things go wrong in the house.

I appreciate there's people in worse situation but right now I feel like Christmas is gonna be crap. I know it's not about the money but it helps especially with food and needing to put fuel in the car to visit family (once our isolation is over).

Not sure what this post is going to do. I just want to rant and vent at the measly £90 a week people are expected to live on.

After our mortgage and bills are paid we aren't going to have anything left.

@user1471543094

Agree OP, it's very unfair. And people will just avoid testing because they can't afford to go off for 10 days. Unhelpful for now but he's lucky he gets full pay when sick for other reasons. My company doesn't pay us anything, only SSP. Meanwhile my public sector DSil had a bad back. Admittedly for a few weeks she was in a bad way but could have returned after about 8 weeks but was was actively encouraged by her line manager to not come back until her 6 months full sick pay were up (not officially I should say, they are mates too). She went back to work the day before the 6 month mark where she would have dropped to half pay. It's insane.

@user1471543094

Agree OP, it's very unfair. And people will just avoid testing because they can't afford to go off for 10 days.

This. ^ I know a few people who were 'pinged' by the NHS app, and they just ignored it, because there's no way they could afford to lose 400 pounds or so wages, by having nearly 2 weeks off (and only getting the shitty SSP instead!)

@Bee4229

I don't really understand the £500 payment. At the bottom it talks about EHC plans. Both my children have EHC plans but I still don't think we are entitled!

Once again we are that awkward middle whne we aren't on a very low income nor are we well off either with only one income. Dp earns around £30000 a year before tax, maybe a little more with OT.

Dont assume.

It's one of my fears. I can take time off work for covid reasons and illness, but I don't get a penny pay. Just one of those things

@PinkAndPurpleClouds that must of been really hard. I feel like just 10 days of this will be damaging for us over Christmas and going into the new year. We've already had a tough year with lots of house repairs (bloody boiler and heating system!) and car issues! So I can only Imagine how hard that would have been for you!

I just hope his symptoms remain as mild as they have been and he'll be right as rain to go back late next week. It's very unmotivating for him though, not looking forward to going back.

Its exactly the same for people off work with cancer and having chemotherapy unless the company pay sick pay. I think the first 12 weeks are basic ssp, then you have an assessment and if you are lucky it goes up to around £120 per week for the next 9 months. You can apply for pip, but at the moment the waiting time from applying to assessment is 6 months.
Its brutal. You go from working and earning a living to living on bread crumbs

Weird that you DH's work have contractual sick pay but they have a policy not to provide that for COVID. Has this been challenged at all? Sounds like a court case waiting to happen.

It's worth checking your council for the discretionary covid payment. But you need to have less than £2000 in savings and earn less than £500 a week - which with 2 weeks ssp you likely will!!

You need savings. It is too late for you, but for other people who don't have savings, you need to have at least one year where you don't spend anything on Christmas, holidays etc.

No-one should be taking holidays, buying Xmas and birthday presents if they don't have savings.

Tis is probably part of why covid is still spreading. People simply can not afford to take time off.
It's shit.

@ILoveAllRainbowsx

You need savings. It is too late for you, but for other people who don't have savings, you need to have at least one year where you don't spend anything on Christmas, holidays etc.

No-one should be taking holidays, buying Xmas and birthday presents if they don't have savings.

We do have some savings but it's took a battering this year as had time have out boiler and heating system fixed - twice. Car issues and general house repairs as it's our own house, it costs us a bomb. Buying a cheap ex military marital quarters house isn't all that great after all - cost wise fixing everything that wasn't done properly when refurbished 🤯 we don't have much spare to save. We had three grand saved but like I said took a battering. We haven't had a holiday in 7 years.

I think it would be impossible not to spend anything at Christmas with two young children.

@Eleganz

Weird that you DH's work have contractual sick pay but they have a policy not to provide that for COVID. Has this been challenged at all? Sounds like a court case waiting to happen.

It's just one of many things messed up about where he works unfortunately. Feels tied to the job due to the money as the area we live in is generally low paid jobs. He has no qualifications in anything to just leave and get another decent job!

@LittleOwl153

It's worth checking your council for the discretionary covid payment. But you need to have less than £2000 in savings and earn less than £500 a week - which with 2 weeks ssp you likely will!!

I will have a look thank you. My local Authority says you should Make sure you think you qualify before applying but the website isn't clear on who is Maybe we will just try it! Have less than £2000 left in savings account now!

@Sugarplumfairy65

Its exactly the same for people off work with cancer and having chemotherapy unless the company pay sick pay. I think the first 12 weeks are basic ssp, then you have an assessment and if you are lucky it goes up to around £120 per week for the next 9 months. You can apply for pip, but at the moment the waiting time from applying to assessment is 6 months. Its brutal. You go from working and earning a living to living on bread crumbs

I can sympathise, such a sad country we live in. My father is off work currently due to serious ill health (not cancer though). He'll be off for a while but hoping to get back - he isn't ready to retire yet and still a few years off retirement, he hates sitting around. My mum has had to cut back hours to barely anything look after him, they have two dependent at home too (much younger siblings)! They've gone from living a comfortable lifestyle to really struggling. Thankfully this will be short locked for us but worried it'll mess us up for a while!

5to6hundred a week & nothing under the mattress yea gods

@ILoveAllRainbowsx

You need savings. It is too late for you, but for other people who don't have savings, you need to have at least one year where you don't spend anything on Christmas, holidays etc.

No-one should be taking holidays, buying Xmas and birthday presents if they don't have savings.

Thanks, mum

Love it when someone starts a thread and then one know-it-all comes along and gives the OP a telling off because "you need to do this"

Sorry you're dealing with this OP.
YANBU to refuse to buy presents. The govt. has SSP all wrong in my opinion. I believe it should be based on NI contributions over the years. Like you say, we work for donkeys years and the moment we genuinely can't, we're punished financially.

Good luck and try not to stress

@mogsrus

5to6hundred a week & nothing under the mattress yea gods

That's not really that big of an income is it? One income for a house and a couple of kids. Doesn't go far anymore.

Being made to self isolate with a mild virus is plain and simple stupid. Covid rules are mostly stupid.

I know of 2 families in a similar situation.

Neither person will test as they'll be in the same position you're in.

With mild symptoms, many would have been tempted to go in. In fact, their policy encourages that very behaviour! I also think he needs to challenge this - they can't stipulate which illnesses they'll pay full pay for and which they won't. Many companies aren't paying for self isolation, but refusing to pay for illness, when they pay for other illnesses, is leaving them open to a legal challenge imo.

This is something I fear as well. We are both self employed so entitled to nothing. I can work from
Home but my husband can’t, so if he had to isolate we would lose £££

I’ve said before, if the government had given £1000 to every single person who needed to isolate rather than wasting £37 BILLION on test and trace, not only would we be much better off covid wise but they still would have saved money!

@mogsrus

5to6hundred a week & nothing under the mattress yea gods

Not sure you mean. As a single income it's not a huge amount to live on! We don't spend above our means, by the time our mortgage, bills, car etc is paid for. Stuff for the kids - we are usually overdrawn as it is by the end of the month!

I am probably gonna be slammed to oblivion with this comment, but… do you not have back up for sickness, Anyone could get sick at anytime
, your DP has been working since he was 12, has he not set aside some back up plan? I really don’t think we live in a sad country. I used to pay an insurance per month that would cover me when I was sick and I was earning less than your DP.

@allthegoodusernameshavegone

I am probably gonna be slammed to oblivion with this comment, but… do you not have back up for sickness, Anyone could get sick at anytime , your DP has been working since he was 12, has he not set aside some back up plan? I really don’t think we live in a sad country. I used to pay an insurance per month that would cover me when I was sick and I was earning less than your DP.

Where do you suggest they get the money?

We have an evil Government.

Not trying to be goady. But why should the government pay for a shit workplace attitude.
If I was your DH. I would obviously keep the job for now, but start looking for another one that’s doing what all normal places are, and paying proper sick pay.
Also I agree upthread it sounds like something they cannot enforce. They can’t change contracts etc. If you’re sick you’re sick. But it’s probably not worth the energy going down that road

Where do you suggest they get the money

Well they earn more than I do?